As of December 21, 2020, Myanmar has 116,134 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,443 related deaths. Myanmar rapidly banned all public activities, international flights and public transportation after its first case in late March. Myanmar nationals returning home were ordered to submit to a 14-day quarantine in a designated facility, a policy which remains in place. Lockdowns implemented in April were gradually eased through the end of July. The measures were successful in limiting COVID-19 outbreak to under 400 cases until August. However, a second wave beginning in mid-August has overwhelmed Myanmar’s public health system. Lockdowns have been reinstated in the capital Yangon and several other states. The November national elections continued under COVID-19 protocols despite mounting cases and regional armed conflict which resulted in the cancelling of polls in several townships in Rakhine state. Lack of COVID-19 tests and trained healthcare personnel, as well as mounting poverty despite nationwide COVID-19 economic relief, have severely strained the country’s response to the second wave.
Special Dispatch | Flashpoint Myanmar: Why the Coup, and Why Now? (February 2, 2021)
Win Expected for Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar (November 9, 2020)
Special Dispatch | Election Watch Myanmar: Three Questions Surrounding Myanmar's General Election (November 6, 2020)
Special Dispatch | Election Watch Myanmar: Balancing Economic Recovery and Social Reform in the Lead-up to the General Election (October 30, 2020)
‘Free and Fair’ Elections Questioned as COVID Cases Surge in Myanmar (October 23, 2020)
Special Dispatch | Election Watch Myanmar: A Country at War with Itself Goes to the Polls (October 8, 2020)
Rohingya Refugees Face Pandemic, Uncertain Future (September 25, 2020)
Special Dispatch | Will COVID-19 Cause the World – and Canada – to Forget about the Rohingya? (May 15, 2020)
Asia ramps up response to COVID-19 (March 18, 2020)
COVID-19 threatens Asia's refugee camps (March 16, 2020)
