We are seemingly paying a high price for Covid-19 complacency.
The new surge, with 689 new cases reported as of press time, followed one confirmed infection involving a 67-year-old woman shrimp wholesaler at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon, on Dec 17.
The infections that were subsequently found in a few Myanmar workers prompted active case finding among the migrant workers. It was confirmed yesterday that all the infections, which are also found in nearby provinces including Nakhon Pathom, Samut Prakan, and Bangkok are related to this Samut Sakhon case.
As the number of cases soared past 600, the authorities decided to put Samut Sakhon, which is part of Greater Bangkok, under lockdown, albeit conditionally. A field hospital is also being set up.
The Mahachai-based central shrimp market where infections were detected was closed, along with a major Srimuang apartment block which was occupied mostly by migrants who often sleep many to a room but will have to stay put for the time being. Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration argued that it's not a lockdown per se. Technically, it is now a "loculated area", he said, referencing a biological term meaning compartmentalised.
TV reports showed that the authorities had encircled the Srimuang apartment with barbed wire. Not a pleasant sight at all.
While acknowledging that forcing all those migrants to remain in such cramped conditions for any period of time may not be especially healthy for them, the spokesman downplayed concerns over the impact of such measures. He said most of the infected are asymptomatic and, as they are of working age, they are still young and strong, meaning they should be able to cope with the virus. Meanwhile, Thais in the area can still travel freely if they provide details to the authorities. Such double standards are absurd when the virus itself doesn't discriminates against any nationality.
In addition, the province enforced a curfew from 10pm-5am on Saturday and a ban on eating in or at restaurants. All the measures we went through in April and May.
In terms of the migrants in lockdown, Dr Taweesilp said the province will supply food to their rooms. He explained, in terms of international standards, such limits on movement are not an unusual response to the outbreak of an especially contagious disease in a specific area or region.
The spokesman also refused to label the hot spot as the beginning of a "second wave". It's a new outbreak of the pandemic stemming from a migrant community, so we should call it a "new emergence" instead.
Whatever it is, the new Samut Sakhon infections have effectively caused a fresh wave of xenophobia among Thais. Almost everyone talking about the pandemic is blaming the migrants who "brought in the virus".
Excuse me, if anyone is to blame, it's the Thais and local authorities tasked with controlling the pandemic.
We should blame ourselves for becoming overly lax in taking simple precautions over the past few months. It seems like social distancing has become a thing of the past while many people, especially those in food shops and small-scale restaurants, have stopped wearing masks while serving food.
Such slackness is the result of a lack of communication and enforcement by state agencies, and despite the invocation of the emergency decree that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has defended as if it was some kind of panacea against a reemergence.
This is a disappointment, especially after last month's warning shot when a group of women working in Myanmar's Tachilek sneaked across the border through a natural trail in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district. One of them, a Chiang Mai woman, ignored all advised preventive measures and, despite suffering from a fever, went on a shopping trip around town.
From that incident, we learned that are border loopholes. The fact is such an illegal crossing, by Thais or Myanmar alike, could have happened because some state officials turn a blind eye to it. The Chiang Mai woman could not have entered public places, a pub, a movie theatre and others if those places had strictly maintained a policy of taking the temperature of every patron.
No one knows how many more cases will be found this week and beyond, but many are expected. Authorities face a race against time.
It is my hope that the state will take care of those Myanmar workers without discrimination. Those who are sick must get treatment. If possible, attempts should be made to help ease the crowded conditions where they stay, lowering the risk of further contagion among the group. Those migrants, through their work, have contributed a great deal to our economic development.
For Thais, now is the time to remember and adhere to that old adage: prevention is better -- and also easier -- than cure.
I still believe that the risk of catching the virus is low if guidelines are followed and people behave responsibly, i.e. mask-wearing, hand-washing and staying away from large crowds.
And it needs to happen right now for the indefinite future, or until a vaccine is rolled out, if we wish to avoid another lockdown that could spell further gloom for the economy.
Now we know that the emergency decree, as attested by the Samut Sakhon quandary, is useless. It is only through awareness and by acting responsibly in public that a return of the disease can truly be halted.
Ploenpote Atthakor is editorial pages editor, Bangkok Post.