BANGKOK (AP) – For much of 2020, Thailand kept the coronavirus under control. After a rigid blockade across the country in April and May, the number of new local infections dropped to zero, where they remained for the next six months.
Thailand has closed its borders, imposing mandatory quarantines on its own citizens and a handful of foreigners authorized to visit. But, in addition to some external signs of the “new normal”, such as the ubiquitous use of masks and reminders to practice social detachment, life has resumed as if the pandemic had practically ended 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 registered 3,045 cases and 59 deaths. Thailand’s COVID-19 coordinating center warned that the number of new daily cases could increase to more than 10,000 by the end of this month, in the worst case, if the government does not do more to stem the spread of the virus.
The outbreak identified in mid-December centered on a seafood market in Samut Sakhon, southwest of the capital Bangkok, which employs thousands of Myanmar migrant workers. It has already spread to 56 of Thailand’s 77 provinces.
On Tuesday, the country registered 527 new cases, most of them migrant workers linked to the market in Samut Sakhon. A day earlier, Thailand registered 745 new cases, a record since the pandemic was discovered in the country last January.
Thailand now has 8,966 confirmed cases with 65 deaths.
To complicate its road to recovery, Thailand is trying to recover in its bid to secure vaccines. Despite being a center for the production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the government has not yet guaranteed sufficient doses to cover its population of almost 70 million people.
Thailand signed a joint venture agreement with AstraZeneca in October to produce up to 200 million doses of the vaccine in the country, but has only managed to guarantee 26 million doses for itself. Thailand expects these vaccines, which will be produced locally by Siam Bioscience, to be delivered in June.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Monday that Thailand is trying to get 63 million doses, enough to cover just under half of its population. The cabinet approved on Tuesday a budget of $ 39 million for vaccines, which will be offered free of charge to Thai citizens.
Meanwhile, China’s Sinovac Biotech is expected to supply Thailand with 2 million doses of vaccine, with an initial batch of 200,000 expected to arrive in February, and subsequent shipments expected in March and April.
“I hope you get there soon. There are so many cases now that it’s scary, ”said Watee Kongsilp, a street fruit vendor in Bangkok.
Cin Amornchainon, an office worker, added: “If you ask me if our vaccine orders are slower than in other countries, yes, they are. But I understand the limitations that our country has in terms of budget ”.
Neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia, are also struggling to acquire vaccines.
Indonesia has been negotiating for months to guarantee millions of doses for its almost 270 million inhabitants. He has business with Sinovac, Novavax, AstraZeneca and COVAX and is in negotiations with Pfizer. Vietnam is still negotiating with pharmaceutical companies and trying to develop its own vaccines. Malaysia has signed agreements to cover up to 40% of its population.
For now, Thailand is preparing for the number of cases to continue to increase.
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 coast. Hospitals and expansions are also planned for Chantaburi and Chonburi, two coastal provinces southeast of Bangkok.
Prayuth, seeking to balance public health concerns with economic realities, implemented a new round of restrictions, but did not come to place the country under a total blockade, similar to what it experienced in the spring.
Economic concerns are frightening: the closure of most international travel through Thailand helped to limit domestic outbreaks of coronavirus, but it destroyed the tourism industry, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy and generates many jobs. The Bank of Thailand estimates that the economy contracted 6.6% in 2020.
“We don’t want to block the entire country because we know what the problems are. So can you block yourself? “Prayuth said at a news conference on Monday.
“This is up to everyone. If you don’t want to be infected, stay home for 14 to 15 days. If you think like that, then things will be safe and easier to track, ”added Prayuth.
On January 3, the prime minister signed an order designating 28 provinces, including the capital, as “highly controlled areas”, where public meetings are prohibited and many businesses and other venues are expected to close until at least the end of January. This includes schools, gyms, day care centers, internet cafes, massage parlors and more.
Restaurants cannot serve alcoholic beverages and can operate with strict social distance requirements from 6 am to 9 pm, but only serve for travel from 9 pm to 6 am. Tables must be at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart.
“We learned the lessons from the previous blockade,” said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the COVID-19 coordination center. “We have to consider the imposition of measures and also the impact on the economy.”
The cabinet is expected to extend the national state of emergency, scheduled to end on January 15 through February 28.
As has happened elsewhere, small lapses can be costly.
Thailand did not register any new local infections from May 26 until November 7, when two women who crossed the border from Myanmar illegally tested positive for the virus, triggering a frantic effort to seek contacts by the authorities. Thailand and Myanmar, which has been hardest hit by the virus, share a porous border of 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles).
Cambodia, which borders Thailand to the east and has been affected relatively mildly, has increased security at land border checkpoints after at least 17 Cambodian workers returning from Thailand recently tested positive for the coronavirus.
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AP Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul journalists 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.