NANG SENG NOM — Travellers visiting Muse township are required to do a 21-day quarantine and foot the entire bill during their lock down as part of a new regulation that was enacted by the township management committee to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

Sai Kyaw Thein, an MP for Muse constituency-1, told SHAN the order applies to travellers without Muse ID unless locals are returning from an area outside of the township with a COVID-19 infection, in which case they would also be subjected to the 21-day quarantine.

Lorry drivers and 2 additional staff for each truck that are travelling through the township, located in northern Shan State, near the border of China, are exempt from the quarantine but if they plan to stop overnight would be required to sleep in a building designated by the local government.

For the 21-day quarantine, the township management committee set aside 2 monasteries and a high school in Mong Yu (105-mile). To cover expenses, travellers are required to pay 5,000 kyat (est. US$3.50) for each day of their quarantine. Travellers not wanting to quarantine in one of the designated buildings can pay extra for a hotel room provided by the committee.

According to a statement by the committee, if travellers don’t want to be subjected to the quarantine they’re welcome to return to where they came from.

With the border closed, there’s not much point for migrant workers to travel to the township, said Sai Myat, who lives in Muse. “If they come here, they will be put in quarantine for 21 days.”

The lock down has been tough on businesses in the town that are dependent on trade with China and the revenue that was generated by many migrant workers who used to pass through before the border was closed. Truck drivers are still allowed to cross the border to transport goods.

On April 19, there were 13 new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Burma. In total, 107 infections have been confirmed.