Charities in Myanmar strained by soaring death tolls

BANGKOK (AP) — Charity groups in Myanmar said Wednesday that the number of people dying in the country's cities, which are facing a coronavirus surge and a shortage of oxygen to treat patients, has been climbing so quickly that they are struggling to keep up with funeral arrangements.

Crematoriums in Yangon, the country’s biggest city, are working from morning to night, funeral workers said. A staff member from Yay Way Cemetery, the city’s busiest, said its three crematoriums are in nonstop operation from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Like most workers involved with funeral arrangements, he asked not to be named because of the government’s sensitivity about its handling of the COVID-19 crisis. The military-installed government that seized power in February routinely arrests critics for statements it considers either fake news or disturbing public order.

The exact number of cremations and burials held each day has not been announced by city officials, but charity officials and unofficial estimates on social media say more than 100 bodies have been brought every day to Yay Way Cemetery recently, with more than 200 on Wednesday. The city's other cemeteries also report higher than the usual numbers.

The figures are higher than had been seen before the latest virus surge, and could suggest that the official death toll for COVID-19 cases is an undercount.

The coronavirus crisis had not gotten much attention in the aftermath of February’s seizure of power by the military, which set off a wave of protests and violent political conflict that devastated the public health system.

Only in recent weeks, as testing and reporting of COVID-19 cases has started recovering, has it become clear that a third wave of the virus beginning in mid-May was pushing case and death numbers rapidly higher.

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