Conflicts have paused in much of Myanmar, opening a window for the government, military and ethnic armed groups to pursue a holistic response to the coronavirus. The parties should also work together in Rakhine State, where fighting persists, to limit the disease’s spread.
(Bangkok) – The Myanmar government should take urgent steps to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission among the estimated 350,000 people displaced by conflict and violence across the country, Human Rights Watch said today. Overcrowding, a mobile internet shutdown, blocks on humanitarian aid, and movement restrictions have left displaced communities in Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, Chin, and Karen States especially vulnerable to a virus outbreak.
