Thai lockdown sparks exodus of 60,000 migrant workers - ministry official

By Panarat Thepgumpanat

 

Migrant workers from Myanmar are seen on the border as they try to go back their home due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Mae Sot, Thailand, March 24, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - About 60,000 migrant workers living in Thailand have fled the country since authorities shut malls and many businesses at the weekend to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a Thai interior ministry official said on Wednesday.

 

Thailand’s latest measures have left many without jobs and prompted a mass exodus of a large number of the country’s four or five million migrant workers, mainly from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

 

Thailand has closed its land borders, told people to stay at home, and shuttered most businesses in an effort to suppress the virus. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha is set to invoke sweeping emergency powers on Thursday.

 

A Thai interior ministry official told Reuters about 60,000 migrant workers from Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar had returned home as of Tuesday. Thailand has reported 934 cases of the virus, the second highest number reported in Southeast Asia.

 

Vast crowds gathered at the Myanmar border, carrying suitcases and luggage on their backs amid sometimes chaotic scenes as crowds scrambled over the gate.

 

“The state authorities are arranging to send the workers back to their respective states and regions by car, but some couldn’t wait and tried to pass the line,” said Ye Min from the Aid Alliance committee, a non-profit that helps migrant workers in Thailand.

 

He said about 30,000 had crossed in recent days through several gates.

 

Citing official records, a lawmaker in Myanmar, Thant Zin Aung, said the number that had passed through just one checkpoint was 18,000, with similar numbers passing through three others.

 

Myanmar's government spokesman Zaw Htay rejected phone calls from Reuters seeking comment.

 

As he waited in line, Win Paing, a 24-year-old employee of a fish cannery, told Reuters by phone his family had asked him to come back.

 

“In Thailand, people are now stocking up on food but I didn’t have much money to stock up, so I just want to go home,” he said.

 

Myanmar reported its third case of the virus early Wednesday, in a 26-year-old man who flew from Britain via Bangkok. All of its confirmed cases so far have been imported.

 

The returning workers were subjected to health checks and have been ordered to quarantine themselves in villages across the country for 14 days.

 

At least 11 have been sent to hospital with high fever, according to local media reports.

 

Large numbers of workers have also crossed into Cambodia and Laos.

 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Yangon bureau. Writing by Poppy McPherson. Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-25

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Good luck/stay safe to all.

What great way to spread the problem. Absolutely no responsibility.

now you can see the logic of it all. warn everyone what you are about to do and all those potential infections you would have had to cope with are  suddenly another countries problem....

Can't blame Thailand for not keeping them - they have to take care of their own. Can't blame the workers for the exodus as they cannot survive staying in Thailand (assuming their paperwork are in order). But this will also potentially cause a spike in cases in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmmar which have hitherto reported relatively low numbers (assuming they have been transparent). I sympathise with the workers who are are stuck between a rock and a hard place, and hope all three neighbouring countries are equipped, or are at least prepared, for this wave.

Epidemic Disaster

What are the numbers of those tested thus far? Is there a source for this figure? We constantly see numbers for positive cases of CV but not for numbers tested. 

 

Hopefully, if they ever come back, they are treated BETTER than slaves. Don't hold your breath!

1 hour ago, amdy2206 said:

What great way to spread the problem. Absolutely no responsibility.

What would you have the Thai’s do?  Block foreign nationals from entering their home country?  Yes it will add to the numbers of infected in the neighboring countries but saying you a captive in Thailand does not work at any level.

As much as the Government did the wrong thing last week closing all bars etc & scattering 6,000

workers to sll parts of the country putting back the "viral fight" by 2 months

I see no option for these foreign workers but to flee.

Billions of Dollars guaranteed to many workers around the world just aint gonna happen in any way or form here. The cabinets lips are tightly sealed.

Sooner or later 30,000,000 people with no money & hungry anarchy will set in

RTP are gonna be busy boys or barricade themselves into their shelters

Impossible combination in one sentence: Lockdown and exodus...

I thought they wanted THEM OUT, ordered them OUT

 

farangs are next, don't worry

9 minutes ago, justin case said:

I thought they wanted THEM OUT, ordered them OUT

 

farangs are next, don't worry

Just in case we haven't got the 'shihit's' right up us already! Thanks justin. ????

Edited March 25, 20206 yr by artiz

1 hour ago, Zack61 said:

What are the numbers of those tested thus far? Is there a source for this figure? We constantly see numbers for positive cases of CV but not for numbers tested. 

 

827 so far but it's only the tested. Maybe like in Europe where they say if we have 1000 tested positive then we might have 10.000 light cases not testet. No one knows how many infected there are in Thailand.

“The returning workers were subjected to health checks and have been ordered to quarantine themselves invillages across the country for 14 days.”
 

by “health checks” they mean temperature checked, I assume. So they will pick up severe cases, not minor or asymptomatic.

 

same everywhere I guess.

Edited March 25, 20206 yr by wensiensheng

I need you, youare welcome.

Please can you die in your toilets ?

I just hope Thailand treats "Farangs", westerners as good as western countries will be treating Thais..... 

20 minutes ago, Misab said:

827 so far but it's only the tested. Maybe like in Europe where they say if we have 1000 tested positive then we might have 10.000 light cases not testet. No one knows how many infected there are in Thailand.

Or, most other countries .  Thailand is no diffetent

4 hours ago, webfact said:

All of its confirmed cases so far have been imported

Yes, sure. It´s the same in every country except China.

2 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

What great way to spread the problem. Absolutely no responsibility.

Would you host and feed some of these poor guys?
Don't think you would...

Quote

they take everything we have. then they leave us in no men land  

 

Whatever, this is a terribly sad thing to happen to all the migrant workers, whether they be from neighboring countries or from poorer parts of Thailand. Nobody deserves to be left high and dry with no savings. I hope no one is going to say they should have to care for themselves, I think we all know what they get paid ! This is a tragedy in the making , and it will be a long time before any country gets over this, and Thailand with its very poor infrastructure and social help will reel from the problems that will arise now, and also after the virus has passed ! 

At best, this crisis could re-calibrate Thai attitudes. Only now is it slowly dawning on one or the other that the little man has been exploited for at least two generations. They will also now have to learn to only spend money that has already been earned and is available. The whole thing has to do with education and training and is the responsibility of the government;...so far, unfortunately, completely unrealistic. I keep asking myself what has been preached in the classrooms and lecture theaters in Thailand for years? Logical thinking and foreign languages, work ethic and social values rather not - unfortunately. Once again, Thai people should be told that the vote purchases during election campaigns always and everywhere fundamentally go against the interests of the voters. But precisely, democracy is not the ideal model for all countries. Singapore proves it every day anew with its model of "democracy".

You will soon see a massive debt crisis arising and a load of suvs for sale .  2008 had nothing on this. 

5 hours ago, bougnat said:

I need you, youare welcome.

Please can you die in your toilets ?

have more Chang

11 hours ago, amdy2206 said:

What great way to spread the problem. Absolutely no responsibility.

It's not about responsibility with these workers, they live with a daily wage [pittance], they don't have funds to stock up on food. They cannot last out here for weeks without supplies. Going home is their only option!

Close the borders today, but not say when they open the borders again?

So what time will the borders open again, so passing of them in both direction is open for all?

8 hours ago, Borderless Rum Hound said:

But precisely, democracy is not the ideal model for all countries. Singapore proves it every day anew with its model of "democracy".

In a democracy, everyone has the right to be heard and there are countless different opinions, resulting in next to nothing being done as people argue back and forth. In a one-party system such as Singapore there is no such hindrance and the country has thrived and become one of the most successful in Asia. A dictatorship can work better than a democracy, if you have the right people steering the ship instead of a tyrant whose only interests are personal power and lining his pockets. Unfortunately, such benign dictatorships are rare.

8 minutes ago, beowolf2012 said:

Close the borders today, but not say when they open the borders again?

So what time will the borders open again, so passing of them in both direction is open for all?

8am on 1st June, maybe?

Containment is impossible. Cure as soon as possible (60 days) or survival of the best healthcare seems inevitable.