Govt breaks own rules

I have just watched a video of an Italian tourist’s experience at the new visa extension centre that opened to deal with people stranded in Thailand due to Covid-19. My first impression was that if you enter the facility healthy, you could easily leave infected. It seems recent orders to stop the spread of the virus do not apply to immigration. The most exposed are the immigration staff themselves, who become prime disseminators.

Why has Thailand not done the responsible and ethical thing like other countries and given stranded tourists a temporary waiver for overstaying, rather than play Russian roulette with people’s lives? Is this just about short-term profiteering at the expense of potential long-term catastrophic consequences?

STEVE TRACEY