Border blunder
Re: “Prayut calls for calm amid growing virus fears”, (Online, March 15).
The key to maintaining public calm lies in good policy, not in sudden proclamations that are made only after a bad situation starts to escalate. Many conservatives such as myself believe it was a severe mistake to leave our borders relatively open. We knew the markets would eventually crash in a global pandemic even if tourism was allowed to continue and, due to the latency period of the virus, it was clear that it would be very difficult to screen for.
JASON A JELLISON
Turn up the heat
We have been inundated with “expert opinions” on the nature of Covid-19, many of which may be taken with a pinch of salt. However, if the known facts support the theory then we should be taking it seriously. One such theory is that the virus is not heat-resistant and cannot survive temperatures of more than 27 degrees Celsius. Perusal of the league table of infections by country appears to bear this out as the top 20 on the list are all temperate or cold at this time of year.
As far as Thailand is concerned, is it not time to rid ourselves of the obsession with face masks, which we are told are ineffective at controlling the spread of disease, and focus instead on keeping temperatures relatively high, such as by requiring air conditioning in indoor public places to be set to a minimum of 28 degrees?
STUART WYLIE
Tourism own goal
Yet three more own goals from an inept government refusing to use evidencebased decision making to tackle the virus. In the list of 18 countries now barred visa-on-arrival privileges in Thailand are Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. All three are free of Covid-19: no virus, no deaths. Unlike the UK, US, Russia and Australia.
As there are no Thai embassies in the Pacific Island countries (which are all virus-free), a Fijian would have to go to a virus-hit country with a Thai embassy and wait there three days for a visa and still possibly be subject to a two-week quarantine. Hence, they don’t bother and they don’t come and spend their virus-free money in Thailand.
So when the Thai tourism industry complains about the downturn, let them remember that it is this current illogical government that is banning tourists and businesspeople from virus-free countries getting here easily.
‘BUNG KAN BERNIE’
Chiang Mai smoked
Given that the air quality in Chiang Mai is so bad for three months of the year that the place is pretty much uninhabitable, I have serious doubts that any number of tramways, as reported in the March 16 edition (“Tussle over Chiang Mai’s tramway”) will save it.
Since the government is unable or unwilling to do much about it and the burning season will probably be longer in the future because of longer fires due to the dryness caused by global warming, I suggest that if any serious taxpayer money is to be spent there, it should be for more hospitals with ventilators; air purifiers for any businesses and schools that remain there; free respirators for everyone; and coffins for the old.
A REALIST
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