Myanmar dispatches: COVID and the consequences of a coup Dispatches
Myanmar dispatches: COVID and the consequences of a coup

JURIST EXCLUSIVE – Herself now ill with COVID-19 amidst the third wave of the pandemic now raging across Myanmar, one of our law students reporting for JURIST from Yangon comments on the situation there, the economic fallout from the COVID surge, and how the military junta has actually made things worse.

All we are hearing is that people are trying to get oxygen daily and they have to wait for a very long time, even at midnights. People are announcing the places where we can get oxygen everyday, but there are still many deaths with lack of oxygen.

But prices on basic goods are increasing here. For example, normal price of an egg was under 150 kyats, and now, they are about 300 kyats. But in the countryside, they are not as expensive as in Yangon. Even in Yangon, they are not the same in every township. As far as I know, in some quarters from North Dagon and North Okkala, we can still get them at a fair price and but like in Yankin, Kamayut and some townships which is closer to downtown and which seem to have rich people, prices are really high. But we can’t tell certainly, sir. Even in the same bazaar, different vendors tell different prices. We just find the one who sells at the normal price. We may get the exact price at the supermarkets. But it’s been nearly a month that we don’t go there.

There are many side effects cause of the Junta. But what’s happening during these days is mostly because of the covid. People are panic buying and almost every patient eats at least two eggs a day [to bolster their immune systems, common advice given by local doctors]. They are affordable especially for daily wage earners. So the more people buy, the higher the prices are.

But I will put the blame on Junta as well. In the first and second waves, things were not like this at all. Because of them, we couldn’t go outside at any time we want and so family members of patients have to suffer from this the most. There are so many patients who died during the curfew hours. Apparently, many doctors are doing CDM and we all don’t get enough care as much as we did in the past. I have one friend who did volunteer in AYA quarantine center in the second wave before the coup. The process was perfect and they helped many patients. They chose many volunteers and make them live in hotels for free and gave people the best care as they could. Now, whenever I talk to her, she said there is no way the government will help and that quarantine centre is gone, not totally though.

Another reason is that military occupied oxygen places and took all with them. Then they showed on TV that they are trying to help citizens, but only their families get them. Many citizens have to die because of them.