The latest from Thailand – April 2020!

Written by our Thailand Team 

Current Situation in Thailand – COVID, Fires and Storms

Mae Sariang and the hilltribes curerntly have no confirmed COVID cases. The national figures are also low but the lockdown will remain for now to avoid an increase in numbers. Currently the lockdown has been extended to end of May with a tier system of easing out of it based on the number of regionally confirmed cases.


The fires have also let off in the hilltribe areas due to recent heavy rain and have provided the communities with a much needed break from fire fighting and smoke. The Mae Sariang town has also recovered well from the storm with the help of the community coming together and supporting each other and getting significant government support.

What our hub team is doing now

James has been working at a village checkpoint to secure the village from any potential COVID transmission. She has been manning the checkpoint at the end of April to allow for village nurses to do other work and will continue supporting our partner community this way for as long as the checkpoint is enforced. This allows us to provide vital but low risk immediate support
in our partner community.

 

What we are working on – Education & Health

Our partner schools are concerned that students will not be able to continue their education when the school semester is due to commence after the end of May. We will therefore provide the schools and villages with educational material, do at home tasks and easy workshops to deliver even if teacher numbers are reduced or students will have to study remotely if the
lockdown prevents individuals from returning to the school premises.

As the health community is not only focused on fighting COVID they are also concerned with the fear it brings people. They are currently doing more home visits to keep hospital numbers low but there is also a concern for increased spread of other illness and disease and potential inadequate care and treatment measures being taken by community members. This includes illness such as waterborne illness, hygiene & sanitation related illness, minor injuries and respiratory illness due to pollution.


We will therefore continue to support the rural health clinic in Pa Pae servicing local hilltribes by disseminating information to community members on basic health promotion and additional factors requiring consideration in the time of COVID.

 

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