Since the declaration of pandemic on March 11, 2020, COVID-19 has been spreading to almost every country across the world, leading to a rising tally of more than 14 million cases, and half a million deaths [1]. The pandemic which originated in China, slowly made its way to its neighbouring countries including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. With a fragile health system exacerbated by long ongoing civil wars and conflicts, Myanmar is especially vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19 because of its 2227-km porous border with China where workers and migrants cross daily; as well as borders shared with Bangladesh, India, and Thailand, all of which reported higher number of cases. With the announcement of Myanmar’s first two laboratory-confirmed cases on March 23, 2020, it ushered its entry to the countdown of the spread. As of August 27, 2020, there were 580 confirmed cases across Myanmar with 6 deaths (male, 67%) and 345 recoveries [2]. In this commentary, we provide a quick analysis of the current state of COVID-19 pandemic in Myanmar and the country’s efforts to address it and its impact.
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