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Home » Background » Thailand's response to COVID-19
Thailand's response to COVID-19
The World Health Organization (WHO) has posted a short video on Facebook outlining how Thailand has responded to the COVID-19 crisis.
The text accompanying this video:
“What is the backbone of Thailand's response to COVID-19?
Back to basics: a vigorous public health response led by identifying, isolating, treating cases and tracing and quarantining contacts of confirmed cases.”
Watch the video, which has already been viewed more than 1 million times, below:
You cannot deny that in Thailand it is impossible to speak of combating corona infections. The number of them appears to be extremely low. It can be suggested that Thailand is doing extremely well in preventing infections. Most infections are already caught upon arrival. Many will argue that the country and its population suffer enormously from the measures taken, name a country where this is not the case. Do not compare Thailand with the Netherlands, where apparently there is enough money to put together support packages until the middle of next year. Do not compare Thailand with the Netherlands, where the minister of finance could report that the Netherlands was able to set up strong buffers in the past by being frugal. And don't compare Thailand with the Netherlands, which can easily raise billions on the capital markets to finance the resulting deficits.
It also cannot be denied that there are many who cannot yet enter Thailand as a tourist, but they can enter Thailand as a married person or as a parent/educator. Not all at the same time, but little by little. Outside the Netherlands, men also live in the same boat, waiting for the gates to open further.
What has become clear in recent months is that Thailand appears to be a special country in many ways. Not only culturally or historically or according to natural phenomena, even more remarkable is that Thailand differs politically from what and how we are used to in the Netherlands. There is much less thinking in Thailand. Thinking is more intuitive. A thought that comes to mind declares water desirable, deemed desirable, and then action must be added to the word. The annoying thing is that neither word nor deed fit into a tested plan of action, and that the wish as father of the thought is declared policy. The many measures that farang has taken on in recent weeks are an example of this.
We'll see where Thailand's socio-economic Ship of State falls aground in the coming months.
Thailand can be proud of the low number of infections. Applause to yourself. That the Thai government plunges a large part of the population into infinite poverty (read, malnutrition, diseases, suicide, increase in crime and domestic violence) is not mentioned anywhere in the video. The WHO says nothing about that either. This also indicates the failure of the WHO. One-sided look at the problem. Also called tunnel vision.
Well worded Peter, have a link from the Worldbank which expresses the drama in numbers. 8,3 million lost their jobs in the 2nd quarter (out of a labor force of 37 million). The number of people living in precarious economic conditions, living on less than 170 baht a day, goes from 4,7 million in the 1st quarter this year to 9,7 million in the 2nd quarter. And then my expectation is that it will only get worse because more business closures due to the poor economic conditions in Thailand and other countries on which Thailand is heavily dependent for its exports and temporary unemployment benefits are ending and both companies and people are through their reserves and savings.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2020/06/30/major-impact-from-covid-19-to-thailands-economy-vulnerable-households-firms-report
Seeing the minister of health in military uniform doesn't give me much confidence in their corona numbers...
Funny, I catch myself liking both Rianne's reaction and Peter's. My brain apparently believes that there is not ONE truth to this delicate subject.
It is indeed commendable to have so few victims of Covid19, but... after going to Thailand for more than 30 years and regularly staying there for 6 months, I still wonder how reliable these figures are. !!
The worst thing that can happen to Thai is "losing face", and that goes to the highest echelons.
However, I hope they are actually correct numbers for my many dear friends there.
Regards, Joseph
In the Netherlands, the infections are rising. One of the reasons is that more and more testing is being done. At the moment more than 30.000 a day. I wonder how many people are tested daily in Thailand on a population of 5 x the Netherlands. Or is it perhaps the case, if you don't know then you don't have it either?
According to the "official" figures, a total of 174.000 people have already been tested in Thailand, in the Netherlands already 2 million!
I think many people in Thailand who feel sick just stay home for 2 weeks and don't get tested. Who actually pays for the tests there?
It is striking that only a Buriram football player turned out to be infected, as well as a detainee who was tested on admission. And yesterday I read about a family from Myanmar of 3 people who tested positive when returning to Myanmar, and 3 Thais tested positive on arrival in Japan. Look at a number of cases indicating that Covid-19 infection is present in Thailand and then there is censorship in the media and only the cases where one cannot deny it because foreign media are involved are mentioned. If you don't test then it isn't there according to the Thai and also if you don't tell others then it isn't there
Can be a good example for a few weeks/months, but it is really not a good example to continue to enforce this. Or do they want to make every inhabitant of the world a lifelong prisoner in their own country/region?
Clarity. THAT is what people want. And then they are almost self-evidently prepared to respond well to that. Successfully. No gibberish, chipolata rules and parrot policy.
KhunBram.
In July, two Thai people died of the COVID-19 virus in Chiang Mai government Hospital.
An acquaintance suddenly had to go to Thailand with his Thai wife.
In Thailand's Coronavirus figures, although 2 months have passed, these have not yet been mentioned.
In addition, I receive reports that schools in the places of Pala U and Padeng have been closed due to an outbreak of the virus due to illegal border traffic.
I don't see this reflected in the official figures either.
I think mine.
Yours faithfully,
Hua.
This afternoon the pujaban spoke about people illegally crossing the border from Myanmar bringing the COVID virus with them, so be careful
Yes, Co, it is now only people from outside Thailand who spread the virus.
All people (and animals) in Thailand are free of COVID-19. Do you believe it yourself?
Quite strict measures were taken at the start of the corona crisis. County borders were closed, a curfew was imposed. Ban on large parties and ban on the sale of alcohol to prevent people from building their own parties. Entertainment venues and non-essential shops were also closed. Here in Isaan, the consequences of the measures taken by the government are of course also noticeable. However, there is a bright spot here! The family, even if it doesn't have much, is still helping a family member in need.
As far as testing for corona is concerned, it can be said that testing facilities have been set up in many larger places. These were initially used extensively to test people returning to their province.
Now hardly anyone comes. You hear little or nothing about actual corona infections.
Most infections occurred in Bangkok and tourist places.
I think all these measures have contributed to containing the virus. Unfortunately, the economic damage and human suffering will be felt for a long time to come.
The Thai approach is certainly efficient in fighting Covid-19. My Thai partner went to her parents from the Netherlands on a repatriation flight in July. After 2 weeks of state quarantine in Pattaya, she was able to continue to the village. There, too, she was checked twice a day, by two different organizations, and she could not travel freely. Of course, Thai society differs greatly from Dutch society, I don't see it happening yet that my neighbor comes to take my temperature in the morning and then tell me that I have to stay at home that day. She has relatives all over the country, and if there were many sick or dead somewhere, she would certainly know about it.
In both the Netherlands and Thailand, the economic damage is enormous, especially in the tourist industry, hotels, bars, restaurants are often forced to close, the transport sector is largely flat, schools and universities have been closed for a while.
I understand Thailand's reaction. They prevent their population from being infected, but I expect that not much will be left from the tourist industry. For me, as an annually returning tourist, this means that my holidays will take place more often in surrounding countries. In addition, I feel sorry for all those Thais who are directly or indirectly dependent on tourism.
Thailand is indeed doing well, it seems that they have everything under control, few or no people infected with the WUHAN Covid-19 virus.
If you look at the numbers and compare, you can only conclude that they have done a great job. The hospitals here are not overcrowded and the Buddhist temples are not seeing an abnormal increase in funeral ceremonies.
But of course the numbers don't say everything. Extensive updates are given every day about the situation, but it always concerns 'returnees'. There is never any mention of local people being infected. I think that local people are indeed infected with the virus, but there is little or no testing of the local population.
Friends from Chiang Mai with mild symptoms went to the hospital. They were not tested for Covid-19 but were sent home with paracetamol.
I have little confidence in the figures that the Thai government publishes.
Hardly any sick, hardly any deaths from COVID19… but how many sick from deprivation, lack of food, lack of everything? How many companies fail, causing even more poverty? How many will follow, because there is no or hardly any income?
You can guess 3 times who will take over the catering businesses of farang that are bankrupt or forced to sell for next to nothing.
The higher the unemployment and poverty, the more criminals, the less safe it is to be on the streets at night. If the tourists are allowed to come again, I am afraid of an increase in the number of pickpockets, thefts and robberies.
Never waste a good crisis.
Is there no one who at least questions the Covid policy of this military junta?
This is a crisis that came at just the right time, an ideal opportunity to keep the bastards down without having to resort to violence.
It's been written here several times. The corona crisis is like a gift from heaven for the Thai military government. The country almost immediately went into lock down and the 'emergency decree' was declared. All this at the time when the street protests against this military government started.
So it was the perfect time.
If our countries, and also all other European countries, and by extension all countries in the world, had followed the example set by Thailand, I would not have read the following heartbreaking message in my newspaper today:
ECONOMY The corona pandemic and lockdown measures have pushed 150 million more children into poverty. This is evident from an analysis published on Thursday by Unicef and Save the Children.
Unfortunately, when we were on the right track, the measures had to be relaxed as soon as possible with all the consequences known through the media. Due to the weakening of the obligations, many will have to miss their loved ones this year, and who knows next year, and the Thai economy will continue to be hit hard.
best video. Thanks!!
We can doubt everything, especially when it comes to numbers and especially when it comes to 'their beloved Thailand, where they would love to return'. However, people who live here have a different way of determining whether there is Corona or not. When I look around me, listen to the people, I have to conclude that there is NO Corona present here, at least in my area. Talked to people who work in the various hospitals and they also agree that there are no admissions due to Corona. Also at the temples there is no increase in cremations, everything as before.