Protesters hold up the three-finger salute during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on July 29, 2021. (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:11 PM PT – Saturday, July 31, 2021

It has been almost six months since the Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, has seized power. Since the coup, the United Nations have called it a “multifaceted crisis.”

British Diplomat Barbara Woodward explained, “what started as a political coup has now become a multifaceted crisis with political, economic, health and humanitarian dimensions.”

Woodward said the conflict has escalated, with more than 5,000 people detained. She added the spread of COVID-19 was also concerning.

“The coup has resulted in a near total collapse of the healthcare system and healthcare workers are being attacked and arrested,” she expressed. “The virus is spreading through the population very fast indeed, by some estimates in the next two weeks, half of the population of Myanmar could be infected with COVID.”

In two weeks, half of #Myanmar's population could be infected with #COVID.

This week, Security Council members will hear directly from voices the military has tried to silence on how to address the crisis and including making vaccines available to all.