Mask-wearing pupils catching up with friends at one Bangkok high school
were quickly told to spread out as they headed back to lessons on
Wednesday after months of distance learning due to coronavirus
restrictions.
The teenagers, resuming classes along with all other public school
students in the kingdom, chatted animatedly before being called to sit
in widely spaced rows for the opening session.
The school principal, Arwuth Meekhanphet, warned them all to closely
follow new hygiene rules, which included the face coverings and social
distancing.
“You never know whether you or your friend has it,” he said into an intercom.
Thailand has recorded more than 3,100 coronavirus cases and 58 deaths – a
low toll considering it became the first country outside China to
detect an infection, in mid-January.
Ahead of Wednesday’s nationwide resumption of classes, authorities
recommended that class sizes be restricted to 20-25 students while
doorknobs, desks and other areas at risk of spreading infection be
sanitised frequently throughout the day.
Student Parichat Klanpumisri said she was not concerned about catching
the virus, but reported feeling nervous about meeting up with classmates
again after isolating for so long.
“I haven’t met anyone for a long time and the atmosphere of the
classroom and internet learning is so different,” the 17-year-old said.
The country’s nightlife will also come back to life Wednesday, with
bars, clubs and massage parlours, which are sometimes fronts for
brothels, expected to reopen in the evening.
However, authorities have said there should be “no sex trade”, while
extremely strict limits on social situations should be observed – such
as bar patrons standing a metre apart.
Despite the push for normality in daily life, the kingdom’s cabinet on
Tuesday extended its state of emergency for another month.
Authorities insist the emergency laws — which critics say could be used
to target political dissent and censor the press – are necessary as they
prepare to receive certain travellers such as businesspeople and
medical tourists.
Premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha defended the decision earlier this week, saying the laws were not meant to curb freedoms.
Criticism of his administration has been constant throughout the
pandemic, as Thailand’s already flagging economy lurched into a
recession.
