Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor is pushing for more foreign business people to be allowed to enter Thailand when the country reopens for international visitors. No date has yet been confirmed for this. The EEC is a special economic region consisting of the eastern provinces of Chonburi, Chachoengsao, and Rayong, with the purpose of developing these provinces into an important ASEAN economic zone.

The EEC is lobbying the government’s Covid-19 task force to allow more foreign businesspeople to visit the eastern provinces, on condition they fulfill strict criteria for entry into Thailand. These include being tested for Covid-19, both in their home country and on arrival in the Kingdom, holding medical insurance that covers treatment for Covid-19, and undergoing 14 days’ quarantine at designated spots within the EEC area.

The request comes after the government’s announcement that it plans to allow 7 different groups of foreigners into the country once international flights resume.

The EEC is also in talks about a further relaxion of Covid restrictions to grant access to the eastern economic zone to potential investors. A report in Nation Thailand today says business representatives from various Asian countries are asking Thailand to ease some of the criteria and grant entry to their citizens for business-related visits.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

A survey carried out by internet-based market research firm YouGov reveals that Thais are the most likely to wear face masks and to use hand sanitiser. Khaosod English reports that the survey examined the habits of citizens from 6 ASEAN member-states and found that 95% of Thais always wear a face mask in public.

(It’s currently still law to wear a face-mask in public as part of the emergency decree)

Vietnamese citizens were a close second at 94%, followed by the Philippines (93%), Malaysia (89%), and Indonesia (87%). Singapore came in last with just 66% of people saying they always wear a face mask in public. Those surveyed were chosen based on age, income, education level and gender to ensure a wide representation for each country.

YouGov/Imperial College London

The Covid-19 outbreak has led to more people wearing face masks, particularly in countries where it is now mandatory to do so while in public. While there was a degree of panic-buying of surgical masks in the early days of the pandemic, many Thai fashion brands are now producing their own, along with creative individuals who started making masks to alleviate the initial shortage.

The owner of the I’m Not A Morning Person fashion label, 28 year old Jarauyporn Khamwan started by using leftover material to make satin masks which she sold for 290 baht. She believes masks have the potential to become a fashion accessory, particularly if wearing them remains a permanent requirement.

Overall, the wearing of face masks is far more prevalent in Asian culture, although things are slowly changing in some Western countries as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Across the 6 ASEAN members surveyed, 86% of respondents say they always wear a face mask in public. By contrast, 48% of people in the US do, followed by 44% in France. In the UK, just 15% of respondents say they always wear a face mask when leaving home.

SOURCE: Khaosod English

Thailand’s neighbour Cambodia has had no new Covid-19 cases for a month and its last patient has recovered and left hospital, leaving the country with 0 cases. But no easing of restrictions related to the virus, including school closures and border entry checks and quarantines, was mentioned in the statement from the Cambodian Ministry of Health. Cambodia’s last reported new case was on April 12. A total of 14,684 tests have been done since January, according to the ministry.

A 36 year old woman from Cambodia’s northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey was released from the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital in Phnom Penh, and was presented to the media in a livestream yesterday, thanking the health authorities.

Cambodia reported a total of 122 cases of the virus and no deaths from since the disease emerged in China and began spreading around the world, infecting more than 4.6 million and killing about 311,000 since January.

Cambodia’s Health Minister urged people to stay vigilant and take precautions such as not gathering in large groups.

“We think that most of the cases, generally, are imported, so we must be careful with all checkpoints at the border, at airports, at ports, at land checkpoints.”

“People who travel from abroad must have a certificate confirming that they don’t have COVID-19. Only then would we allow them in, and once they are in, they will be quarantined for another 14 days.”

Cambodia has fared better than most of its neighbours and other ASEAN nations. By comparison, as of today, Singapore has reported 27,635 cases and 22 deaths; Malaysia has reported 6,872 cases and 113 deaths; Indonesia 17,025 cases and 1,089 deaths, the Philippines 12,305 cases and 817 deaths; Thailand 3,025 cases and 56 deaths; Vietnam 318 cases and no deaths, Brunei 141 cases and 1 death, and Laos has reported 19 cases with no deaths.

SOURCE: Reuters | worldometers.info