Covid-19 cases rising in Myanmar

By Admin 24 Apr 2023

DMG Newsroom
24 April 2023, Sittwe

The Covid-19 Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16 has been reported in Myanmar, which has seen an uptick in coronavirus infections and 235 cases reported over the past week, according to the junta’s Health Ministry.

“Infections have increased lately, and most of them are imported cases. We are planning to step up measures to control infections,” said a Health Ministry official.

Though XBB.1.16 is more infectious than other variants, its symptoms are not considered more severe than others. 

“People should get vaccinated. We have found no infections in Arakan as Covid-19 vaccination coverage is good here. People who have taken the vaccine will be less vulnerable. Even if they get infected, they will suffer less severe symptoms,” said the head of the Arakan State Health Department, Dr. Kyi Lwin.

The World Health Organization (WHO) last week announced that it had elevated XBB.1.16 to a “variant of interest” from a “variant under monitoring”, based on the latest assessments from its technical advisory group. XBB.1.16 is growing as a proportion of overall infections globally, and is fueling a current surge in cases in neighbouring India.