Inilagay ng Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) sa Alert Level 4 ang sitwasyon ng Myanmar dahil sa lumalalang sitwasyon doon ng COVID-19 pandemic.

Sa Facebook post, sinabi ng Philippine Embassy sa Yangon na itinaas ang alert level sa Myanmar para sa kaligtasan at kapakanan ng natitirang mga Pinoy doon.

"Under Alert Level 4, the Department of Foreign Affairs strongly recommends that Filipinos leave Myanmar as soon as possible, as the healthcare system in the country is close to reaching its maximum capacity and may not be able to provide adequate medical attention to Filipinos who become ill in the coming weeks," ayon sa embassy.

Gayunman, sinabi ni Ambassador Eduardo Kapunan Jr., na mayorya sa mga Pinoy sa Myanmar ang nais na manatili doon sa kabila ng nakalaan na repatriation assistance sa kanila.

Sa Laging Handa briefing nitong Huwebes, sinabi ni Kapunan na tinatayang nasa 500 ang Pinoy na nasa Myanmar. Sa naturang bilang, nasa 150 ang nakatala sa embahada at 59 lang ang nais na umuwi ng Pilipinas.

"We are still looking for the other Filipinos but the feedback we are getting is they do not want to report to the embassy because they do not want to be evacuated out of Myanmar because being evacuated right now means they cannot go back until Alert Level 4 is lifted by the Department of Foreign Affairs," sabi ni Kapunan.

"The Filipinos have good paying jobs here. If they leave, they won't have a job and that would leave them very uncertain," dagdag pa niya, na hindi nila mapipilit ang mga kababayan na umuwi.

Ayon kay Kapunan, hindi sapat ang bilang ng heath workers sa Myanmar para gamutin ang mga pasyente. Marami umano sa mga health workers ang sumali sa civil disobedience movement bilang protesta sa junta-led government na nagpatalsik sa puwesto sa mga halal na opisyal sa pangunguna ni Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi noong Marso 1.

"The health workers are not coming back since they fear of getting arrested or detained, so those with mild COVID-19 cases are being sent home to recover there. Problem is, some of these patients get worse," anang opisyal.

"There are health workers who try to help in their own way, but even that effort was raided by the government. They don't really have enough to face the crisis," patuloy niya. —FRJ, GMA News