With the spread of COVID-19, Thailand was initially positioned to be one of the highest-risk countries globally considering its economic and geographic ties to China. However, with their proactive approach, the country is in a good stead to deal from the crisis while reducing the disruption.
So, what does this mean for Thailand’s present and the future investors?
See, it is needless to say that Thailand’s tourism has suffered tremendously due to the pandemic. And because the outbreak happened during the middle of peak season the loss has been huge. Though the figures are bleak, a report says that arrivals dropped around 44.3% in the month of February alongside the visitors from China that fell by 85.3%. In fact, Songkran festival being around, it has already been postponed. It is thus expected that the country will lose around US $1.52 million if the virus spread could not be contained.
On this the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Yutthasak Supasorn, said that they believe COVID-19 spread could be controlled by March end, meaning April can the point of tourist arrivals in the country.
Containment and Healthcare Facility
Thailand was the first place outside China to report a novel coronavirus case and was initially named as the highest-risk country for infection by the University of Southampton.
From the time when the first case was registered in Thailand outside China the situation now is under control and seemingly the government is successful in lessening the spread of the virus without even having to close its borders to the other high-risk countries.
Though, originally this was quite a bit risky decision but demonstrative of the government’s desire to continue its economic relations with China, further avoiding to suffocate tourism revenue.
However, a surge in the cases in the mid-March has led to implementation of strict measures by the Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, declaring a state of emergency from March 26 to April 30, banning both foreign entry to the country as well as public gatherings.
Simultaneously, the newly built 100-bed Bang Khun Thian Hospital is assigned as one of the major hospitals to treat the COVID-19 patients. Also, the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients announced that the patients will be able to get treated at their nearest hospitals free of cost for the initial 72 hours.
Disinfectants were spread in the streets of Bangkok by the army to minimize the risk of infection.
Financial measures
With the outbreak the Thai Secretary (the Monetary Policy Committee) announced cut rate policy by 0.25% right from 1.25% to 1%. Additionally, the government announced a package of 100 billion baht to help the economy of the country, including soft loans, tax benefits, and funds.
Though, this wouldn’t undo the devastation caused by the fall in the numbers of tourists, it is an evidence that the country is prepared to withstand the crisis from the beginning.
However, for now the priority is to contain the virus.
