Bars to Open on December 1st ???

[goji]

The delta variant is happily circulating among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people here at home in Ireland, despite a vaccination level of over 89% of people over the age of 12. Cases among the vaccinated here are generally much lest severe, but hospitalisations and infection numbers are rising rapidly all the same.

This is the new normal. Covid will circulate & our resistance will be kept up by periodic infections, usually mild, or vaccine boosters.
If governments get their act together with booster programmes, the age adjusted mortality rate should be below the levels of 10, or maybe even 5 years ago.
We've had decades of improving life expectancy. Just because, with vaccines, covid winds the clock back and gives us life expectancy at 2015, or 2010 levels, it doesn't mean we should all be under restrictions for ever.

I am concerned that reopening too quickly will force Thailand into another lockdown, if hospitals are overwhelmed by a sudden increase in infections.
Hopefully that won't happen, it will damage Thailand's credibility as a tourist destination if it does.

Thailand should hit the 70% vaccination target in December. They have currently given out over 73 million doses, which is equivalent to the level in the UK back on 18 June.
England opened bars for outside trade back in April.
All domestic restrictions were abolished in England on 19 July, when 82.6 million doses were already delivered in the UK. Thailand will probably reach that number of doses sometime in the middle of November.

So the relaxation timetable is if anything, more cautious in Thailand. Thailand will probably benefit from a warmer climate and continued mask wearing. However, at present, the vaccine mix is inferior.

I suppose there is a risk of further lockdowns. Of course, a lot depends on the attitudes of the politicians and population. Do they accept that covid will be continuing to circulate & that we should get on with life, now vaccines reduce the severity ? Or will they continue to be cautious ?