Who will they blame?
I'm not really seeing it that way. The three groups you mentioned are the usual suspects, but farang are kinda missed here nowadays...or at least the money they bring into the Kingdom is missed.
Burmese are often scapegoats, alas. And they certainly were in the spotlight during the Dec/Jan COVID wave.
But Prayut and his merry men are widely disliked by ordinary Thais. They may not be out in the streets protesting but there's dissatisfaction. However, that's been counterbalanced by a sense of pride in combatting COVID. And, it's deserved for the most part. Thailand is in better shape than Malaysia, which is hardly a basket case.
All that has sprung a massive leak with the revelations of gov't officials partying in Thong Lo--Prayut declaims all knowledge, and the district is known for expensive clubs frequented by Thais who are, shall we say, not exactly the salt of the earth. The DJ Matoom incident where some celebrity infected a bunch of people at a party in January was not appreciated by the general public. Now this.
We don't know what will happen but cases are rising and that's not good. I expect closures of niteries, possibly another curfew. I also expect that the Thai FDA will approve the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines so they can be imported and sold at private hospitals, and the already-approved vaccines will likely see greater importation as well. This was not the plan, but I think it will happen.
Remember that Thais are terrified of COVID and resent those who've flaunted basic hygiene measures in the pursuit of imported booze and fancy skirts. A year ago I was helping hand out rice boxes and basic supplies to people who live in slums and have very little, but they have soap and cloth masks, because they understand the meaning of the word "pandemic"...I hope the current spike can be managed. But I'm just a lone farang here. I sure as hell will not be found in some hostess club sharing a karaoke microphone with flash dames in party dresses.
I'm hopeful, but nobody's yapping about the "Phuket Sandbox" scheme at the moment.
JtB
[ Last edited by JackTheBat at 8-4-2021 21:04 ] | |
