Thais are furious after an increase in infections last week, sparking questions about the likelihood of stricter government action to contain the current epidemic. As numerous countries start to see promising results from mass vaccination programs, Thais are becoming enraged.
Businesses say a number of reasons are to blame for the current outbreak, the most significant of which is the government's slow-moving inoculation efforts.
According to the University of Oxford's Our World in Data project, Thailand had administered 323,989 doses of vaccine to its population as of April 7, the equivalent of half a dose for every 100 people. At the moment, just 0.4 per cent of the population had been vaccinated.
With 114 doses per 100 people and 59 per cent of its population inoculated against Covid-19, Israel was in first place in terms of inoculation efforts.
Thailand was ranked eighth in Asia. With 27 doses per 100 people, Singapore was first, followed by Indonesia (5), Malaysia (2.6), Cambodia (1.8), the Philippines (0.8), Myanmar (0.7), and Laos (0.7). (0.6).
The spread of the UK strain, which British scientists say is 70 per cent more transmissible than current variants and much deadlier, has complicated the new outbreak in Thailand.
Businesses, especially those in the tourism sector, expressed optimism the week before last that the country will reopen to international visitors in the coming months, with an economic recovery to follow. However, a new epidemic has dimmed their expectations, with concerns that the whole process will restart from the beginning.
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