Myanmar volunteers under strain as coronavirus toll grows

YANGON - As Myanmar’s coronavirus infections soar, the work never seems to stop for volunteers who have stepped in to help carry those suspected of symptoms to quarantine centres or hospitals. Fatalities hit a new record for one day on Sunday with 41 deaths, bringing the total to 412 from only seven a month ago. The toll is now the third highest in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and the Philippines, and both deaths and case numbers are doubling faster than anywhere in the world according to Reuters figures. The number of cases rose to 17,794 in the country of 53 million, which has one of the world’s weakest health systems. “The situation is not good. Our ambulances and crews can’t even get a break,” said Kyi Myint, 66, who leads a volunteer group in Yankin township, one of the worst hit in Myanmar’s main city, Yangon. Myanmar’s thousands of volunteers are a crucial element of the Covid-19 response. More than 45,000 people, including Covid-19 patients, those yet to be tested, their close contacts and returning migrant workers, are being housed in buildings from schools and monasteries to government offices and tower blocks.

from Asia
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