| Apartment Blocks Under Quarantine After Myanmar Finds Two More COVID-19 Cases Posted: 27 Mar 2020 01:30 AM PDT  Residents in Yangon and Mandalay apartment blocks where two coronavirus patients lived have been forced to stay indoors. |
| Reading Myanmar—‘Miss Burma’ and the Liberal Conscience Posted: 26 Mar 2020 08:30 PM PDT  A fictionalized account of the life of beauty queen-turned Karen rebel leader Louisa Benson has a message about the West's bad conscience for Yangon's peace industry. |
| Myanmar Confirms Two New COVID-19 Cases Posted: 26 Mar 2020 07:23 PM PDT  Myanmar has confirmed two new COVID-19 cases, one in Mandalay and one in Yangon, bringing the country's total to five confirmed cases, all imported. |
| When Yangon’s Avenues Traded Colonial English Names for Burmese
Posted: 26 Mar 2020 06:30 PM PDT  On this day in 1989, the then-military government changed the names of 165 streets in Yangon, dropping their English colonial names in favor of Burmese language replacements. |
| Myanmar Medics Volunteer to Combat COVID-19 Menace Posted: 26 Mar 2020 08:03 AM PDT  "As a health worker, we just go where we need to be," said a doctor who volunteered to go to Chin State, where one of Myanmar's first COVID-19 cases was reported. |
| Myanmar Army Seizes Shan State Militia Chiefs Over Drugs Bust Posted: 26 Mar 2020 06:35 AM PDT  Militia leaders and weapons in northern Shan State have been seized by Myanmar's military in response to a huge drugs bust earlier this month. |
| Myanmar’s Nurses, Doctors Face Eviction as Landlords Panic Over COVID-19 Posted: 26 Mar 2020 05:54 AM PDT  Health care workers are being evicted by landlords concerned about the spread of COVID-19 but other local residents of Mandalay have opened their doors to them. |
| End of Aid; Beginning of Resilience? Posted: 26 Mar 2020 03:58 AM PDT  The aid industry as we know it may be one of the many victims of the coronavirus pandemic. At minimum, globalization has taken a big hit; protectionism is back—with a vengeance. |
| Myanmar Orders Half of Govt Employees to Stay Home Over COVID-19 Posted: 26 Mar 2020 01:11 AM PDT  The government has told half of its employees to stay home as it ramps up efforts to combat COVID-19. The order excludes health treatment providers at government hospitals. |
| COVID-19: ASEAN Must Act More Boldly Posted: 25 Mar 2020 11:25 PM PDT  ASEAN leaders must do more to coordinate their efforts to combat COVID-19 as each country's health depends on that of its neighbors. |
| Thailand Bans Entry to Foreigners, Prepares Emergency Measures Against Coronavirus Posted: 25 Mar 2020 11:21 PM PDT  Thailand has closed its borders to most foreigners as the country prepares for a state of emergency that will grant the prime minister sweeping powers to combat COVID-19. |
| China Reports Second Consecutive Day of No New Local Coronavirus Transmissions, Imported Cases Rise Posted: 25 Mar 2020 10:43 PM PDT  Mainland China reported no new locally-transmitted COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row and Hubei Province, where the pandemic began, has started to lift restrictions. |
| India Struggles with Coronavirus Shutdown; Pakistan Cases Top 1,000 Posted: 25 Mar 2020 10:36 PM PDT  People in India voiced concerns about access to medicine and how they will feed their families under the lockdown that began Wednesday as COVID-19 spread across the country. |
| A Fierce Battle in Western Myanmar Has Killed Hundreds as the Country Braces for COVID Posted: 25 Mar 2020 07:30 AM PDT  Since January, fighting between the Arakan Army and Myanmar's military has intensified dramatically, killing hundreds as Myanmar focuses attention on the threat of COVID-19. |
| With COVID-19 Confirmed Case, Myanmar’s Chin State Makes Urgent Appeal for Protective Equipment Posted: 25 Mar 2020 06:53 AM PDT  The Chin State authorities have called for more protective equipment, saying it is poorly prepared to cope with a possible COVID-19 outbreak. |
This week Myanmar's authorities and food dealers moved to ensure staples arrived at reasonable prices amid the panic-buying that followed three COVID-19 confirmations. 
The new cases include a Swiss UN worker and a tour guide in Yangon, bringing the country's total to eight cases. 
The Irrawaddy briefs you on the week that was in the national legislature. 
As Myanmar ramps up efforts to prevent an outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, The Irrawaddy sits down with writer and doctor Ma Thida and Yangon lawmaker Ko Nay Phone Latt. 
