Chula lecturer: Reopening of country could open a Covid-19 Pandora's box
Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Medicine lecturer Thira Woratanarat voiced his concern in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the government’s move to reopen Thailand to long-stay tourists will put the country at risk of a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He pointed out that the number of global Covid-19 cases recently increased from 30 million people to 35 million in a span of only 15 days.
“Many countries are still under the severe pandemic and have an infection rate 20 times that of Thailand’s, so Thailand will be at a risk of becoming a pandemic hotspot after the country is reopened,” he said, warning that the government’s move “was not different from opening a Pandora’s box”.
Thira said there is no nation which is safe from a second Covid-19 wave after reopening.
“The country will be a new endemic area if the government cannot contain the spread of the disease effectively. And even if there is a Covid-19 vaccine, it may be too late,” he said.
He urged people to wear face masks and closely monitor their symptoms otherwise it could lead to a second wave.
“If we do not help together, a second wave will be harder to overcome, while the number of cases will increase by 2.6 times, which may lead to a medical supply shortage,” he warned.
He added that the government’s decision is important, because its move will affect people nationwide.
“If the country decides to take risks, everyone must rely on themselves because this is a war between virus and humans and people need to survive,” he added.