Poll shows nearly 2/3rds of Thais are tired of wearing masks

A new poll shows that Thais are tired of wearing masks and prefer to skip the inconvenience in many instances. The poll was conducted online by the Department of Health Service Support to judge people’s feelings about the relaxed Covid-19 restrictions in Thailand now.

A total of 7,507 people responded to the opinion poll that was conducted between June 17 and June 30, with nearly two-thirds of respondents saying that there were certain places that they prefer to no longer wear their masks. When asked about specific places Thai people do not want to mask up, entertainment venues were the top answer.

The department considered this troublesome, as entertainment venues are one of the easiest places for the coronavirus to spread, due to several factors including proximity, loss of inhibitions, large crowds, poor ventilation, and commonness of sharing drinks.

While wearing masks in public places and outdoor areas has not been required anymore since late June, many still choose to keep masks on, more so in light of increased infections after the long holiday weekend. The department still encourages wearing masks when in groups or crowded areas, especially for those considered high risk – elderly, pregnant, or with underlying conditions.

They encourage people who may be at risk of having been infected to get tested with home antigen test kits every 3 to 5 days to confirm continual negative results and stop spread as quickly as possible if infected.

The poll focused on two main questions:

Do you still wear your face mask?

• 62.8% – prefer not to wear one in certain locations
• 36.3% – prefer to keep continue to wear one
• 0.9% – prefer to never wear one

What place do you NOT wear your mask anymore?

• 12.53% – entertainment venues
• 10.35% – cinemas
• 9.79% – shopping centres
• 8.95% – markets
• 8.78% – public transport

SOURCE: Thai PBS World