Teachers and students from schools in Kunchankone Township in the Southern District of the Yangon Region have tested positive for COVID-19, reports DVB, citing a local source.

The tests were carried out by the Kunchankone Township Health Department, which had required students and teachers at basic education high schools in the township to be tested for the virus.

A local source told Mizzima: "On 4 February, the No. (1) Basic Education High School’s students and teachers were examined. When screening high school students taking the 10th grade exam and other students from higher grades, a ninth-grade student was detected with the virus. Teachers and students were also tested for COVID-19 at other schools and some more cases were found. Today, a teacher at Taw Kha Yan Lay High School was found to be infected.”

Four teachers and two students in Kunchankone Township were diagnosed with COVID-19 between 4 and 9 February.

People who were found to be infected and their close contacts are sent to Kunchankone Hospital for treatment, according to a local social aid worker.

"In the past, over a thousand students went to these schools. Only a few students go to school these days. When COVID-19 resurfaced though, they began to wear masks. People rarely go outside these days since there are always check points and inspections," a local person explained.

As of 8 p.m. on 9 February, the Ministry of Health under the Military Council said that 1,145 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been identified in Myanmar.