Junta authorities in Myanmar are seeking help from the international community to tackle the coronavirus, state media said, as the impoverished country looks beyond ally China in its struggle to beat back a new wave.

The nation has been in turmoil since the military took power in February, with many hospitals ill-equipped to cope with a surging caseload after many medical staff walked out in protest at the coup, AFP reports.

Stay-at-home orders affecting millions have failed to halt the surge, with crematoriums working at capacity and volunteers working to bring out the bodies of people who have died in their homes.

Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing told a “coordination meeting to beef up cooperation with the international community” that Myanmar should seek money from a Covid-19 response fund set up by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.