MANDALAY (UCAN): On March 23, Myanmar’s ministry of health and sports announced that an individual in Chin state, who had recently returned from the United States had tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus and is being treated. A second person also tested positive after a 14-day quarantine and was transferred to Waibargi Infectious Disease Hospital.
After weeks of the government downplaying the risk while neighbouring nations saw infections rise, the announcement sparked panic buying sprees in Mandalay and Yangon.
Previously, on March 18, dozens of Buddhist monks went around Mandalay, chanting prayers to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Some Buddhist figures were promoting non-medical remedies and some Myanmese shared myths about Covid-19.
One monk claimed that eating a lime and three palm seeds would keep the virus away, while another recommended consuming seven ground peppercorns.
In an impoverished country that had been isolated from the world for decades, some people still believe that they remain safe thanks to Theravada Buddhism and the prayers of senior monks.
A doctor in Yangon had reportedly claimed that Myanmar was lucky because it’s a Buddhist country and senior monks are always praying for safety.
“We have no doubts about the government’s efforts to tackle the coronavirus, but such myths and beliefs are not right thinking,” Ashin Ariya Wuntha Bhiwun Tha, a Mandalay-based monk who is involved in interfaith activities, pointed out.
Myanmar shares a long, porous border with China, which has seen 3,277 deaths out of 81,171 confirmed cases since the disease broke out in Hubei province in December.
It also borders Bangladesh, India and Thailand, all of which have reported Covid-19 cases. Laos and Timor-Leste are the only countries in the ASEAN region with no confirmed cases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged nations in Southeast Asia to adopt aggressive measures as the number of confirmed cases rises.
“The situation is evolving rapidly. We need to immediately scale up all efforts to prevent the virus from infecting more people,” Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO’s director for Southeast Asia, said on March 17. “We clearly need to do more, and urgently.”
False sense of security
State counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, assured the public in a televised address on March 16 that no confirmed cases of the virus have been found. She called on citizens to support a government fund to help combat Covid-19.
It was reported in The Irrawaddy on March 24 that 273 people were under quarantine and observation around the country.
Phil Robertson, deputy director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, blasted the Myamese government on March 17 in a blog post saying, “The government’s public lack of concern has sparked rumours and speculation about the government’s response, leaving many distrustful and unable to make informed decisions for their families.”
Religious leaders back preventive measures
On March 13, the Office of the President announced the cancellation of festivals and celebrations, including the traditional Thingyan water festival, from March 15 to April 30.
Cinemas across the country were closed from March 16, while state-run and private nurseries are also closed until the end of April.
Catholic churches remain open for Sunday services and daily Mass, but bishops have issued guidelines and urged anyone who has a fever, cough or sneeze to avoid church services.
Bishops also suggested that all meetings, gatherings, fellowships and events in churches and halls be cancelled along with catechism classes and worship gatherings and seminars.
The Myanmar Council of Churches urged members to follow the guidelines from the health ministry and to suspend children’s, youth and family gatherings.
The Myanmar Baptist Convention has called on all Baptist churches to limit the number of devotees and not to hold any services with a large attendance until April 30.
The Islamic Religious Affairs Council of Myanmar has also urged those who display symptoms such as a fever or cough, as well as the elderly and children, to avoid prayers at mosques and pray at home instead.
Pressure on medical facilities
After the health ministry announced that suspected patients who had died had tested negative for Covid-19, one social media user commented that “something is wrong as all the people who are under investigation show negative results.”
Church workers said people remain concerned about the global pandemic and asked whether the zero confirmed cases in Myanmar is due to under-reporting or a cover-up. They also questioned the credibility of the testing laboratory.
A Church social worker from Shan state, which borders China, expressed astonishment over zero cases as migrants and workers still pass between China and Myanmar.
“We will get into trouble and many people will die if the virus reaches the country under the broken healthcare system,” San San, who runs a pharmacy in a small town near Mandalay, said.
Critics say the country has relatively few testing kits, limited laboratory capacity and a dearth of skilled health workers.
On March 17, the British embassy in Yangon advised all United Kingdom nationals to leave the country if possible. “The worldwide coronavirus outbreak is expected to put significant pressure on Myanmar’s medical facilities and they may not be able to offer routine care,” the embassy said.
Cinemas across the country were closed from March 16, while state-run and private nurseries have also been closed until the end of April.
Catholic churches remain open for Sunday services and daily Masses but bishops have issued guidelines and urged the faithful who have a fever, cough or sneeze to avoid services.
Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay, urged priests to give short homilies, allow the faithful to receive communion only by hand and to reduce the number of songs at Masses.
Charles Cardinal Bo of Yangon, said in a homily on March 22 that “the situation of Covid-19 is uncertain and we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.”
Myanmar’s public healthcare system has all but collapsed due to mismanagement by the military over the last six decades.
