Border control is imperativeWhile the county battles its menacing third wave of Covid-19, experts have recently come out to warn that if there is a fourth, it is likely to be the result of illegal border crossings. From Jan 1-May 9, officials arrested 15,378 illegitimate border crossers -- the majority migrant labourers from Myanmar (6,072), Cambodia (5,114) and Laos (882). There is also the unthinkable possibility that if Covid is not brought under control, variants could emerge that render vaccines ineffective before they have even been widely administered. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, with his gamut of self-given legal powers, must make border control as much of a priority as stockpiling vaccines to achieve the fabled herd immunity that is beginning to seem more like a speck on the horizon than an achievable goal. It is imperative that the government pulls itself together to prevent this and subsequent waves of Covid-19 becoming deadly tsunamis of tragic proportions.

Source: Bangkok Post May 10, 2021 23:26 UTC