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Thailand: FTI poll says lockdown ineffective
Harsh lockdown measures imposed last month were viewed as having limited power to contain the spread of Covid-19 due mainly to ineffective law enforcement, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)’s CEO survey.
Up to 78.1% of 201 FTI executives in 45 industries said the measures, implemented since mid-July and covering more provinces last month, only stopped the outbreak to some extent.
Only 6.5% of respondents said the measures could effectively control the virus while 15.4% said the lockdown failed to cope with the outbreak.
Their doubt over toothless laws to deal with such issues as illegal entry of migrant workers was viewed as the top reason (72.6%) behind the ineffective lockdown, said Wirat Uanarumit, vice-chairman of the FTI.
The discrepancy of lockdown regulations in many provinces (65.2%) was also blamed, followed by a lack of cooperation among state agencies (60.2%) and insufficient incentives to encourage people to stay home (52.2%), he said.
In the manufacturing sector, the respondents suggested the government help factory owners with more Covid-19 testing among workers.
Reducing employers’ financial burden to buy rapid antigen test kits was the most crucial help, receiving 91% votes from FTI executives, according to the pollster.
Kriengkrai Thiennukul, vice-chairman of the FTI, on Tuesday said the government should speed up efforts to stop infections in factories by making sure its measures to tackle the outbreak cover factories from upstream to downstream industries.
The government currently focuses on four industries — automotive, electronics, food and medical equipment — in firms employing over 500 workers.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2174327/fti-poll-says-lockdown-ineffective