- Myanmar General Min Aung Hlaing called for strong cooperation in the Covid-19 fight in the country.
- He said ASEAN should help Myanmar.
- Myanmar has vaccinated approximately 3.2% of the population.
According to official media reports on Wednesday, Myanmar’s military rulers are seeking to strengthen cooperation with the international community to contain the coronavirus, as the Southeast Asian country is fighting a surge of infections.
According to the Myanmar Global Shin Kong News, General Min Aung Hlaing called for more cooperation in the prevention, control and treatment of Covid-19, including other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and “friendly countries” in his speech.
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The newspaper stated that the military government leaders stated that they need to increase vaccination through donated doses and the development of domestic production with the help of Russia, adding that Myanmar will seek to release funds from the ASEAN Covid-19 Fund.
According to a Reuters tracker, Myanmar recently received another 2 million Chinese vaccines, but it is believed to have only vaccinated about 3.2% of the population.
In many parts of the country, people have been desperately searching for oxygen. The Myanmar News Portal quoted witnesses as saying that at least eight people died in the pipeline oxygen system of a hospital in Yangon over the weekend.
Confused
Reuters was unable to independently confirm the report and could not immediately reach the North Ocalapa General Hospital and a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health for comment.
According to data from the Ministry of Health cited by the media, infection cases in Myanmar have surged since June, with 4964 cases and 338 deaths reported on Tuesday.
The number of casualties among medical staff and funeral services is much higher.
Since the military dismissed the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, Myanmar has been in chaos, with frequent protests and battles between the army and the newly formed militia.
Last week, prisoners in Yangon staged a protest. What the protesters said was a major Covid-19 outbreak in the colonial-era Yongsheng Prison, where many pro-democracy protesters were held.
The worst floods in many years in eastern Myanmar have further hindered efforts to respond to the epidemic.
In past disasters, the military seems to be cautious about external help, especially if it believes that there are conditions attached to force the people of Myanmar to help each other, although after the devastating Hurricane Nargis in 2008, the previous military government did allow Provide assistance through ASEAN.
Although Min Aung Lai agreed to the ASEAN peace plan reached in April, the military showed little sign of adhering to the plan. Instead, it reiterated its own, completely different plan to restore order and democracy.
The military accused Aung San Suu Kyi’s party of manipulating votes to ensure an overwhelming victory in the November general election, thus defending its coup. The election commission and outside observers at the time rejected these complaints.
But as a further sign of the military government’s tightening of power, the election committee appointed by the military this week formally cancelled the results of November, saying that the vote was not in conformity with the Constitution and electoral law, and was not “free and fair,” the military camp MRTV network reported.
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