BANGKOK (AP) – For much of 2020, Thailand had the coronavirus under control. After a strict national blockade in April and May, the number of new local infections fell to zero, where it remained for the next six months.
Thailand closed its borders, imposing mandatory quarantines on its own citizens and the few foreigners allowed to visit them. But aside from some external signs of the “new normal,” such as the ubiquitous wearing of masks and reminders to practice social distancing, life resumed as if the pandemic had followed its course.
A new outbreak discovered in mid-December threatens to relocate the country to where it was in the hardest days of early 2020, when it recorded 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 by the end of this month, at worst, if the government does nothing more to curb the spread of the virus.
The outbreak identified in mid-December focused on a seafood market in Samut Sakhon, southwest of the capital Bangkok, which employs thousands of migrant workers from Myanmar. It has now spread to 56 of Thailand’s 77 provinces.
On Tuesday, the country reported 527 new cases, mostly migrant workers linked to the Samut Sakhon market. A day earlier, Thailand counted 745 new cases, a record high since the pandemic first hit the country last January.
Thailand now has 8,966 confirmed cases in total with 65 deaths.
Complicating its path to recovery, Thailand is recovering in its bid to secure vaccines. Despite being an Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine production center, the government has not yet secured enough doses to cover its population of about 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 been able to secure 26 million doses. Thailand expects these vaccines, which will be produced locally by Siam Bioscience, to be delivered in June.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Monday that Thailand is trying to get 63 million doses, enough to cover just under half of its population. The cabinet approved a $ 39 million budget for vaccines on Tuesday, which will be offered free of charge to Thai citizens.
Meanwhile, China’s Sinovac Biotech is expected to provide Thailand with 2 million doses of vaccine, with an initial batch of 200,000 due in February and expected to be shipped later in March and April.
“I hope they arrive soon. There are so many cases right now that it’s terrifying, “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 other countries, yes. But I understand the limitations of our country 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 secure millions of doses for its nearly 270 million people. It has agreements with Sinovac, Novavax, AstraZeneca and COVAX and is in talks with Pfizer. Vietnam continues to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and try to develop its own vaccines. Malaysia has signed agreements to cover up to 40 percent of its population.
For now, Thailand is preparing for the number of cases to continue to rise.
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 eastern shore. Hospitals and expansions are also planned in Chantaburi and Chonburi, two coastal provinces southeast of Bangkok.
Prayuth, which seeks to balance public health issues with economic realities, has implemented a new round of restrictions, but has failed to put the country under complete closure, similar to what it experienced in the spring.
The economic concerns are daunting: Thailand’s closure to most international travel helped limit domestic coronavirus outbreaks, but it destroyed the tourism industry, which accounts for about a tenth of the economy and provides many jobs. The Bank of Thailand estimates that the economy contracted by 6.6% in 2020.
“We do not want to close the whole country because we know what the problems are. So can you all shut up? ”Prayuth said at a news conference Monday.
“It simply came to our notice then. If you do not want to become infected, you will only stay at home for 14 or 15 days. If you think like that, things will be safer and easier to control, ”Prayuth added.
On January 3, the prime minister signed an order designating 28 provinces, including the capital, as “highly controlled areas” where public meetings are banned and many businesses and other places must close at least by the end of January. . These include schools, gyms, daycares, internet cafes, massage parlors and more.
Restaurants may not consume alcohol and may operate with strict social distancing requirements from 6:00 to 21:00, but only serve takeaway food from 21:00 to 06:00. Tables should be at least 1.5 meters (5 feet) apart.
“We have learned the lessons from the previous blockade,” said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the COVID-19 coordination center. “We need to consider imposing measures and impacting the economy.”
The cabinet is expected to extend the national state of emergency, which will end Jan. 15 through Feb. 28.
As has been true elsewhere, small slips can be costly.
Thailand did not register 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, prompting authorities in a frantic search effort. contacts. Thailand and Myanmar, which have been hardest hit by the virus, share a 2,400-kilometer (1,500-mile) porous border.
Cambodia, which borders Thailand to the east and has been relatively slightly affected, increased security at land border controls after at least 17 Cambodian workers returning from Thailand recently tested positive for coronavirus.
___
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.