The majority of Thai people are confident that the government can cope with the second spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a survey by the Public Health Ministry.
Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the Health Service Support Department, said the Public Health Ministry, the World Health Organization’s South-East Asia office and partners conducted their latest survey on people’s efforts to control COVID-19 during business lockdown relaxation.
It was one of surveys conducted online, on phone and by local health volunteers with 407,008 respondents from May 15 to July 2.
It found that Thai people feared that pubs, bars and karaoke shops posed the highest risks of the second spread of COVID-19, followed by wet markets, nurseries and schools. However, 55.3% of respondents said they believed the government would be able to contain COVID-19 but 38.8% doubted the government’s capability.
The survey also showed that people were protecting themselves less. In the first-week survey, 85.3% of respondents protected themselves from infection but the percentage dropped to 80.7% in the 7th-week survey.
Of respondents, 87.9% wore face masks, 86.2% used personal spoons, 84.9% regularly washed hands, 73.4% observed social distancing, and 72.4% avoided touching faces.
The survey also found that more people traveled to provinces in groups and many people did not use the Thaichana app for check-ins and checkouts because they were worried about their privacy and shops did not use the app or did not register their visits.
Of respondents, 88% supported the returns of Thai people from other countries, 80% thought the ‘Travel Bubble’ measure would revitalize tourism, and 70% opposed travel between Thailand and the countries where COVID-19 were spreading.
Six more such surveys will be conducted from July 16 to Sept 24. (TNA)
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