PM lauds agencies as Thailand moves up to 26th place in Covid resilience rankings
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed satisfaction at Thailand being ranked 26th out of 53 countries in Bloomberg’s Covid Resilience Ranking in January, up from 44th place in the previous year, Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Tuesday.
The Covid Resilience Ranking is a monthly overview of where the coronavirus is being handled most effectively while causing the least social and economic impact. The ranking evaluates 12 data indicators, including reopening process, infection and mortality status, virus containment, healthcare quality, vaccination coverage, and quality of life and human development during the pandemic.
“In January 2022, Thailand has received a score of 63.7, which is the highest since April 2021. This puts us in the top half of 53 countries with the biggest economies in the world for the first time at 26th place, 18 places higher than where we were last year,” he said.
“PM Prayut was happy with the ranking, and thanked all related agencies for their hard work and dedication in disease control that have resulted in low infection and mortality rate from Covid-19, while the economic recovery is getting on track.”
Prayut also thanked people for their cooperation by following measures announced by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
Bloomberg attributed Thailand’s increasing score to low infections and death rate, increased vaccination rate, and the government’s easing up of Covid-19 restrictions, especially allowing foreign visitors to enter without having to quarantine under the "Test and Go" programme, which will resume on Tuesday (February 1). The programme had been suspended since mid-December to modify some criteria to suit the current situation.
“The government continues to monitor the situation closely and will adjust the Covid strategy in both the short- and long-term to make sure that we can live with Covid-19 with safety while the economic development can still move forward,” said Thanakorn.
The 53 countries on the list, in the order of their ranking: 1. UAE, 2. Saudi Arabia, 3. Finland, 4. Turkey, 5. Singapore, 6. Chile, 7. Iran, 8. Taiwan, 9. South Korea, 10. Ireland, 11. Norway, 12. United Kingdom, 13. Spain, 14. Canada, 15. New Zealand, 16. Austria, 17. Japan, 18. China, 19. Colombia, 20. Nigeria, 21. Portugal, 22. Switzerland, 23. United States, 24. Iraq, 25. Germany, 26. Thailand, 27. Malaysia, 28. Czech Republic, 29. Bangladesh, 30. Belgium, 31. Netherlands, 32. Denmark, 33. Hong Kong, 34. India, 35. Egypt, 36. France, 37. Israel, 38. Pakistan, 39. Mexico, 40. Brazil, 41. Sweden, 42. Peru, 43. Greece, 44. Indonesia, 45. South Africa, 46. Italy, 47. Australia, 48. Poland, 49. Argentina, 50. Russia, 51. Romania, 52. Vietnam, 53. Philippines.