COVID deaths in Myanmar skyrocket as oxygen supplies dwindle
O YGEN shortages are contributing to an uptick in the death toll in Myanmar as the country continues to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
In recent days, more than 1,000 people have been buried in Yangon alone, local media and funeral homes reported. However, the true figure may be far higher than the statistics offered by the goverment, according to doctors and observers.
“Many people are dying because there isn’t enough oxygen,” said Shwe Shwe, a volunteer providing oxygen to Covid-19 sufferers. “We are trying everything, but it is very difficult because there is no crisis management under the junta,” she told dpa.
The trade in black market oxygen has recently been clamped down upon, its use only permitted “under supervision,” the generals announced.
The Health Ministry said on Sunday that some 5,200 new infections had been confirmed within 2 hours. In the same period, 2 1 people died of complications from Covid-19, it said. Officially, the junta puts the total number of deaths in the country so far at 5,000.
“The official numbers are based on tests they’ve done,” said doctor Phyo Min. “But most people don’t go to hospitals, they already have Covid and die.” One of the biggest problems is the population’s distrust of the junta-run health system. Many doctors and nurses refuse to work in state hospitals.
At the same time, many doctors have been arrested for their part in the anti-junta resistance. Even most of Myanmar’s private hospitals are overcrowded.
Myanmar has been mired in chaos and violence since a military coup in early February.
The Health Ministry said on Sunday that some 5,200 new infections and 231 deaths had been confirmed within 24 hours