As the United States sees an increase in coronavirus cases, Thailand has not reported a new case in nearly a month. WGBH News Host Henry Santoro spoke with local radio personality and WGBH contributor Oedipus, who lives part-time in Bangkok, about his experience living in the country during the pandemic and his concerns coming back to the U.S. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.
Henry Santoro: Let's go back to the beginning. You live in Bangkok part of the year, and you also have a home in the suburbs of Boston. At what point did you decide that it was in your better interest to stay in Bangkok rather than come home as this pandemic unfolded here in the States?
Oedipus: We arrived in Bangkok on March 1, [and] we had been on the road in other parts of the world since January. We considered coming home early, but I called my doctor and on his advice and about the panic hoarding that was happening in the U.S., it was much safer for us to stay here. Thailand has handled this so well. They had the first recorded case of the virus after China, and that happened only a few days after the first of the year. The government instantly began screening people at the airport. They kept it intact [and] everyone started wearing masks. When we got here on the first of March, about three quarters of the population were wearing masks.
Santoro: It sounds to me, Oedipus, like the Thai government was very proactive, they laid down the law, but the residents of Thailand really adhered to it. They listened and they did what they were told to do.
Oedipus: The Thai government turned it over to medical experts. Medicine is highly regarded here. Their policies are scientifically based, and the medical profession is highly respected here. The hospitals are wonderful. And because of that, the people realized that we all are in this together and they've contained the virus here. We haven't defeated it, but we've contained it. It was difficult. It was very difficult. Being in a lockdown for two-and-a-half to three months was very difficult. There was a period of time for 10 days when you couldn't even buy alcohol because they did not want people gathering together. They tried to extend that, but that ended pretty quickly because people said, "Wait a minute!"
Santoro: What about places like your apartment building?
Oedipus: When you enter my apartment building, you're thermal scanned. You have to wear a mask in the building. You can only take [it] off when you're in your room. Everyone still wears a mask, even though it's been 30 days, Henry. Thirty days. We still wear masks because we know we haven't defeated it.
Santoro: This pandemic has ruined the economy in this country. How has it affected the economy in Thailand?
Oedipus: It's affected it dramatically, just like it has everywhere else in the world. [There's] high unemployment, they've had to subsidize many people, there were stipends that they sent to Thai citizens [and] there's many establishments still closed. I walk down the street and I see shops that simply will never open again. There are restaurants that will never open again. But it's slowly coming back. We'll see in July what happens. And plus, Thailand is so based on tourists and there've been no tourists here because there have been no incoming flights to Thailand except for Thais returning to their home country where they had to quarantine. So soon, flights will be coming in, and they're slowly going to let in certain people from certain areas of the world where they consider safe. They're still going to have to quarantine. They're first going to let in businessmen, they're going to let in people from Japan, they'll let people in from Korea and slowly more and more people will be allowed to come in.
Santoro: Well, you will soon be on a plane leaving Thailand. What are your thoughts on that?
Oedipus: Well, I'm particularly apprehensive about flying in a plane in America when we have to get off at LAX, then fly through Texas to Boston. I'm also nervous about going to the grocery store, going to the post office and doing everyday routines that you have to do when you're in America, particularly with the high infection rate.
