"Help us"... Yellow flags hung across Yangon, Myanmar

A house in Yangon flying a yellow flag [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] As the spread of COVID-19 intensifies recently, yellow flags requesting help have been hung on houses throughout Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, where the daily number of confirmed cases has exceeded 6,000.

According to local media such as Myanmar Now on the 22nd, the movement to hang yellow flags has spread through social networking services (SNS) since early this week.

Since the military coup in February, Myanmar's public health system has effectively collapsed as medical personnel and health officials have actively participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM).

As a result, most COVID-19 patients have been refused hospital admission and remain at home, leading to many cases where entire families become infected.

With no family member able to go outside, citizens themselves proposed hanging flags to address this issue.

Local media reported that hanging a yellow flag means that a COVID-19 patient in the house needs medicine, while a white flag signals a request for food support.

Volunteer groups, mainly composed of students and young people, are known to deliver medicines and food free of charge or disinfect houses.

Civil organizations in Myanmar estimate that about 600 people die daily in Yangon alone since early this month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.