With virus still a problem, Thailand's hopes for economic recovery remain grim

Bangkok

THAILAND ended 2020 on a note of uncertainty thanks to a fresh outbreak of Covid-19, which devastated the tourism-reliant economy last year and is destined to overshadow any recovery in 2021.

After seemingly containing the spread of Covid-19 by May - maintaining the case load in the 4,000 range with less than 60 deaths for six months - the kingdom was hit by a second wave.

That wave started in a fish market in Samut Sakorn in mid-December and swiftly spread nationwide, forcing the government to cancel most New Year's celebrations in Bangkok last weekend and announce new partial lockdown measures in Bangkok and 27 "red zone" provinces.

South-east Asia's second largest economy has confirmed a total of 7,694 coronavirus c…

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