All Britons in Myanmar should leave the country if they can due to the global coronavirus outbreak, the UK embassy in Yangon announced last night in a statement that caused offence among Myanmar netizens.
The virus is expected to pressure Myanmar’s medical facilities, “and they may not be able to offer routine care,” posted the embassy on Facebook.
Air routes out of Myanmar may also be cancelled abruptly and as of today a “core staff” would operate the embassy as some employees and dependents would be withdrawn, said the statement.
At 11am, the post had attracted more than 1,100 comments—mostly from outraged Myanmar accounts who deemed the announcement insulting towards the country.
“We Myanmar also don’t need you all. Please leave from here and never come back again.”
“You do not need to criticise our medical treatments or facilities regarding coronavirus and our government will take any necessary action if needed.”
“The only corona we have is beer. Cheers!”
“Get out now from Myanmar and happily go to a Covid-19 prone zone.”
However, some users questioned the outrage.
“The way I see it is the whole world is in an unprecedented event and they are doing what they should be doing for their citizens. I don’t see any insult in their post towards Burmese people. Why be so salty and rude?”
Most of the commenters seem to accept the government’s line that the country has no cases of Covid-19–the disease caused by coronavirus—despite sharing a long, porous border with China, the worst affected country, with 3,226 deaths out of 80,881 cases.
Neighbouring Thailand yesterday announced 30 new cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 177.
Bangladesh has reported 10 cases, India has reported 143 cases, while Myanmar’s other neighbour, Laos, has zero confirmed cases.
Meanwhile, the UK has 1,950 confirmed cases and 67 deaths.
Aung San Suu Kyi told the Myanmar public in a televised address on Monday that “until now, no one in our country is infected with Covid-19.”
She announced a fund to raise money from the public to support its response to the outbreak.
Myanmar’s lifestyle, diet, and lack of credit card usage explained the absence of positive tests, said a government spokesperson without providing any scientific evidence.
So far, 144 people—out of a population of 54 million—have been tested for the infection, according to the health ministry.
Yangon’s North Okkalapa General Hospital chief Dr Win Thandar Phyu told the New York Times that Myanmar is lucky because it’s a Buddhist country “and senior monks are always praying to be safe.”
Authorities have cancelled Thingyan and other public gatherings as a precaution against the spread of the virus.
All passengers travelling from Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Iran, China, and South Korea must go into mandatory quarantine for 14 days or return home if they arrived in the country unannounced, said authorities.
Other countries such as Australia are urging their citizens not to travel abroad and warning those already overseas to rush home.
The UK has offered guidance for essential travel and given a support number for its citizens in Myanmar: +95 (0)1370863.
