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Removing Covid-19 from the list of emergency conditions will affect low-income households and daily labourers, Anusorn Thamjai, former dean of Rangsit University’s Faculty of Economics, warned on Sunday.

He said curbing the spread of the virus will also become more difficult because workers will not tell their employers they are infected, skip treatment and avoid isolation.

If there is no free treatment, then Covid-19 will spread more in the low-income sector and end up having a greater impact on the economy, he warned.

However, he said, if the government keeps Covid-19 part of the emergency diseases list, the economy will progress because the government will get more tax revenue to use for public healthcare.

Also, he said, all Covid-19 patients should be provided with free healthcare as not many people have private health insurance.

This can be financed by shifting funds from the defence budget to the Public Health Ministry until the crisis ends.

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The Thai Life Assurance Association may also not cover daily compensation or treatment for people isolating at home if the government declares Covid-19 as endemic.

He said before declaring it as endemic, the government should be sure that Covid-19 will not spread, or it may end up having to close the country again.

Meanwhile, he also warned that providing low-quality vaccines to students would not prevent infection and may put them at long-term risk.

Published : February 14, 2022

By : THE NATION