Worsening outlook limits investment opportunity
July was the worst month for Covid-19 in Thailand since the pandemic began and cases continue to rise by more than 20,000 daily. Total cases in the country have surpassed 830,000, with more than 200,000 infections and 2,100 deaths since the start of August alone.
The situation is being exacerbated by a vaccination rollout that is still relatively slow. Government agencies and private entities are trying to ramp up vaccinations, but the pace hasn’t been enough to stem the spread of the Delta variant. At the moment, only 17 million people — 24.5% of the population — have received a first shot in Thailand. We need shots to ramp up to at least 50 million for herd immunity, a level we believe could be reached by early next year.
