After two months of lockdown, the reopening of Bangkok and other provinces in dark red zones took effect yesterday.
It comes as the number of Covid-19 infections and deaths have appeared to gradually decline. Given that the reopening is forced by the need to save the economy, rather than a result of disease control, and given that infections nonetheless remain high -- around 14,000 daily compared with last month's 20,000 -- it's necessary that all of us carry on taking precautions.
With the economy being resuscitated, and some businesses resuming activities, people could easily lower their guard, leading to the risk of fresh clusters and even a new wave of the pandemic. If this happens, another lockdown will be inevitable, and that will hurt the economy, with hundreds of thousands losing their jobs.
In order to avoid this, we must all make the utmost effort to learn from past mistakes, such as the notorious Thong Lor cluster that saw infections explode in April.
This cluster and its disastrous aftermath was the result of negligence by state authorities who turned a blind eye to high-risk businesses such as exclusive clubs, and greedy business people who breached safety rules and laws.
Despite severe damage to the economy and health sector, with more than one million infections in the five-month period since the scandal broke, the real culprits behind the Thong Lor saga face no penalties.
Also contributing to the virus crisis was the construction sector that employed illegal migrant labour, supplied by people-smuggling networks in border provinces.
Despite this, labour smuggling is still rampant, as a result of lax enforcement in border areas.
Infections within the labour sector went from bad to worse because the authorities rarely bothered with active case finding among this group.
Meanwhile, thousands had poor access to the health system. Moreover, the national inoculation campaign, conceived in early June, became farcical due to vaccine shortages and attempts by some politicians to cash in on the campaign and maximise political points.
While the state has vowed proactive measures against the virus, actions taken are another story. Antigen test kits (ATKs), for instance, do not meet demand while business operators have complained that they have to shoulder the high cost of testing without state assistance. Without sufficient ATKs, active cases finding is not possible and that could spell disaster.
Despite some improvement, the national vaccination campaign is still left wanting. The government has boasted that over 30 million vaccine doses have already been administered. Yet this number is well short of the target.
Of the total vaccines provided, about 23.4 million doses, as of Aug 30, were first jabs. The number of fully vaccinated people, only 7.7 million, is much lower than the desired target.
Meanwhile, heavy dependence on the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine, despite its relatively low efficacy in tackling the aggressive Delta variant, requires a further booster shot.
One lesson that should be learned is that reopening has led to new outbreaks so there are solid reasons to be concerned about a surge in infections. It will take four to eight weeks, or the middle of next month to see if the easing of restrictions will lead to this.
Every element in society must pitch in and strictly observe anti-virus regulations, learn from past lessons and stay safe.