It is not authoritarian decrees from above but a strategy of persuasion built on a tradition of cooperation between public health authorities and civil society that makes the difference.
COMMUTE. Social distancing in the Bangkok metro rail system. Photo from Walden Bello
A measure of disorganization attended this process, especially in the beginning. The sudden closure of businesses and factories in Bangkok, without attention to how people would survive, led to many leaving the capital in a hurry, resulting in the spread of COVID-19 cases beyond Bangkok.
Polite visual and audio reminders were ubiquitous in both public places and supermarkets. On television, COVID-19-related advice was pervasive, and one of the most watched spots was the daily 11 am update of the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration led by a medical doctor who laid out the numbers, offered assessments of the national and international situation, and used the opportunity to boost popular morale.
These observations have been confirmed by a recently released survey of global face mask use by a United Kingdom-based research firm, YouGov. Ninety-five percent of Thais currently wear face masks in public, the highest of 6 ASEAN countries surveyed. This is in contrast to a 15% positive response in the UK, 44% in France, and 48% in the US.
The consensus on public health was not always there. It arose from a number of public health campaigns, which were successful because they were not seen as being imposed from above but involved the energetic participation of civil society. The country's COVID-19 success was built on this record of cooperation between public health authorities and civil society that goes back 50 years.
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