As of 8pm on 13 July, the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Myanmar has reached 201,274 and the cumulative number of deaths has reached 4,036.

A director of the public welfare organisation said that hospitals are currently facing a shortage of medical staff, beds and oxygen, and that it is now very difficult for hospitals to purchase oxygen, and even more so for patients treated at home.

At present, several oxygen production plants in Yangon have been ordered to "not allow the sale of canned oxygen to private individuals for the time being, but only give priority to supplying oxygen to government hospitals and the COVID-19 Treatment Centre". As a result, confirmed patients, who can only be treated in isolation at home, are finding it difficult to obtain oxygen. Due to the armed conflict, road transport in Myanmar has not been smooth. On the morning of 11 July, military forces and the local People's Defence Force in Sagaing Division exchanged fire in two areas, resulting in vehicles transporting oxygen to the town of Gilling Temple being blocked and unable to reach it.

Myanmar's Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Liaison, U Aung Naing Oo, issued a news release saying that the companies concerned could directly import medical oxygen machines, medicines for COVID-19 treatments, liquid oxygen, etc., without the need to obtain a certificate from the FDA or apply for an import licence from the Ministry of Commerce, and could clear the goods after registration at customs. A 3% customs duty will be payable upon clearance and collection. The duty does not need to be paid immediately and can be paid at a later stage. This policy will be implemented for a tentative period of three months from 12 July.

In just a few days, countless companies in China, which is home to a large number of factories producing medical oxygen generators, mobilised a large number of oxygen concentrators to support Myanmar in its fight against the epidemic and to help with the shortage of medical oxygen.

Meanwhile, in order to secure the oxygen supply, public interest organisations have started to build new medical oxygen plants in a number of locations.

On 13 July, a meeting was held by the Northern Shan State Charity Organisation to build medical oxygen plants in Xib and Theni to supply medical oxygen to places in need. Next, the charity will purchase the raw materials needed for the oxygen plant and the construction of the oxygen plant will begin in August. Medical oxygen plants will be built in Xib and Denis. A caring person involved in the construction of the oxygen plant in Xib said that once the plant is operational, it will be able to fill 80 40-litre cylinders of oxygen per day. There are also plans to build a medical oxygen plant in Denis township to ensure the supply of oxygen.

It is hoped that these two initiatives will improve the problem of oxygen shortage in Myanmar.