BANGKOK (AP) – For much of 2020, Thailand has had the coronavirus under control. After a severe nationwide exclusion in April and May, the number of new local infections dropped to zero, where it remained for the next six months.
Thailand has closed its borders, enforced mandatory quarantines for its own citizens and the handful of foreigners who may visit. But apart from a few outward signs of the ‘new normal’, such as the ubiquitous wearing of masks and memories to practice social distance, life has resumed as if the pandemic had largely run its course.
A new outbreak discovered in mid-December threatens to put the country back where it was in the most difficult days of early 2020, when it claimed 3,045 cases and 59 deaths. Thailand’s COVID-19 coordination center has warned that the number of new daily cases could rise to more than 10,000 later this month if the government does not do more to curb the spread of the virus.
The outbreak, identified in mid-December, was centered in a seafood market in Samut Sakhon, southwest of the capital Bangkok, which employs thousands of migrant workers in Myanmar. It has now spread to 56 of Thailand’s 77 provinces.
The country reported 527 new cases on Tuesday, most of which were migrant workers linked to the market in Samut Sakhon. A day earlier, Thailand counted 745 new cases, a peak since the pandemic was first found in the country in January.
Thailand now has 8,966 confirmed cases with 65 deaths.
Thailand is making its way to recovery difficult, and is catching up in its effort to secure vaccines. Despite being a production center for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the government has yet to get enough doses to cover its population of nearly 70 million people.
Thailand signed an agreement with AstraZeneca in October to produce up to 200 million doses of the vaccine in the country, but was able to secure only 26 million doses for itself. Thailand expects the vaccines, which will be manufactured locally by Siam Bioscience, to be delivered in June.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Monday that Thailand was trying to get 63 million doses, enough to cover just under half of its population. The cabinet on Tuesday approved a $ 39 million budget for the vaccines, which will be offered free of charge to Thai citizens.
Meanwhile, China, Sinovac Biotech, is expected to supply 2 million vaccine doses to Thailand, with an initial amount of 200,000 arriving in February, and later shipments expected in March and April.
“I hope they come soon. There are currently so many cases that it is frightening, ”says Watee Kongsilp, a street fruit seller in Bangkok.
Cin Amornchainon, an office worker, added: ‘If you ask me if our vaccine orders are slower than other countries, yes, they are. But I understand the constraints our country has on the budget. ”
Neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, are also scrambling to get vaccines.
Indonesia has been negotiating for months to secure millions of doses for its nearly 270 million people. It trades on Sinovac, Novavax, AstraZeneca and COVAX and is in talks with Pfizer. Vietnam is still negotiating with pharmaceutical companies and trying to develop its own vaccines. Malaysia has signed deals to cover up to 40 percent of its population.
For the time being, Thailand supports a continued increase in case numbers.
The Thai navy has built four emergency field hospitals across the country, with up to 4,000 beds in Samut Sakhon and at least 500 beds in Rayong, on the east side. Hospitals and extensions are also planned for Chantaburi and Chonburi, two coastal provinces southeast of Bangkok.
Prayuth, who is trying to balance the problems between public health and economic realities, has implemented a new round of restrictions, but he has stopped putting the country under a complete lockdown, similar to what he experienced in the spring.
The economic concerns are appalling: the closure of Thailand for most international travel has helped curb domestic outbreaks of the coronavirus, but the tourism industry, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy and provides many jobs, has been halted. The Bank of Thailand estimates that the economy will shrink by 6.6% in 2020.
“We do not want to lock up the whole country because we know what the problems are. So can you all lock up? Prayuth said at a news conference Monday.
“It’s for everyone. If you do not want to get infected, you only need to stay home for 14 to 15 days. If you think like that, things will be safe and easier for performance, ‘Prayuth added.
On January 3, the prime minister signed an order designating 28 provinces, including the capital, as “highly controlled zones”, where public gatherings are prohibited and many businesses and other places must close by at least the end of January. These include schools, gyms, child care centers, internet cafes, massage parlors and more.
Restaurants are not allowed to serve alcohol and can work from 06:00 to 21:00 with strict social distance requirements, but only serve from 21:00 to 06:00. The tables should be at least 1.5 meters apart.
“We learned the lessons of the previous exclusion,” said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the COVID-19 Coordination Center. “We need to consider introducing the measures as well as the impact on the economy.”
The cabinet is expected to extend a national state of emergency, ending January 15 to February 28.
As elsewhere, small dilapidated can be expensive.
Thailand did not record any new local infections from May 26 to November 7, when two women who crossed the border illegally from Myanmar tested positive for the virus, which put authorities on a frantic contact trace. Thailand and Myanmar, which have been hit harder by the virus, share a porous border of 2,400 kilometers.
Cambodia, which borders Thailand to the east and has become relatively light, has tightened security at the border checkpoints after at least 17 Cambodian workers returning from Thailand recently tested positive for the coronavirus.
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AP journalists Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul in Bangkok, Hau Din in Hanoi, Vietnam, Victoria Milko and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.