🇹🇭 "Damn it! We almost survived!"

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It’s not all quirky taxis and smart puppies, cases are climbing. Official data shows another 2,713 known cases Monday, as well as 30 deaths. Bangkok remains the epicentre of what’s become the kingdom’s third wave. 

Authorities are cracking down on the porous land borders over fears of new variants, like those originating in South Africa and India, are spreading undetected. Lucky for the government, it’s also a handy excuse to extend the emergency proclamation until the end of July.

It feels like lightyears away from just a few months ago when Thailand had virtually conquered the pandemic and was working on plans to open up specific areas to vaccinate foreign tourists.

But is there some hope on the horizon? Hmm, might be too early to find that just yet. 

The vaccination roll-out is moving slowly, with just the AstraZeneca supplied. The AZ vax is being produced both abroad and locally which should hopefully get things moving quickly once up and running. The government is also eyeing off a Moderna deal. As it stands, around 1 percent of Thais have been vaccinated as the country undergoes a third wave. But there is another huge hurdle ahead for the world’s most unequal country: vaccines aren’t fully subsidised. 

The poor of Thailand are the last to get vaccinated but suffer the worst. This from Prachatai English on the current outbreak — believed to have originated among the HighSo echelons before wreaking havoc on poorer communities — must be read in full. “Damn it! We almost survived,” Wat Saphan abbot Phra Phisanthammanusit told the news portal. 

Migrant workers, often from Myanmar, have also been unfairly hit by the surge. Workers in over 400 sites around the capital are not able to leave their dormitories until further notice. Migrants, both in construction and elsewhere, are becoming scapegoats for the outbreak with loose border enforcement blamed.  

Prisons have also become hubs for the virus, with COVI-19 tearing through overcrowded prisons across the country. According to data from the Department of Corrections, at just two prisons earlier this month nearly 3,000 cases had been identified. 

Still, as the dark clouds loom the protest movement perseveres. Prominent protest leaders sprung from prison have confirmed they contracted COVID-19 — thought whether that occurred in the system or outside of it is a political talking point.

Here’s a fantastic read from Amnesty International (via Bangkok Post), which looks at the two prongs of this development. Firstly, how to conduct a protest movement with ground-altering aims during emergency powers and a public health crisis. Secondly, it argues convincingly for the prison system to be a priority in the vaccination roll-out. 

Or maybe the government will eat itself anyway?