A safe exit from the lockdown and eventual return to "normalcy" is not just up to the authorities to decide, but all of us.
This transition is no time to relax. Although some businesses and public facilities may be allowed to reopen, the public cannot let their guard down.
A balance must be strictly observed, between restrictions to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus outbreak and freedom for people to move around and make a living. Otherwise, the hard work and suffering during the past few months will have been in vain.
Guidelines have been issued about what kind of facilities and businesses can reopen and when.
The Centre for the Covid-19 Situation Administration yesterday allowed six types of businesses and facilities to reopen, including outdoor markets, out-of-mall restaurants and hair and beauty salons.
The reopened facilities must observe strict rules. Temperature screenings and hand sanitisation are recommended. A distance of 1.5 metres must be kept between restaurant patrons, even for a family sharing the same table.
For street food vendors, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is urging them to find a cover for ready-made food or install a panel to prevent people from coughing or sneezing on the food.
For hair and beauty salons, the service must be given by reservation only to stop customers from sitting together in the waiting area. Each session must not last longer than two hours before a mandatory 20-minute break for cleaning the area.
The salon owners must also keep a log of all customers and their contacts so that authorities can trace them if necessary.
Evidently, these new regulations will not be easy to implement.
Business operators will be compelled to shoulder higher costs. They will have to invest in equipment to ensure social and physical distancing and sanitisation while entertaining considerably fewer customers. People who feel unwell, no matter how minor the symptoms, should refrain from visiting those places.
Some of the regulations go against training and habits. It's obvious that business operators, service providers and patrons will have to make considerable adjustments.
With these new regulations and the large number of facilities and businesses involved, it will be impossible for authorities to keep a watch on who follows the rules.
That is why it is imperative for the public to stay vigilant and follow the recommendations. Unlike other health threats, Covid-19 spreads at a personal level. Preventing it requires individual cooperation as much as if not more than state control.
As authorities prepare to ease the lockdown, some people might get carried away by the freer atmosphere and forget to remain vigilant. Even now, the government's request for people to wear face masks at all times in public does not seem to be heeded.
Such a casual attitude, and an assumption that an exit from the lockdown is equal to a return to business as usual, is extremely dangerous in this highly volatile transition.
The authorities have done well in categorising businesses and venues according to their risk factors, mapping out a timeline of their reopening and setting conditions.
It's now up to each and every one of us to ensure that we can safely exit the lockdown and not return to it anytime soon.