Health officials highlight “second wave” risk posed by migrant workers

Following on the Thai government’s announcement that it will grant entry to several other categories of foreigners, the Public Health Ministry is highlighting the risk posed by migrant workers, in particular those entering the country illegally. The government is preparing special “migrant quarantine” facilities to house labourers coming in from neighbouring countries.

However, the deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department, Tanarak Plipat, says the risk to Thailand is not over, despite the country having seemingly brought Covid-19 under control. He points out that the virus continues to spread in other countries and authorities are taking steps to ensure every area in Thailand is protected.

“Several countries are facing a second wave of infections, and we may face the same. The government is working on curbing the spread of the virus by setting up relevant agencies in every province.”

Tanarak highlights 3 factors that could potentially lead to a second wave of the virus in the Kingdom. They are Covid patients still undergoing treatment here, repatriated Thais or foreigners, a group considered a low risk due to mandatory quarantine requirements, and illegal migrants, who are a significant threat due to them being undocumented and not going through any quarantine procedures.

He adds that all businesses bringing foreign labour into the country must quarantine those workers for 14 days. He says he’s confident everyone will want to do this, as nobody will want to be responsible for causing a resurgence of the virus within Thailand.

“We have strict measures in place, and they should be followed as we don’t want businesses to be closed again. The goal at the moment is to control the disease until there are no more infections.”

SOURCE: Nation Thailand