14 more coronavirus cases reported in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar

Myanmar on Monday has reported 14 more cases of coronavirus, bringing the country’s total number of infections to 52.

The Health and Sports Ministry said the latest cases included those who joined a religious gathering in Yangon in the past 14 days despite the ban on mass gathering since late last month.

An official told Anadolu Agency that an estimated 100 people are believed to have come into contact with those who joined the event at a Christian church in Yangon’s Insein Township on April 6.

“Four people from the church have tested positive as of today,” said Wai Phyo Han, a regional lawmaker in Insein Township, by phone on Monday.

In cooperation with local authority, he said the township has been preparing a quarantine facility which can house more than 100 people in the area.

He said a prominent singer was among those who joined the event, and now in a facility in Yangon for 21-day isolation.

According to the Health Ministry, the infected patient list includes an anesthetist from a hospital in Bago region, where a patient passed away due to the COVID-19 infection, the first medical worker to be infected in Myanmar.

Three coronavirus patients have succumbed to the disease so far while two have fully recovered, it added.

The country reported its first case on March 23 and its first death from the virus on March 31.