[5] Although the government rapidly implemented containment measures and public health responses, the country had experienced one of the most severe COVID-19 outbreaks in Southeast Asia by late 2020.
[6][7] The UN raised concerns about Myanmar's vulnerability to the pandemic due to its weak healthcare infrastructure following poor investment over six decades of military rule, as well as ongoing internal conflict.
[9] The 2021 coup d'état and subsequent protests and civil disobedience movement, some of which were led by healthcare workers, caused severe disruptions to the country's public health response and deepened its recession.
[15] The announcement was made public on the same day that the first foreign visitor to Myanmar suspected of carrying the virus, a Chinese passenger on a flight from Guangzhou, was identified at Yangon International Airport and taken to a hospital in the city for further observation.
According to an official statement issued by Ministry of Health and Sports, four French tourists who were in close contact with the tour guide (Case-08) were put under quarantine at one of the hotels in Yangon and underwent a series of laboratory tests on 29 March 2020.
Subsequently, she was referred to West Yangon General Hospital as a suspected case and her lab test results were confirmed as positive on the next day.
01-Apr-2020 State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi activated her dormant Facebook account to provide people with information about the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
03-Apr-2020 Aung San Suu Kyi on April 3 warned authorities will prosecute people engaged in hoarding food, as well as those who evade quarantine, saying they violate the existing regulations the government instituted in a bid to fight the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
[30] The Yangon government on April 3 urged people to stay at home during the 10-day Thingyan Festival holiday, except those who are involved in COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment activities.
[31] Myanmar appealed for help from the international community for medical equipment and supplies as the country stepped up its efforts to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak.
[45] Vietnam announced it would send $50,000 to Myanmar worth supplies, including medical tests, to aid the Burmese authorities handling the outbreak, becoming the first country to do so.
[47] Before the coup occurred in February 2021, the International Monetary Fund also sent over 350 million dollars to help Myanmar combat against the pandemic without refund.