Our Bangkok correspondent H. Numan sends this report on the impact that the Wuhan Coronavirus is having in Thailand.
The Chinese virus in Thailand
by H. Numan
Let’s call the beast by its real name, shall we? Incidentally, this is the second time China has infected the rest of the world. Without taking any responsibility for it. In 2002 we had the SARS virus going viral. In both cases it began in a fresh market. In both cases the Chinese government tried to look the other way for as long as possible. With the Coronavirus especially China does everything it can — that’s a lot! — to disassociate itself. Anyone (especially a man in a white house) who calls this virus by its true name is a racist. The measures China is taking are exactly what you can expect from a ruthless communist regime. Not to be admired, to say the least.
One of the first countries to enjoy the new Chinese export was Thailand. That was to be expected, with hindsight of course. About a third of the tourism industry relied (past tense!) on the Chinese market. That’s about twelve million arrivals. Once the virus really took hold the tourism industry effectively died. The one third of the market was forbidden to travel abroad. The remaining two thirds seriously reduced or changed travel plans. That means almost no arrivals at the airport. Empty hotels. Empty tourist attractions. Huge fleets of coaches standing idle. Tour leaders without work. We’re talking here about the livelihood of many millions of people.
Elephants are highly revered in Thailand, and no longer used for hard labor. Quite a lot of elephants are now kept in retirement camps, where they are taken care of and work with tourists. Usually by washing, feeding and interacting with the elephants. To a lesser extent rides on them. Only there are no tourists. An occasional Thai and a few farangs (=foreigners), but not enough to make ends meet. Elephants eat a lot. About 10% of their body weight daily. That’s roughly 360 kg of fodder every day, seven days per week. Many of those camps are in dire straits on how to keep the elephants alive. I have no idea what will happen. Will they be released into the wild? (That’s a horrible thought.) Will the government offer support? No idea.
Thailand is doing what it can to contain the virus. I happen to live in the center of Bangkok, in the diplomatic area (lucky me!). Central Chidlom is the most prestigious mall of Thailand. The guards at the door check everybody now for temperature. The bank next door also has a guard who sprays the doorknob every time a customer enters the bank. If you use the ATM, he cleans it. When I went to the immigration police, same story: everybody’s temperature was taken. From what I hear, roughly the same is done in the whole country.
Last week we had a bit of a stir when the minister of health, Khun Anutin Charnvirakul, tweeted that filthy western foreigners were the cause of the virus, as they never showered. It was because of them the ‘good Chinese tourists’ were now staying away. He had to apologize, which he sort of did. He hadn’t posted this on Twitter, but rather somebody else had. He was too busy to manage his Twitter account. In a Western government he would have had to pack his things immediately. All Western embassies did file complaints about his statement. But this is Thailand. Thus, his apology was accepted.
The country is in a nearly complete lockdown. Within the country you still can travel. There is no curfew. Yet. In many cities entertainment has been closed down completely. Some of it voluntary, some of it on orders of the local government. All borders are closed. New arrivals must show a health certificate not older than 3 days, and have valid health insurance covering at least $ 100,000. All large-scale activities have been postponed or canceled.
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