Covid-19 has tested Thailand's public health security since the start of the year. In the first wave of infections, local transmissions seemed to stop at around 3,000 cases. After the disease peaked, only a handful of infections were found in state quarantine, all of which were returnees from abroad.
In mid-March, when infections reached 100, Thailand announced a ban on international flights. An Emergency Decree was signed, a curfew was announced and lockdowns were rolled out -- forcing many businesses, especially those in the tourism industry, to halt or even cease operations.
Strict measures were gradually eased until July, when normal life more or less returned. Returnees from abroad trickled in, and foreign tourists were finally allowed in, albeit with conditions.
Returnees and foreign tourists were subject to a 14-day mandatory quarantine, which was ordered to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the country. To house returnees, government sites were converted to serve as state quarantine venues -- including the navy's facility in Chon Buri's Sattahip district, which housed returnees from Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the pandemic.
Thanks to the hard work of medical personnel and their repeated reminders for everyone to wash their hands, wear a face mask and maintain social distancing, the disease's spread was kept to a minimum. In late May, the country marked 100 days without any local transmission.
A hiccup took place in September, when a suspect tested positive for Covid-19 while in custody. Then in late November, a surge of infections was linked to illegal border crossings from Myanmar, after several illegal returnees from Tachileik, Myanmar tested positive for the virus. The spread, however, was quickly brought under control.
In early December, however, the country faced a new wave of infections, which came to light after a 67-year-old shrimp wholesaler in Samut Sakhon's Central Shrimp Market tested positive for Covid-19.
In the wake of the outbreak, the government rolled out mass testing and at-risk individuals around the market were swiftly put in quarantine. Many of those infected are migrant workers from Myanmar, who account for over 1,500 infections, but several Thais were found to be infected after visiting the market and its surrounding area.
As of today, the total number of cases in Thailand exceeds 6,000.
