The prime minister insisted there would be no return to lockdown despite the arrival of the latest coronavirus mutation to the kingdom.
Junta chairmen-turned-PM Prayuth Chan-ocha said Tuesday that people should not worry about another lockdown after Thailand became the 47th country to detect the Omicron variant, which scientists worldwide are still trying to understand.
Prayuth glossed over the science to say that everyone should enjoy the holidays so long as they join hands in taking preventive health measures.
“I hope that the New Year’s holidays will be happy times,” the Great Returner of Happiness said. “If there is no new spread of the virus, who would want a lockdown again? No one would.”
Well said, sir.
His cabinet pal in charge of public health shared his optimism. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul described officials as being “vigilant” against Omicron and trying to accelerate the vaccination campaign to boost immunity.
“We are being extremely cautious. It’s not like we can order a lockdown immediately because we just reopened our country,” Anutin said. “People started to make a living, travel and create new opportunities in foreign businesses again. We must try to make everything go smoothly in every dimension.”
Health officials Monday confirmed the first case of Omicron was found in a 35-year-old American citizen who had traveled from Spain on Nov. 29.
All 17 people who came in close contact with the man at his hotel have tested negative for COVID-19, they said Tuesday.
As of Monday, 59% of the population had been fully vaccinated. Some people have begun receiving booster shots. Daily cases continue to slide from their mid-August peak, falling to an average of about 3,500 per day for the past week.
While plans to ease testing requirements for arrivals have been put on hold, no new barriers have gone up, and plans to reopen nightlife and bars on Jan. 16 are so far unchanged.
It will likely take several more weeks to understand the threat posed by the fast-spreading mutation, including whether the current generation of vaccines are effective against it.
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