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Interesting. Which city are you in? I used to spend a lot of time in Yangon in Myanmar, my wife's family are Burmese doctors who emigrated to the UK decades ago

Interesting. Which city are you in? I used to spend a lot of time in Yangon in Myanmar, my wife's family are Burmese doctors who emigrated to the UK decades ago. We live in London at the moment. They also find the difference in approach between Asia and the UK puzzling. I think the stark reality is, given how easily the virus spreads, you can play whack-a-mole with closures for potentially a very long time, but the virus will eventually spread and overwhelm the healthcare system. I don't know how many ICU beds there are in Myanmar but I'm afraid it won't be nearly enough, just like everywhere else. I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. This was during a time without any pandemic.

alexmingoia 7y ago
I’m in Yangon. I had temperature checks and hand sanitizer when going to city mart (a grocery store) yesterday. Same when getting on a bus to Kalaw last week, at the events I’ve been to the last month, etc.
- dharma1 7y ago
  Makes sense as long as those temperature checks lead to something if you are showing an elevated temperature - rapid testing, and quarantine if you are positive. In China this process was like clockwork. What are you doing in Yangon btw? Mind if I drop you an email?
  - alexmingoia 7y ago
    I live here with my wife (who is from Myanmar). Yeah I don’t mind emails, inbox is always open :)
ValentineC 7y ago
> I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. Huh, I was down with severe food poisoning in Yangon in early 2016. A local associate of my friend brought me to the local hospital's A&E department, where I got an injection of some sort and diarrhoea medication. I was out of the hospital in probably 30 minutes. I'm not in the position to assume that their hospitals can handle a severe outbreak, but their medical system wasn't that bad when I had the unfortunate chance to experience it.
- dharma1 7y ago
  Could have been timing, or the hospital. I've heard others have had good experiences also. Still, I really don't think they have enough ventilators or intensive care capacity to cope with a coronavirus epidemic. 70% of the population live in rural areas where they don't even have hospitals
  - helij 7y ago
    Nobody has enough ventilators. Also, people in the West mostly underestimate the rest of the world and their capabilities. Once you show them that majority of the rest of the world does not live in caves they are bummed. It's ignorance.

alexmingoia 7y ago

I’m in Yangon. I had temperature checks and hand sanitizer when going to city mart (a grocery store) yesterday. Same when getting on a bus to Kalaw last week, at the events I’ve been to the last month, etc.

dharma1 7y ago
Makes sense as long as those temperature checks lead to something if you are showing an elevated temperature - rapid testing, and quarantine if you are positive. In China this process was like clockwork. What are you doing in Yangon btw? Mind if I drop you an email?
- alexmingoia 7y ago
  I live here with my wife (who is from Myanmar). Yeah I don’t mind emails, inbox is always open :)

ValentineC 7y ago

> I've been to a public hospital in Yangon once, and it was full to the brim with very long waiting times. Ended up just leaving before I come out with something worse I went in with. Huh, I was down with severe food poisoning in Yangon in early 2016. A local associate of my friend brought me to the local hospital's A&E department, where I got an injection of some sort and diarrhoea medication. I was out of the hospital in probably 30 minutes. I'm not in the position to assume that their hospitals can handle a severe outbreak, but their medical system wasn't that bad when I had the unfortunate chance to experience it.

dharma1 7y ago
Could have been timing, or the hospital. I've heard others have had good experiences also. Still, I really don't think they have enough ventilators or intensive care capacity to cope with a coronavirus epidemic. 70% of the population live in rural areas where they don't even have hospitals
- helij 7y ago
  Nobody has enough ventilators. Also, people in the West mostly underestimate the rest of the world and their capabilities. Once you show them that majority of the rest of the world does not live in caves they are bummed. It's ignorance.