JURIST EXCLUSIVE – One of the law students filing for JURIST from Myanmar reports Tuesday on the rapidly deteriorating conditions there as COVID-19 ravages the population. The public health care system is collapsing, and the military junta is actually making things worse.

In the announcement made by the Ministry of Health and Sports at 8 pm yesterday [19 July 2021], among 13,916 covid-19 tests, more than 5,000 cases are confirmed to be covid-19 positive, which is 37.29%. Within 24 hours, 281 people died due to covid-19 in Myanmar. Till now, total 5,281 people have passed away in official reports but there are a lot more unreported deaths on the ground.

Due to insufficient medical facilities such as oxygen concentrators, oxygen gas, tank, flowmeter, oximeter, vitamins and medicine, the death rate increases day by day. People cannot be admitted to hospitals which are under the control of military juntas. The juntas refused to accept covid-19 positive patients and replied brutally that only military family members can get medical care. As everyone knows, their MRTV channel keeps lying how they are preparing covid-19 treatment centers.

There’re many Facebook statuses asking for help and searching for oxygen. There’re many people who are queuing in front of oxygen gas shop. And then, many dead bodies are piled up in the cemetery because there is no enough place to bury them or queuing to be burnt. Most of the family members cannot send off their beloved ones on their last journey because they’re also infected with covid-19.

In households where all family members are infected with covid-19 and severely ill, they raise yellow flags in front of their house. They all cannot go out to buy food and medicine so it is their way of asking for help from the public. People send chicken soups, vitamins and food to those houses every day. As the health system of the whole country is falling apart and there is no sufficient governmental institute to support people.

Before Feb 1 when Myanmar was on its path for democracy transition, Myanmar people did not need to suffer as such. The government ran covid-19 treatment centers systematically and anyone was carefully treated till they recover completely.

Right now, the situations are completely changed. The whole covid-19 situation is used in their favor to torture people more and pressured us to let them rule. The juntas attempted to frame CDM medical staffs for the cause of death but the whole public stand with CDM staffs. The military juntas also tried to rob oxygen gas and medical instruments from people and abduct the medical workers and volunteers who are helping people. Myanmar is in need of immediate medical support. Fighting against the world pandemic is hard enough and when the military coup is oppressing people at the same time, we are all pushed over the edges.