Patient under coronavirus surveillance in Sittwe found negative

By Min Tun 04 Mar 2020

Min Tun / DMG
4 March, Sittwe

A 29-year-old patient who had been kept under surveillance and is receiving treatment at Sittwe General Hospital in the Arakan State capital has been found to be suffering from pneumonia, according to the hospital’s superintendent, Dr. Moe Myint Win.

The resident of Ponnagyun Township returned home from Thailand on February 18 and began feeling ill, with symptoms including coughing and chest pains, three days after he returned to Myanmar.

He was quarantined at Sittwe General Hospital on March 2, after a private clinic in the state capital suggested that he be admitted to the hospital, Dr. Moe Myint Win told DMG on March 4.

“The results from the laboratory in Yangon said he was a normal pneumonia patient. We are providing medical treatment for him as a normal patient,” he said. Coughing and chest pains are typical symptoms of pneumonia, he added.

With the patient showing signs of recovery, the hospital has arranged to discharge him on March 6, Dr. Moe Myint Win said.

The Ministry of Health and Sports has announced that from January 31 to March 3, there were two patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms and 51 patients under surveillance in Myanmar.

The ministry has stepped up surveillance activities although as yet there has been no confirmed coronavirus cases in Myanmar, and is urging people to follow the instructions of health authorities, including maintaining vigilance and taking steps to mitigate the risk of contracting the virus.

The coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has so far been reported in at least 80 countries, killing more than 3,300 people and infecting over 96,000 globally, according to data compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.