Expert says Thailand's surge in Covid-19 cases is 'failure of the winner', SE Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

One week before Songkran, Thailand’s traditional new year in mid-April, health officials in Bangkok detected the presence of the coronavirus B117 first identified in Britain. This highly contagious variant was found in a cluster of patients who had visited entertainment venues in the capital. To reduce the risk of it spreading, the government banned the splashing of water – an annual ritual – and cancelled all public events which might cause people to gather. But, wary of the economic costs of a lockdown before the long holiday, it did not stop people from travelling back to their home provinces for…