COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar
The COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Myanmar on 23 March 2020.[4] On 31 March 2020, the Committee for Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), headed by First Vice President Myint Swe and made up of members from the various union ministries, was formed by President Win Myint to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the country.[5]
COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar
Although the government rapidly implemented containment measures and public health responses, the country had experienced one of the most severe COVID-19 outbreaks in Southeast Asia by late 2020.[6][7] The UN raised concerns about Myanmar's vulnerability to the pandemic due to its weak healthcare infrastructure following poor investment over six decades of military rule, as well as ongoing internal conflict.[8]
The pandemic greatly disrupted the country's economy and Myanmar's GDP shrank by 5% in 2020.[9] The 2021 coup d'état and subsequent protests and civil disobedience movement, some of which were led by healthcare workers, caused severe disruptions to the country's public health response and deepened its recession.[10][11][12][13] The country's COVID-19 testing system and vaccination deployment are thought to have collapsed in February 2021.[12]
Humanitarian assistance[edit]
Vietnam announced it would send $50,000 to Myanmar worth supplies, including medical tests, to aid the Burmese authorities handling the outbreak, becoming the first country to do so.[46] Later, India and China stepped up for vaccines, with China agreed to roll out over 300,000 doses for Myanmar while India also donated 1.5 million doses to the country.[47] Before the coup occurred in February 2021, the International Monetary Fund also sent over 350 million dollars to help Myanmar combat against the pandemic without refund.[48]
On 3 May 2021, China sent over 500,000 vaccines made by Chinese firms Sinovac and Sinopharm to Myanmar, while many Burmese protesters considered it as a sham show and a sign of China's open support to the military junta.[49]
On 19 March 2022, a Chinese delegation visited Myanmar and handed over production technology for Myancopharm COVID-19 vaccines.[50]