Comfort is apparently not a priority at a COVID-19 quarantine center that’s under construction in Yangon, with photos circulating showing that the facility features bamboo mats instead of soft beds.
The center is being built in the Shwe Pyi Thar Township to house COVID-19 patients, according to the Red Cross.
Public reaction at the thought of recovering from a life-threatening disease on a hard surface hasn’t been kind.
“Is this a quarantine center? I don’t think I need to say much. There’s too much difference,” one Facebook user commented, comparing the facility with one set up by the National League for Democracy-led government last year.
“You will not die from covid but you will die from bed bugs,” another user wrote sarcastically.
Authorities have not said why bamboo mats were chosen for the new facility, though speculation is rife among the public that this was the result of a cost-cutting measure by the military junta. The facility is expected to be open in the near future, though no specific date has been announced.
Myanmar is in the midst of a new COVID-19 wave, with Yangon reporting the third-highest number of infections. According to the Ministry of Health and Sports, a total of 149 cases have been reported in the Yangon Region from May 27 to June 9.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health under the junta reported 225 new cases nationally, with nine of those coming from Yangon. The ministry also confirmed discoveries of three new variants of the coronavirus, namely the Alpha variant, which was first discovered in the UK, and the Delta and Kappa variants, which were first discovered in India.
Covid-19 was first detected in Myanmar in March 2020. The country has recorded over 146 thousand cases since, resulting in 3,248 deaths.
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