He couldn't get any 2.5 masks all the Chinese tourists have bought them all up and flogging them online for insane prices back in China. 

I went to my local pharmacy just next door the other day absolutely sold out of 2.5 masks just the crappy 3 baht masks . 

Today they just got a few 2.5 masks in and different sizes of hand cleaner

A friend of mine in Japan noticed on Amazon that there was a huge price hike on masks just this week compared to a a couple of wees ago.

A colleague recently informed me a currently full hotel off Sukhumvit had taken minimal precaution: a hand sanitizer dispenser at the front desk. Exact numbers of Chinese staying I don't know admittedly, normally there a many, and you wouldn't know unless you were downstairs 24/7, keeping an eye. Staff on reception are intelligent, and manager also. Is the money above all else, so deeply rooted? Even in intelligent Chinese/Thais? Or is it something else. Are they too culturally inward-looking to believe their kingdom will always be safe from anything from the outside world?