EDITORIAL: By BANGKOK POST- Get virus act together

Unlike medical professionals who have proven their competence in responding to the coronavirus outbreak, political leaders do not appear to be getting a grip on the situation or getting their act together.

Everything the government has communicated on the subject so far has done nothing but create confusion, prompt questions on how serious it is and whether it will even be able to curb the virus from spreading.

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Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s televised address on Monday was too little too late. By saying that his government was “100%” capable of tackling the situation, he misled the public into thinking that the virus is under control. In reality though, the number of infections yesterday rose to 14 from the previously figure of eight. And it would be no surprise if this number increases in the coming days.

For one thing, infection from the virus can be asymptomatic, meaning the thermal scanners installed at most Thai airports cannot guarantee a completely correct diagnosis, especially since an infected person with no fever can easily slip through.

China has even said that a carrier can be contagious before symptoms appear, even though the World Health Organisation is still uncertain about this claim.

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Gen Prayut made no mention of this in his public address. Instead, by saying on Monday that he had told his government “a month ago” to prepare to evacuate Thais stranded in Hubei province’s Wuhan city, he made many wonder if he even knows what’s happening, especially since the virus only came to light less than a month ago.

Meanwhile, comments from Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul have been just as confusing. First, he questioned the need for keeping thermal scanners at airports now that all flights from Wuhan have been cancelled after China’s lockdown of the city.

Then, he played down the severity of the virus, saying it is like the common cold, when in reality the symptoms are more like pneumonia and the virus can be deadly.

Another point of contention is that while the US and Japan have been able to arrange chartered flights to pull their citizens out of Wuhan, why is the Thai government insisting it has to wait for China’s okay to bring 64 Thais home?

Even though Gen Prayut has this week ordered a “war room” to be set up to deal with the outbreak, it is still too little, too late.

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Also, given the fact that he has assigned Mr Anutin to lead the war room instead of chairing it himself, the premier is once again showing that for him this is not really a high-priority issue.

What’s worse is that the government has done next to nothing to restrict or ban travel to or from Hubei or provinces in its vicinity, even though some 5 million people had reportedly left Wuhan before the lockdown.

Unlike Thailand, Hong Kong yesterday announced plans to cancel all travel to and from mainland China, while Malaysia and the Philippines have take steps to stem the flow of Chinese visitors.

Thailand is internationally recognised for its preparedness in line with global protocols and the efficiency of its medical professionals. However, it is doubtful how much heed the government pays to suggestions from them about how the virus can be contained.

For now, the government needs to get its act together and keep the public adequately informed about the situation to quell anxiety.

At the very least, health officials’ good work should not be hindered by the administration’s lacklustre responses.