Section Archive

Myanmar fashion labels are creating stylish cloth face masks from local fabrics, and using part of the proceeds to provide masks for those who can’t afford them.

A Rohingya man who illegally returned to Rakhine State from Bangladesh last week has tested positive for the coronavirus and is being treated at Maungdaw Hospital.

A health assistant in Muse in northern Shan State has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming Myanmar’s first local case in two weeks.

Most shops, restaurants and workplaces in Myanmar’s large cities are now open as the country has reported no new local transmissions of COVID-19 for two weeks.

The Education Ministry plans to build temporary classrooms to allow for social distancing at schools ahead of their gradual opening in July.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency announced an emergency loan program for businesses in Myanmar as part its plans to help Myanmar weather the impacts of COVID-19.

Capable of conducting more than 400 coronavirus tests a day, the new lab in Mandalay will serve all of Upper Myanmar, easing the workload on Yangon’s two labs.

The Yangon chief minister held a Buddhist gathering in breach of Myanmar’s COVID-19 measures, prompting an inquiry by the President’s Office and a lawsuit by a local resident.

The Lower House passed a draft law making it easier for the Health Ministry to introduce containment measures during epidemics and boosting punishments for violators.

The ban on mass gatherings will remain in place, though some groups are now exempt, and stay-at-home restrictions in areas of Yangon will also be lifted.

With the help of the LIFT fund, the government will send one-time cash payments to mothers, pregnant women and the elderly in disadvantaged regions amid COVID-19.

Over 80 percent of tourism businesses surveyed are extremely affected by the pandemic, the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism-backed survey says.

Myanmar will obtain $200 million in loans from the World Bank to fund a post-COVID-19 recovery for the agriculture sector, a deputy minister told Parliament.

The Irrawaddy provides an overview of key events in the Myanmar government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Parliament has approved an IMF loan package worth US$700 million to meet budget shortfalls as the government boosts spending to curb the economic impact of COVID-19.