The chaos at Suvarnabhumi Airport on the night of April 3 could have been avoided had the authorities integrated their work to contain the spread of Covid-19. In addition, the legal framework being counted upon is archaic and irrelevant in the face of this rapidly changing pandemic.
It is these bureaucratic shortcomings which should be blamed for the tumult which occurred when some Thai returnees refused to agree to a mandatory state quarantine insisted upon by the government at venues including Sattahip Naval Base in Chon Buri. Instead, several asked that they be allowed to self-quarantine at home, a request that was ardently turned down by health authorities at the airport.
Several said they did not want to be grouped at the Sattahip quarantine centre. Some believed they had the right to say no, insisting they had not been informed of the compulsory state quarantine before taking the flight. They were probably right as under original travel directive, only travellers from South Korea, Iran, Italy, China and two territories, Hong Kong and Macau, were to be put under state quarantine. Those coming from other countries could practise self-quarantine at home for 14 days. However, on April 2, the government changed tack and imposed mandatory quarantine, but it was too short a notice for those who were flying on April 2, or before for the longer route, and they landed that night amid poor preparations on the side of state authorities.
Some of the travellers, after waiting at the airport for several hours without knowing what the outcome would be, decided to leave and headed home to self-isolate, while some agreed to go to the state-run centre, which developed a reputation for bad management after receiving the Thai workers returning from Korean cities in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province in February.
Pornpipat Benyasri, the armed forces supreme commander, yesterday acknowledged the process was unjustifiably long-winded for the Thais at the airport that night after a witchhunt began to track down those who made the decision to "flee". A lack of effective communication between the two sides made the matter worse, particularly with the government putting the blame on the returnees and threatening those "fleeing" with harsh punishment if they failed to report themselves by a deadline of 6pm yesterday.
If the government is to enforce state quarantine on those entering the country, as it is of the view that returnees put the country at higher risk of infection, then it must revise the directive and issue a fresh announcement which clearly explains the procedure. It must also investigate, and take corrective action where necessary, the complaints that have been made about the running of the Sattahip centre.
One of the April 3 returnees posted the hashtag #fightforourhumanity on her Facebook page, adding she now has to share a room at the facility with two strangers -- also returnees. Consequently, she said she is worried that she might contract the disease during this "state quarantine". Such room sharing is not acceptable if the government, and the health ministry in particular, really want to contain the pandemic. The disease control department's justification that room-sharing is acceptable is rubbish. The woman also shared her ordeal of waiting at the airport amid the tumult as she was left in the dark. There was no communication at all. Yesterday, the supreme commander conceded the shortcomings and vowed there would be an improvement.
The coronavirus outbreak makes stiff travel measures necessary and it's a welcome sign that the prime minister has finally shown some decisiveness, though it could have been deployed in a better way. He missed the chance to contain the disease when refusing to close the country in January when the first few cases were diagnosed.
Moreover, the prime minister and those under him need to improve communication with the people, making sure that they are aware of all the rules and regulations, and provide some time for people to adjust ahead of changes being made. Announcing new directives with immediate effect is only likely to cause further incidents like that which occurred at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday night.
Prime Minister Prayut must take heed of the fallout from a not-so-well-thought decision that created unexpected inconvenience and stress for this group of returning Thais. He should know that allowing the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand to place an immediate three-day ban on all passenger flights from landing in Thailand will lead to other difficulties. It has instantly left a number of Thais stranded at Asian airports, where they were due to make connections to fly back to Thailand, until at least tomorrow. The ban has also prevented a great many foreign visitors from returning home.
Until he learns to think more pragmatically about the measures being imposed, the prime minister will only encounter more headaches as his government fights to contain the spread of Covid-19.