During an outbreak, there will always be panic and public confusion -- and the Covid-19 outbreak is no exception. It should be the job of the country's leaders to assure the safety of the people and calm them down. In the past weeks, however, Thai leaders have become sources of confusion themselves.
One of the most notable confusions relates to the shortage of face masks. In recent weeks, drug stores and grocery shops have put out signs which read "Face Masks Sold Out", as the product is either out of stock and/or overpriced by distributors. The shortage was so critical that healthcare professionals began asking for mask donations.
Some doctors have told me that each medical professional is given only one mask a day. They said they have had to cut up their used masks to prevent anyone from using them -- especially following reports of disposed masks being recollected, washed and resold for a profit in the market.
The mask shortage became apparent in mid-January, when Thailand reported its first few coronavirus infections. People began hoarding masks to protect themselves against the virus, even though the World Health Organization has said that healthy people do not need to wear masks.
Demands for masks also went up in other countries. According to the Customs Department, the volume of surgical mask exports climbed sharply from about 0.34 tonne in November last year, to 5.99 tonnes in January.
By the end of February, the Department of Internal Trade began to restrict the export of surgical masks, but it was too late -- mask shortages were reported almost everywhere. This reflects the government's poor handling of the outbreak.
When the mask shortage was first reported, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit denied the problem and bragged about factories' capacity to produce 100 million masks a month. Around a week ago, he cut the numbers down to 36 million. Nevertheless, his remarks caused confusion, as the reality is that masks are scarce in the market.
Also downplaying the seriousness of the outbreak was Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who insisted that everything was "under control" and ignored suggestions he should suspend visa-on-arrival for tourists from high-risk countries. The measure was finally adopted last week, but it came too late -- as of Sunday, the number of infections cases reached 114, including several cases of local transmission.
These confusions were caused by typically Thai-style crisis management. Over the past few weeks, government leaders have turned to instant messages to deliver inconsistent policies.
For instance, earlier this month Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul posted a list of nine high-risk countries on his Facebook page, saying all visitors from these countries will be required to observe self-quarantine for 14 days. The following day, Mr Anutin deleted the post. About a week later, the government only designated four countries as "high risk".
Equally inconsistent is Gen Prayut's policy on quarantine sites. He ordered 19 sites designated as quarantine venues for Thai returnees from South Korea. A week later, he ordered the venues shut down and had the workers at the sites sent home for self-quarantine.
The government provided no clear explanations, so how could they expect people to calm down? When people have no confidence in the government's handling of an outbreak, they panic and start to react unreasonably -- hoarding medical supplies, or relying on other sources of information which could be false.
It is truly a shame, as Thailand's healthcare system and disease prevention and control capacity have been internationally praised. During the Sars outbreak in 2003 and the avian influenza in 2005, Thailand did well in curbing the spread of the diseases -- partly due to the stability and unity of the elected Thaksin Shinawatra government. Partnering with health experts and epidemiologists, the Thaksin administration came up with decisive measures and chose a straightforward risk communication strategy.
A good example is Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who on Thursday urged people to stay calm and take confidence in the government's measures.
He warned them that Singapore could face a "serious situation", so he emphasised government measures, including school suspensions, staggered office hours and subsidies to support businesses, workers and households economically affected by the outbreak.
In contrast, Gen Prayut's speech on Friday could have been one of his worst communications gaffes. He insisted the government has managed to control the outbreak but stopped short of detailing the government's plan to deal with the worst-case scenario. Instead, he slashed at critics for "distorting information" and "slandering" the government.
Lacking adequate knowledge on pandemics and communication skills, our leaders have made things worse by letting themselves be distracted by egotism and stubbornness, by refusing to lend their ears to suggestions from experts and people's complaints.
But they need to listen more, so that they can deliver the right messages to the public and come up with decisive strategies, instead of turning into sources of public confusion as they have been.
Paritta Wangkiat is a columnist, Bangkok Post.