By NANG SENG NOM  - The event organizing committee for Shan State Day in Muse said that the 73rd anniversary of the day will not be commemorated in the Shan-China border town this week, due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Shan State Day is marked annually on February 7.

More than 11,000 people, almost entirely in China, have been documented as having contracted the coronavirus, and more than 250 have died since it was first discovered in the city of Wuhan in December 2019.

“We won’t commemorate Shan National Day here in Muse this year,” organizing committee member Sai Myat Aung told SHAN, referring to the occasion by its previous name. “Now the Wuhan virus is being spread. If this virus infects people here, we don’t have the medical tools to do medical checks. It’s difficult to treat this disease. That’s why we won’t hold the commemoration of Shan National Day.”

According to Sai Myat Aung, even though a commemoration won’t be held, the committee will still circulate leaflets on the history of the occasion. People are also encouraged to raise the flag of Shan State on the day.

Representatives from Shan State agreed on February 7 to serve as Shan State Day, coinciding with the anniversary of the Panglong Conference from February 6-12,1947.

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Photo by : Namkham Civilian