Thailand Closing Its Doors

The noose is tightening.  In the efforts to stop the spread of the dread Covid-19 virus, the Thai government is starting to lock down the borders.  They are demanding before you can enter Thailand (even Thai citizens), that you present a medical certification that you have been tested and found negative for the virus within the last 72 hours. 

The US State Department has warned American citizens abroad that they should return to the USA right now before borders close down and they cannot return.  Well, I’m hunkered down here in Thailand, hoping that this crisis will eventually end and that I can possibly travel to the USA for my family reunions in the summer. I do not want to be trapped in America indefinitely and blocked from returning to Thailand.  

In addition to the bars being closed here, all movie theaters are closed as well as (gasp!) the massage parlors.  All Songkran celebrations, the traditional Thai New Year with water-throwing during the hottest part of the year, have been canceled, and this is a very big deal.  (All fun has been canceled in the Land of Smiles!) 

Face masks are worn by almost everyone, although many medical experts say that it is not of supreme importance to prevent you from getting the virus and many in Asia do not realize this.  Rather the masks are definitely good for stopping the spread of infection if you already have it.  So, wearing a mask is polite, it shows that you are concerned about the health of your fellow neighbors, and it puts folks at ease.  But the masks are so damned hot to wear in an already hot and humid climate. 

One possible glimmer of hope for us here is that these viruses tend to be less contagious in hot humid weather.  This may possibly be a reason that Thailand has a comparatively low infection and death rate so far.  Maybe.  Yet these reported rates look suspiciously low to me.  Is our Thai testing for the virus lagging and not telling the true picture of infection (just like the case in the USA)?  A prudent government would not want to hide numbers and later be revealed as lying about it.  Do we have a prudent government?  Anywhere in the world?  

We live in interesting times. 

-Zenwind.

.