How dire is the situation on the ground in Pattaya among Thai boys/men?

[colmx]

The last message I received (yesterday) was "I am nearly dead" which I presume is a rather dramatic overstatement. Nonetheless it is concerning and troubling. He is from Udon Thani and says he would like to return home to his family but that there is no transport(yet)that is possible. Is that true? There are no Isaan buses running yet?

I also have a Udon Thani friend that claimed he was going to kill himself (in messages to my BF) over the last few days as the bars were still closed, he wanted to go home and he couldn't survive another month of closures. I think this suicidal tendency was caused more by boredom than anything else.

Others have posted that the interprovincial buses are running, but I am not sure that is the case. You have to have a valid reason to move between provinces and "no money or farang in pattaya" is not a valid reason. It needs to be death of a relative or imminent death or similar necessary journeys.

e.g. My BFs sister has been unable to go back to Buriram to see her 7 month old Son for the last 3 months and is beside herself with worry, similarly neither BF nor any of his family were able to travel to Buriram to attend a favourite uncles recent funeral