With the aim of preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, some 299 returnees from abroad remain in quarantine in Chin State for the designated period of 14 days.

The Chin State government said that of a total of 469 returnees, 170 had already completed their required quarantine period and tested negative for COVID-19. They were then discharged. Some 299 remained as of Tuesday.

“We have monitored all returnees from foreign countries for at least 14 days. If they are not sick and do not show any symptoms of viral infection during the quarantine period, they will be discharged from quarantine center,” Chin State municipal minister Soe Htet said. “According to our statistics, we had 508 people in quarantine centers a few weeks ago.”

Of the 299 still in quarantined, 278 are quarantined at home, seven in hospitals, and 14 in other quarantine facilities.

There has been one confirmed case of COVID-19 in Chin State, in a man in Tedim. He tested positive and received treatment in the town’s public hospital.

Minister Soe Htet said that Chin State will need more medical supplies to protect against the coronavirus.

“We don’t know when this pandemic will end. If it will take three to four months, we are in great need of medical protective materials such as PPE suits and face masks,” he told Khonumthung News. “The government, as well as private donors, have provided those medical protective materials. We managed to allocate them to every health department in Chin State. But it’s not enough.”

Aung Ngwe San, the director of Chin State’s health department, said that as of the morning of April 1, all those in the state’s quarantine centers were in good health.