The Mandalay Region government has submitted a letter to the Union Ministry of Health and Sports to build a national health laboratory for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, said acting Region Chief Minister Zarni Aung. 

“We have requested the ministry to establish a national laboratory so that COVID-19 tests can be conducted in Mandalay Region. I believe they will do this. If we have it in Mandalay, this will be useful for the whole upper Myanmar. We can confirm cases. Now, we have to send samples to Yangon by air or road. It will be quicker if we can test here,” the acting chief minister said. 

Two 22-year-old women suspected of having the coronavirus at Kandaw Nadi Hospital in Mandalay died on March 17. Likewise, a 68-year-old woman suffering from diabetes died at the same hospital on March 6. The Ministry of Health and Sports announced that their deaths were not related to COVID-19. 

Patients suspected or under investigation of the coronavirus in Mandalay or from surrounding regions are sent to Kandaw Nadi Hospital through Mandalay General Hospital. Their samples are sent to the National Health Laboratory (Yangon).