"This article has been adapted from a Burmese language version titled “Race-Class, COVID Politics and Future Change,” first published in the COVID-19 Special Series No. 2 by the Institute for Strategy and Policy (ISP-Myanmar) on May 1.] On March 23, Myanmar reported its first positive cases of COVID-19. Within two months, there were over 200 cases. More than 60 have been linked to a Christian religious gathering. A majority of initial positive cases were Myanmar re-pats, former Burmese citizens visiting the country temporarily, western tourists, and their local medical and travel service providers (and their family members). In March and April, many thousands of migrant workers returned from Thailand and China through border crossing points. Around the same time, factory workers organized several protests against the factories for laying off workers and not allowing leave-with-pay during the Thingyan holidays. As the news stories and images about foreigners, Myanmar returnees, religious gatherings, migrant workers, and factory workers were circulated in the media and on Facebook, people began to see the COVID-19 pandemic through racial, xenophobic and discriminatory lenses. They viewed COVID-19 as a foreign disease, imported by foreigners and Myanmar returnees. A senior government official said the lifestyle and diet prevented the people of Myanmar from getting the disease. Such a response is not new to Myanmar; it is a recurring socio-political dynamic that further divides an already divided nation..."