Nongprue Mayor Mai Chaiyanit hailed the work of local government workers in quickly bringing Pattaya’s latest coronavirus outbreak under control.
Mai said the quelling of the second wave, which began after Christmas with a cluster of Covid-19 cases at an underground casino in Rayong that spread to Chonburi, was due to cooperation between the government and public. The eastern outbreak resulted in 650 cases in Chonburi, but was crushed in less than a month.
Mai attributed most of the success, however, to the efforts by local governments, especially vigilant screening, testing, quarantine and surveillance, as well as educating the public about safety precautions.
Health workers brought the prevention message to community leaders, managers of condominiums and office buildings, schools and day-care centers.
Temples were urged to curtail crowds on holy days, officials sprayed public areas with disinfectants, gave hand sanitizer and temperature scanners to health centers, health-promotion hospitals and schools, and presented public-health centers with infectious-waste bags and receptacles.
Moreover, Mai said, health workers inspected migrant-worker camps and tested people for the coronavirus, disinfected markets and placed disinfectant containers in ten areas.
Yet, despite the success, Mai said people must remain vigilant. Cases may have dropped to zero, but the second wave has not died out completely in Thailand and could rise again in Pattaya if people are not careful.
