4 May

By Professor Chaw Chaw Sein

AS the world turned red with the virus infection, people and government of Myanmar went about its normal business until 23rd March at 23:45 when the Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports (MoHS) announced that they now have two patients tested positive with COVID-19. The authority came to discover that these two patients were overseas travelers who had been mingling within the community for some times. We woke up to the reality of the new world on the 23rd March. Even up to the 23rd March, our university went about administering exams for the first semester (which was scheduled for 18th to 31st March) of our academic year. All of that changed on the 23rd. As of April 12th, thirty eight patients have been tested with COVID-19 and three had died from the disease. Countries in the world had been grappling with this outbreak for past three months and now Myanmar has joined the ranks. When this horrendous pandemic reached the Myanmar shores, the government has been having to deal with the side-effects in addition to the health emergencies. In this circumstance, it is necessary to understand how other countries in the world are coping with this issue.

South Korea might be the most successful virus-response case study that Myanmar can learn. As global deaths from the virus surge past 70,000, South Korea has become the world’s attention for its success. Korea is one of the countries with large outbreaks, alongside with China. However, it has been praised by many countries around the world due to the effective response on reducing the spread of COVID-19. The head of the World Health Organization urged countries to “apply the lessons learned in Korea and elsewhere.” Many leaders around the world such as President of France, and Prime Minister of Sweden have called President of South Korea to request details of the country’s measure. Korea has been in success as both “political and public will” match in the fight for this pandemic. It is noteworthy to see how Korea government and the citizens work together to reduce the spread of virus and their effective response such as widespread testing, contact tracing and early treatment that reduced number of daily confirmed case.

Several lessons can be drawn from Korea as some of its measures have been tremendous. Some cities were not even locked down and no restriction movements during the peak of infection. They overcome this crisis with the approach of four key concepts: speed, transparency, innovation and voluntary civic participation which are remarkable ones. South Korea has been conducting more than 10,000 test a day and as of 28 March 2020, 376,961 tests has been done. The government has also set up multiple test stations and the government training centers have been converted to COVID-19 quarantine centers. In terms of innovation, South Korea is tracking the people who are confirmed to have coronavirus by GPS. This is a kind of “live map” showing their locations and available for anyone who wish to avoid them. It is clear that using IT is a key and effective in responding the spread of COVID-19. The diagnostic tests are conducted promptly by 117 testing institutions across the nation including national quarantine stations, Korea Center for disease control, private medical labs and hospitals. The government also focuses on recovery of those infected with COVID-19 through their advanced medical care in a prompt manner. As South Korea is a democratic country, voluntary civic participation can also be seen such as social distancing, self-quarantine, frequent handwashing and wearing of face masks in combating the COVID-19.

From this point, Myanmar can also learn from South Korea to overcome this pandemic. Myanmar, like other countries in the region is trying to cope and break free from the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to tackle this crisis, the national high-level of Central Committee on Prevention, Control and Treatment of the Coronavirus Disease (CPCTCD) was formed on 13th March 2020 and is chaired by State Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She has started her crisis communication forum to update the populace on status of the government’s response to COVID-19. She recently created her own Facebook account so as to be in touch with grass root needs. The Emergency Response Committees are also formed on 30th March in every State and Region of Myanmar to provide foods, to conduct healthcare quarantine and to give psychological support to the quarantined persons. National call center has been established on 9th April 2020 in order to get information on COVID-19. With the guidance from CPCTCD, the MoHS is now at the forefront of the fight for COVID-19. The Yangon Regional Government in collaboration with MoHS and other ministries have been preparing Civil Service Academy to transform into quarantine center which is located in Hlegu Township, Yangon Region. The religious centers, schools, and training camps are planning their facilities to house the quarantine individuals and to take in overflow of patients from the hospitals. By taking good example of Korea IT effectiveness in tracing the COVID-19 victim, Myanmar government has also been introducing diagnostic mobile application by broadcasting from radio and TV channels.

The pandemic has brought immediate impacts so far such as declining in tourism and business flows and disruption of air travels across the region. To address the negative impact of COVID-19 on the country’s economy, Working Committee on Alleviating Economic Repercussions of COVID-19 was formed and chaired by Minister for Investment and Foreign Relations. On 9th April, the Committee started issuing COVID-19 Fund for 88 businesses as a first batch.

There came up several debates and comments from the journalists and social media on locking down the cities. Closing of some industries is negatively impacting the most vulnerable population of our society and the working poor who live hand-tomouth on the daily basis. With the guidance from the CPCTCD, each and every State and Region in Myanmar have been donating household supplies for those who do not have regular income. The Yangon Regional Government, so far yet lock down the business city. Although there is no official order to lock down the major cities, the authorities are trying to inform the people to stay home during the Myanmar New Year holidays that lasted from 10 to 18 April 2020 in order to avoid the spread of COVID-19. This is the first ever suspension of New Year festival in my life time. As we have learned from other countries and also from Korea that have gone through this pandemic earlier than Myanmar, the community’s involvement and the populace’ behavior can slow down the spread of the virus and save lives.

The year 2020 is a remarkable year for Myanmar and South Korea as both will celebrate 45 years of establishing diplomatic relations. This anniversary also coincides with general elections for both countries. Korea is going ahead of voting for the election in the mid of April even though some countries are delaying due to COVID-19. It is noteworthy for Myanmar to learn how Korea will balance its obligation to both civil liberties and public health as our country will hold general election in coming November. With the aim to illustrate “a friend in need is a friend in deed”, Korea Embassy in Myanmar donated medical protective equipment including surgical glove, nurse caps and test kits to MoHS on 24th March 2020. This can be understood as this donation is a part of commemorating the 45 years of friendship. A notable remark at the donation ceremony is the message from Korean Ambassador to Myanmar. It is three T which stands for Trace, Test and Treat, the effective techniques practiced by Korea government. As Korea does have an experience in effective response, management and movement control at a large scale that have gone through this pandemic earlier than Myanmar, it is an excellent opportunity for our government to exercise effective crisis communication to ensure the citizens are getting timely and accurate information. By learning the effective measures taken by Korean government as well as implementing to fight the battle of COIVD-19, we wish both Myanmar and Korea including people all over the world to escape from the prison of COVID-19 in the future.

References:

Lee Sang-hwa, “Fighting COVID-19 together will strengthen Mekong-Korea Partnership”, Myanmar Times, 18 March 2020

- Andrew Salmon, “South Korea reveals how to win COVID-19 war”, Asia Times, 28 March 2020

- Global New Light of Myanmar, 25 March 2020

- Suhyoon Lee“ How South Korea is running a nationwide election in the midst of the pandemic” Quartz, 7 April 2020