Military junta fails to deliver, leaving fewer rescue and volunteer teams able to provide COVID-19 assistance

June 26, 2021

HURFOM: The third wave of COVID-19 has hit Burma. The impacts are severe in Mon State, significantly reducing the capacity of local rescue and charity teams to provide assistance.

Prior to the coup, the civilian government was providing public education, dissemination of COVID-19 prevention and control measures. However, the military junta have proven to be very weak in doing those activities.

“During the third wave (of COVID-19), the number of volunteer teams has been reduced. That’s because the military oppressed these teams after the coup. Most rescue and charity teams had to stop their activities. Now, just a few teams are left to provide COVID-19 related assistance,” said a member of a local rescue team in Mudon.

The prevention, control and treatment program of COVID-19 has been in a state of chaos since the coup, even quarantine centers are not operating well.

“The military junta can’t deliver the prevention and control measures needed to slow the disease in the way that the NLD government did. Before, the wards or villages were locked down after the detection of COVID-19 but now it’s different. The authority just restricts the home of the COVID-19 patient. So it’s difficult to control the spread of the virus,” said a volunteer who has provided COVID-19 assistance in Thanbyuzayat.

The junta has not educated the people and is not sharing information. They are proving to be incapable of prevention and control of the disease.

There is growing criticism of the lack of public health education, and that quarantine centers are not operating well. These failures are fueling the spread of the virus.

Written by Modinator · Filed Under News