Nyan Win, a central executive committee member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been transferred to a hospital from Insein Prison to receive emergency Covid-19 treatment, prison authorities have confirmed.
Nyan Win, 78, was taken to Yangon General Hospital late Sunday after testing positive for the disease, a senior prison official told Myanmar Now.
“Doctors were treating him for aching muscles. They became suspicious, so they decided to check his blood and found that his oxygen saturation levels were low,” said the prison’s deputy director, San Aye Kyaw.
“Not only is he a bit old, but he also has underlying health issues. And he tested positive on his Covid-19 test,” he added.
Nyan Win is the only senior NLD member detained at Insein Prison since the February 1 coup to have been diagnosed with Covid-19, according to San Aye Kyaw. However, he added, only those with symptoms of the disease have been tested.
One other high-profile prisoner, Dr. Maw Maw Oo, a medical officer from the Yangon General Hospital emergency ward, has also been hospitalized with Covid-19, he said.
Dr. Maw Maw Oo was transferred to North Okkalapa Hospital on July 6 and is still receiving treatment in an intensive care unit (ICU) there.
Nyan Win, who is also in an ICU, was in stable condition as of Monday morning, according to San Aye Kyaw. Before last year’s election, he received treatment for gastrointestinal bleeding.
He was taken into custody on February 1, the day of the coup, and held in an interrogation centre for more than a month before being transferred to Insein Prison to face charges of incitement under Section 505b of the Penal Code, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
The charges against Dr. Maw Maw Oo, who was on the frontlines of the ousted civilian government’s Covid-19 efforts until the coup, have not been disclosed.
There has been no public acknowledgment of rising Covid-19 cases in Myanmar’s prisons, but San Aye Kyaw said that a two-week partial lockdown has been in place at Insein Prison since July 8.
Volunteer groups told Myanmar Now on Sunday that there were at least 105 deaths from the disease in Yangon in the first 10 days of the month.
The groups have also accused the junta of withholding oxygen supplies from the general public, at a time when few are able to access hospitals due to a breakdown of public services since the coup.
Editor’s Note: This article was corrected on July 21 to state that Nyan Win was arrested on February 1. An earlier version said that he was arrested on February 21. We apologise for the error.
