Thermal scanners now stand at the doors of luxury malls and attendants pump disinfectant into the hands of visitors as they stream in.
With 14 cases, Thailand now has the highest confirmed number of coronavirus infections outside China and people are starting to worry.
“It’s spreading so fast and the information is so hidden, we don’t know the whole picture,” young mother Cathy told me.
Even her four-year-old son obediently wears a surgical mask.
“I’m worried that I’ll get sick and stay in hospital and there isn’t a vaccine,” commuter Nan added.
Already popular because of pollution, face masks are selling out.
The armour of choice, there are none to be found in one of the main shopping districts
“Finished,” shop assistants tell us again and again as we search for fresh supplies.
Thailand is a top foreign holiday destination for tourists from Wuhan.
About 22,000 people from the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak have visited in January alone.
Six new cases were confirmed today, five of them involving a family from China’s Hubei province, and the sixth from Chongqing province.
While all arrivals from China will now be screened and thermal scanned for signs of the disease, the coronavirus is believed to be contagious during the incubation period.
Thus it is feared that while visitors may not have any symptoms, they could in theory be spreading the infection.
That concern is helping to prompt criticism of the government’s response to the crisis.
The hashtag #crapgovernment was trending top on Twitter in Thailand at the weekend as users complained about the management of the virus and other health issues.
The country’s prime minister says the situation is under control but public health minister Anutin Charnvirakul admitted to Sky News that he expects the number of infections to rise.
“We are not able to stop the spread,” he said.
“Our target is we will be able to detect all carriers entering Thailand and we will apply necessary measures as the situation develops.
“Of course we expect more people to get sick but we are able to identify all of them.”
There is no way of knowing how many more coronavirus infections will emerge in the coming days and weeks, so residents must continue to protect themselves as best they can.
