Myanmar is reeling from a surge in COVID-19 cases and faces a burgeoning health catastrophe United Nations: A senior US diplomat urged the UN Security Council on Thursday (July 29) to press Myanmar's military to stop violence and restore democracy, warning that with COVID-19 surging and hunger increasing, the longer we delay, the more people die. Deputy US Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis said Myanmar is reeling from a surge in COVID-19 cases and faces a burgeoning health catastrophe as a direct result of the military's brutality and administrative failures since its coup six months ago. The violence and the military crackdown that followed have also displaced hundreds of thousands of people, and up to 2.8 million additional people may be facing food shortages, he said.