Thai business groups call for more relief as curbs tightened

BANGKOK: The government has been urged to come up with additional relief to ease the plight of people affected by the expanded lockdown measures which come into effect today.

According to reports in the Bangkok Post, the call was made by business leaders.

From today, a curfew, along with other tight restrictions, will be extended in greater Bangkok and four southern border provinces until Aug 2.

At least three other provinces are expected to be added to the list.

The curfew, from 9pm to 4am, and other restrictions have been in force since last Monday in the “dark red” provinces — Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Pathom — as well as the southernmost provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla and Yala.

The expanded measures have drawn mixed responses from business leaders, with some saying they were acceptable, while others thought they would only worsen the economy.

Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the new measures were acceptable to the private sector as long as they were not much different from the existing ones, and only expanded to cover some areas.

“The manufacturing sector has not yet been affected by the lockdown measures, but if any more restrictions are to be imposed, they must be considered carefully.”

He said antigen rapid tests must start as soon as possible to screen for infections.

But S om ch aiPornr at tan a char oen,p resident of the Wholesale and Retail Trade Association, said the expansion of restrictions would deal another blow to an economy reeling from the Covid-19 impact.

“The economy will worsen because the relief measures are unclear. People are losing confidence in the government,” he said, adding that more businesses might close and more people would lose their jobs.

Thailand reported a record high of 11,397 Covid-19 cases and 101 fatalities in 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported on Sunday.