Anutin says no to easing restrictions, praises Thailand’s handling of pandemic

Thailand’s Health Minister has ruled out any further easing of Covid-19 restrictions, despite reports yesterday that the CCSA is considering such a move. According to a Nation Thailand report, Anutin Charnvirakul has also praised the country’s handling of the pandemic, including the vaccine rollout.

Yesterday, Opas Karnkawinpong from the Department of Disease Control was reported as saying Thailand would need to move on and learn to live with the virus in a manner similar to what’s happening in other countries, where restrictions are being eased or lifted entirely. Not so fast, says Anutin. However, the health minister has acknowledged that, despite new cases reaching 10,000 a day, Omicron has resulted in less severe illness and the situation is manageable.

Anutin goes on to say that as more people are getting vaccinated, hospitalisations and deaths from the virus are dropping. Overall, he thinks the government has done a great job controlling Covid-19 and says he’s not the only one to say so.

“I recently had a discussion with the US Ambassador to Thailand about the coronavirus situation. He said one thing clear in Thailand’s actions is that we provide information in a transparent and straightforward manner. We also expect people to help the government prevent and manage the epidemic. We, therefore, disclose the information in its entirety to make society aware and understand the situation. We provide vaccines in time according to plan with efficiency and safety.”

According to media reports, PM Prayut Cha-o-cha will chair a meeting of the CCSA this Friday, during which officials are expected to discuss the easing of some Covid restrictions in order to allow some activities to resume and a degree of normality to return.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand