Sixth coordination meeting on COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment held; Chairman of State Administration Council Prime Minister of Caretaker Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing delivers address
The sixth coordination meeting on COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment was held at the meeting hall of the Bayintnaung Villa in Nay Pyi Taw
this morning, with an address delivered by Chairman of the State Administration Council, the Prime Minister of the Caretaker Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
Also present were Vice Chairman of SAC Deputy Prime Minister Vice-Senior General Soe Win, SAC members Admiral Tin Aung San, Lt-Gen Moe Myint Tun, Lt-Gen Soe Htut, Joint Secretary Lt-Gen Ye Win Oo, Union Minister for Planning and Finance U Win Shein, Union Minister for International Cooperation U Ko Ko Hlaing, Union Minister for Health Dr Thet Khaing Win, senior military officers of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army) and officials. The Prime Miniters of Region and State and officials took part in the meeting through Video Conferencing.
In his keynote address, the Senior General said, “This is the sixth COVID-19 meeting of our government. We can now control the virus to a certain degree due to the momentum we have gained in the work. There are also region/state wise virus control measures and there is a constant monitoring of the progress. We have also gained success and work facilitation and solved the problems thanks to the continuous close supervision of the committee led by the Vice-Senior General. But, we have not reached the perfect level yet. When we started to control the virus in the second week of July, the infection rate was rather high. But in the following periods, we have seen a gradual drop in the infection rate.
It dropped to 30 percent. But, we could not be satisfied with the current results. I have stated this at the previous meeting. We must strive to further decrease the rate and raise the degree of the virus containment. The first point is the imposition of travel restriction. The second is vaccination which needs speed. Thanks to the constant restrictions the indicators show a sharp drop in the infection rate and it is a good sign which is a result of public cooperation. I wish to see a 50 percent drops in the rate in this month. So, we must try to reach this goal. But touching the zero rate level would be a very difficult job. This virus cannot be wiped out totally and it’s accepted by the international medical experts. But through hard work and cooperation we can realize this goal.”
Work is underway for the continuous arrival of vaccines and vaccination program is going on in accord with the priority program. Dos and don’ts and the date for second dose will be available for all. The country is also striving to manufacture vaccines domestically, apart from importing them. As some other countries are testing their traditional medicine, Myanmar must also test the anti-virus potency of herbal plants and their parts. Myanmar traditional medicine physicians should conduct systematic tests through coordination with a long-term vision, he said.There is a small rise in the commodity prices because of the impacts of COVID-19. But,it is not a problem. But, we need to stabilize the prices of basic commodities. TV and radio are continuously airing health awareness programs. There must be an easy-to-understand ethnic programs. Education programs in wards and village may be more effective if they are conducted in the early mornings and evenings. This practice can control the virus to a certain degree, he said.
Then, vice chairman of the SAC and deputy prime minister, union ministers, senior military officers and participants comprehensively reported matters related to the situation of the pandemic, moderate success in curbing the disease and falling infection rates during the third and fourth week of July, advice for the people with chronic dis-eases on the need to wear masks indoors, efforts to administer 100,000 jabs of vaccines on 1 August and to vaccinate consistently until 50 percent of the population have received vaccines at the end of the year, donation of equipment for prevention, control and treatment COVID-19 from ASEAN countries, friendly countries, UN agencies and social organizations to Myanmar, spending of COVID-19 funds for prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19, imports of medical supplies and equipment for prevention, control and treatment of the pandemic by air and through borders, ports and border gates, oxygen supplies from other countries to Yangon and Mandalay regions, distribution of oxygen to locations where it is needed, plans to import more oxygen, vaccination programs in states and regions according to the priority, vaccination programs for correctional facilities in the entire country, normal operations of airlines, shipping lines, railways and road transport in the transportation sector, awareness-raising campaigns launched on newspapers, state-owned and private television channels and radios as well as by using loudspeakers on streets, distribution of oxygen produced in state-own and private plants to public hospitals and defence services hospitals, findings of studies in the out-break of COVID-19 in the other countries in world and ASEAN countries, falling percentage of deaths due to COVID-19 and other diseases in states and regions, circulation of rumours and fake news about the pandemic, imports of equipment for prevention, control and treatment of COVID-19, production of medicines for household use by state-owned, military and private companies, the need for responsible officials to monitor the ongoing vaccination pro-grams in states and regions in the entire countries, cooperation to compile correct statistics for vaccination, the need to form reserve vaccination teams for vaccines to be delivered, to make correct statistics of vaccinated people and to report to the central body daily and measures taken to receive Myanmar nationals who are stranded in other countries through border gates, to conducts tests on them, to send them back to their homes and to quarantine those who are infected at designated places.
After hearing the reports, the chairman of SAC, the Prime Minister of the union pointed out the needs to work with the international community to receive vaccines constantly, to conduct researches on traditional medicines with a long term perspective, to grant government loans to purchase and produce vaccines after conducting researches, to take effective action against the spread of rumours that can adversely affect basic needs of the public, to receive Myanmar nationals who are stranded in other countries and to use vehicles of the Tatmadaw to transport them to their homes safely if necessary.In his concluding remark, the chairman of SAC, the Prime Minister of the union said: “The important thing is to vaccinate the people correctly and quickly. As we target 50 percent of the population by this year’s end, five million jabs are necessary a month. Currently, we will be receiving 5 million doses. But, we need to consider that we must get continued supply chain in coming months. Which countries can we get from? Three counties I have said. There are three sources. We need to make a contract with the reliable sources. For that, we already have enough money. So, please make correct calculations, the health minister. Discuss with the vice chair-man to do this. We must get vaccines. “Money is necessary to make money.”
So, we have to try our best.” To acquire vaccines, it is necessary to contact many countries from which vaccines are available without focusing on a single country. Among the ASEAN countries, Myanmar is the fifth most infected country with the third highest death rate. This indicates that the country has weaknesses in the health standard. The people have little health knowledge. Basically, they may have health problems. Life expectancy is just 67.78, the lowest among the ASEAN countries. It is found that apart from COVID-19, the health standard of the country needs to be promoted. National health standard promotion is a long-term issue. Knowledge about health and nutrition must be extensively disseminated. As a country based on agriculture and livestock, officials need to take supervisory measures to make food prices affordable. Domestic agricultural and livestock products must be manufactured at full percent. Farmers need help to grow their crops on full acreage. If people can eat fully nutritious food, their immune system will be good contributing to their health, the Prime Minister of the union said.
When it comes to deaths caused by COVID-19, most died of their damaged lungs. Death rate is most common among those suffering from lung disease, heart disease or hypertension. He said he has always urged people not to smoke. No smoking campaign is required for all people, young and old. Regarding domestic production of medicines, basic medicines for home use must be produced on an enough basis and in accord with the set standards. Some medicines are poor in quality. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage use of reliable medicines domestically produced. With the local pharmaceutical factories able to produce enough medicines, national economic impact and sufferings of the people can be reduced. Officials need to ensure continuous supply chain of raw materials for those pharmaceutical factories. The State will render all necessary aid including budget in the effort to develop medicines for COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
The five-point roadmap of the State Administration Council also says actions will be taken to ensure the speedy recovery of businesses from the impact of COVID-19. Therefore, bank loans will be arranged. Efforts must be exerted to improve the businesses affected by the pandemic. As such, individuals need to do their tasks correctly, the Prime Minister of the union said. Oxygen is necessary in COVID-19 treatment. But, there are hospital use and factory use, so careless and inconsiderate use of oxygen will do harm. Therefore, it should be used as recommended by health officials. There are a lot of court cases yet to be handled in various regions and states due to the COVID-19 outbreak. As evidential things, including cars for example, are kept there, measures must be taken to maintain and protect them from natural disasters. Officials need to supervise what is necessary for security of wards and villages. They are responsible for giving timely information if necessary and fulfilling requirements. United efforts and precaution are required to avoid any unnecessary incidents for health matters, community peace and tranquility and public security, said the Prime Minister of the union.