Myanmar fails to celebrate Songkran Festival amid COVID-19 pandemic

Monday, April 13, 2020

Songkran or Thingyan (as addressed by local people), Myanmar’s New Year festival has been called off this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The festival is also the country’s biggest public holiday and attracts numerous tourists from across the globe.

The festival is usually celebrated throughout a whole week all across the nation. One of the biggest features of the festival is the public water-fights. Individuals drenched in water make merry and party late into the night. However, in an unprecedented turn of events, the festival had to be declared canceled this year similar to Easter celebrations being called off elsewhere in the world.

Myanmar’s commercial hub Yangon is under complete lockdown. Residents are also confined at their own residences due to social distancing and travel restriction measures. The city streets that are usually filled with huge traffic, especially around the festive season, are now only patrolled by food delivery bicycles and rickshaws. This comes after the government ordered people to stay at home and avoid all forms of travel unless for essential food and healthcare needs.

The city’s image of empty streets, deserted roads, closed down shops and public places stands in sharp contrast with its Songkran vibe that welcomes hoards of drenched cheering crowds and numerous individuals dancing along pumped up music beats coming out from humongous loudspeakers. The only sound being heard in an otherwise silent Myanmar is the occasional chirping of birds or similar sounds of nature.

Myanmar has officially reported 38 positive confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3 deaths as of Sunday. However, may still hold the opinion that increased testing may give rise to the number of recorded cases. The national lockdown as well as the public holiday is expected to come to an end next Sunday. But experts are likely to extend efforts to mitigate the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Dr. Frank Smithuis, a public health expert based in Yangon has warned that any sustained lockdown might be devastating for Myanmar and other adjoining under-developed countries in the region.

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