Japanese Toru Kubota speaks to reporters at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Myanmar's military-controlled government announced Thursday it was releasing and deporting an Australian academic, Japanese filmmaker Kubota, an ex-British diplomat and an American as part of a broad prisoner amnesty marking the country’s National Victory Day. - Kyodo News via AP
YANGON, Nov 21, (Reuters): Myanmar's ruling military has announced that it did not engage in political bargaining with other countries before releasing four foreign prisoners among nearly 6,000 in an amnesty this week.
Junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun was speaking at a regular briefing, a day after Australian economist Sean Turnell, former British ambassador Vicky Bowman, Japanese filmmaker Toru Kubota and US. citizen Kyaw Htay Oo were released.
Myanmar confirmed 18 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the tally to 633,005, according to the Ministry of Health on Sunday.
The ministry said in a statement that the health authorities tested 6,062 people for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and the daily positivity rate was 0.3 percent.
The death toll from Covid-19 in the country remained unchanged at 19,487 on Sunday as no new deaths were reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
The total number of patients who have recovered from Covid-19 in the country reached 607,384, including 76 new recoveries on Sunday.
The country has vaccinated more than 37.48 million people for Covid-19 as of Saturday, the health ministry's data showed.
The Southeast Asian country detected its first Covid-19 cases in March 2020. - Xinhua
