A poll conducted by the Ministry of Public Health shows more than half of Thais are confident in the government's measures to deal with a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, yet are worried about the public letting its guard down.
The poll surveyed more than 407,000 respondents across the country from May 15-July 2, according to Dr Thares Krasnairawiwong, director-general of the Health Service Support Department under the Public Health Ministry.
The respondents answered the survey's questions both online and by telephone. Village health volunteers in 77 provinces helped people in communities to answer the questions online.
The polling was a collaboration with the ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Office for South-East Asia, the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital, the Faculty of Medicine at Ramathibodi Hospital, the National Health Security Office and the National Statistical Office of Thailand and International Health Policy Programme.
Respondents said they would be very concerned if Thailand began to record more than 10 new cases of Covid-19 each day, although they expressed confidence in the government's ability to control the pandemic should further measures be needed.
More than 54.15% of total respondents said they are confident that the government can handle a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
However, 28.6% admitted they have low confidence and 10.2% said they have no confidence that the government can deal with a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most respondents agreed that Thais are becoming more complacent by gathering socially and travelling upcountry more.
Respondents also admitted that their overall self-protective practices, such as frequent handwashing and always wearing a face mask to go out, had dropped from 85.3% on the first week to 80.7% by the seventh.
Some 88% of respondents said they supported repatriation efforts for Thais abroad while 80% hoped the government's travel bubble scheme would be able to stimulate the country's tourism industry.
However, 70% disagreed with travel between Thailand and countries where the Covid-19 pandemic is still accelerating.
Regarding the Thai Chana application, among the respondents' reasons for not using the app to check-in and check-out from shops were forgetting, security concerns over their personal information and no QR code or signing book available at shops.
The Public Health Ministry and relevant units will continue to conduct similar surveys every fortnight from July 16–Sept 24, 2020.
The government yesterday reported no new cases of coronavirus disease, with the total remaining at 3,202 and the death toll unchanged at 58.