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While the virus is still slow to spread in Southeast Asia, and while the situation here is much, much better than it is in Europe or the USA, things are getting inconvenient.
The government has closed down all bars, clubs, entertainment venues, and massage parlors to stop the spread of the virus from visiting tourists, and the current infection rate has risen to 212 (with still just one death).
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| Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay |
Supermarkets in Bangkok are still fully stocked. People aren't panic buying here, nor are they hoarding. Life is still going on as normal, though lots of people are opting to work from home to do their part.
The big problem for me is that my 90-day visa to Thailand is set to expire in the first week of April. Normally that would be no problem. My plan was to simply go to a neighboring country, visit the Thai embassy, and apply for another visa as usual. That's just how life is for expats in Thailand.
Unfortunately, neighboring countries are beginning to suspend their visas and close their borders. Cambodia has already suspended all visas for citizens from various heavily-infected countries including the USA, and Malaysia shut down their borders last week.
Seeing the writing on the wall, I pushed my visa run up to this week, and bought a last-minute bus ticket to the Laotian border for tomorrow, hopping to get to the Thai consulate in Savannakhet before returning to my regular life in Bangkok.
This morning we got news that Laos has suspended all visas and is closing their borders. Now, I'm not really sure what to do. The Thai government is currently meeting to make a decision about foreigners with expiring visas in Thailand. I hope that there will be the chance for some sort of emergency extension.
I will keep you all updated.
Now for the good news:
Korea has reportedly brought their cases of COVID-19 under control, and the city of Wuhan, China has reported NO NEW CASES for the first time since the outbreak began!
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/1882045/wuhan-reports-no-new-infections-for-first-time-imported-cases-surge
Also, the Thai Tourism minister has requested government action to help overstayers and people with expiring visas.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1881580/tourism-minister-to-seek-reprieve-for-overstayers
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