A Letter from Mandalay

Six months ago the Myanmar military took control of the country at the point of a gun , sweeping away the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, and sparking nationwide protests. The country teeters on the edge of civil war, with a growing armed resistance from ethnic militias, and an increasingly bold National Unity Government, still in hiding . Meanwhile the Delta variant has crashed into Myanmar, with a surge in infections that threatens to collapse the health care system. In the northern city of Mandalay, Zet Nan is among those struggling through some dark days. 

My close and dear friend, San was aged just 36, happily married, and planning for a long-awaited reunion.

We even had a group chatbox for all our updates and joking around.

Weeks ago, I heard she was hospitalised for giving birth. A lovely boy joined the family, prompting congratulations from friends and family across the country.

But the good news didn't last. After a couple of weeks she had contracted Covid and was on oxygen.

I sent a Facebook voice message to encourage her and believed that she would pull through.

However, she has now passed away, leaving her baby son and husband.

While is a sad and tragic story , in Myanmar right now it is not an uncommon one, as a third wave of the virus smashes the country.

My news feeds are full these days with messages regarding people I know dying from Covid.

My friends' parents, close relatives, church members.

It's very sad to read news confirming people are dying due to the lack of oxygen.

Desperate people form crowds outside facilities that refill oxygen canisters as Covid surges across Myanmar and the post-coup conditions here just make things even harder, six long months after the generals took control.

Mandalay General Hospital, occupied by the military after doctors walked out / photo supplied

The situation has been dire over the past couple of months, but despite some dark days, Covid infection cases have finally begun to drop here.  Even so , we are still the most infectious part of the country.  

For the people of Burma, surviving the latest surge of contagious variants is not something the military authorities are helping with. People have to protect themselves in an effort to avoid the virus , but if they do fall ill they can only rely on family and friends. This means those who are ill are staying home, and forced to find their own medical supplies - no matter what at costs.

Of course the costs of medical supplies, especially oxygen related products, have increased ten times within the last few days. But no matter the cost, oxygen is a life-saver for serious Covid cases, and so the lines remain outside the oxygen facilities. Military leader Min Aung Hlaing has denied that the country has a shortage, saying people were stocking up due to "anxiety".

At the same time, I was angered to discover the military junta is closing down some oxygen factories, and moving to privately imported oxygen containers. The army has also added a layer of red tape - demanding recommendation letters from local health authorities before the oxygen will be supplied.

It's yet another symptom of the disaster that the public health care system has become following the coup in February.

Not surprisingly, many health workers have now gone underground, working to plug the gaps in the health system left by a military junta which is once again failing the people.

Doctors have refused to work in government run hospitals, and so no treatment is available for people suffering with cancer, or those who injure themselves. In Mandalay, the army went on to occupy the city hospital when the doctors left.   

A nationwide curfew remains in force from 8pm to 4am, and there are severe restrictions on moving about Mandalay, and all Burmese cities. 

Protestors at the University of Yangon soon after the coup / photo supplied

But the junta is also hunting and killing public health care workers, and using the pandemic as a political weapon against its enemies. Aid groups are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of patients, and many free funeral services are overloaded with corpses waiting to be buried or cremated. 

Millions of dollars was donated by the people of Myanmar during the time of the NLD government to purchase vaccines. I made a donation myself, but this funding is now in the hands of the military junta, which is running its own split-level system.

The access to vaccines goes first to members of the junta, and its allies in business.

For the general public, even those aged over 60 still don't have the vaccine yet.

Total to date of vaccinated people is a pathetic 1.7 million out of 60 million people, and any organised national vaccination programme has stopped. 

For the younger generation, including myself, there is currently no hope of getting a jab.

Even the seasonal flu vaccine is getting hard to get.

Luckily, I had one at the cost of US$20.

The scarcity of vaccine finally prompted the junta to allow privately imported vaccines for those who can pay. However, it's still not clear how those privately imported vaccines are regulated and monitored.

In the end , I'll have no real option but to get one with advance payment for 60,000 kyats ($US40).

The timeline for getting my first dose of vaccine isn't yet confirmed. 

In the meantime, I am living with the huge anxiety that I or my family may end up infected. 

When I wrote a few months back things were bad , but the on-going chaos caused by the coup, and the massive impact of the virus, has Mandalay in a dark place, where we pray for the sunrise. 

The opinions expressed are those of the author.

- Asia New Centre