Thirty-nine people have been infected since the first case of COVID-19 was detected on August 21 in Demawso Township’s Htee Hpoe Kalo village tract, informed a volunteer helping villagers in Karenni State.

She said that everyone is quarantined in their homes and volunteers are bringing them food and all available medicines. If they become very sick, they’re taken to the hospital in Loikaw, the capital of Karenni State.

“To contain the spread of COVID-19, everyone must follow the rules, such as wearing face masks and practicing social distancing. We must all work together to prevent the spread of the disease,” she said.

More volunteers are needed and there’s a lack of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), she explained.

“We’re asking donors to provide more RDTs. We want to test everyone. Currently, we can only test contacts of confirmed cases or those suspected of having COVID-19.”

Of the 39 cases in the village tract, 35 were in Htee Thae Kalo, 3 in Htee Hpoe Kalo, 3 in Htee Hpoe Kalo and 1 was found in Hpe Lyar.

Until September 7, the volunteer said that 2,333 cases have been confirmed in Karenni State and at least 93 have died as a result of the disease.

With more than 120,000 people displaced by Burma Army (BA) offensives since the February 1 coup, there are legitimate fears the pathogen will spread in the overcrowded camps where social distancing is impossible and residents don’t have enough food, medicine or clean drinking water.

Since August 16, fighting between resistance forces and BA has displaced more than 6,000 villagers.