Most disagree with the country reopening in 120 days: poll

According to a poll by the National Institute of Development Administration or Nida Poll, a majority of people disagree with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s announcement that the country will reopen in 120 days amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey was conducted from June 22nd to 25th via telephone interview with 1,311 people aged 15 and over with different educational levels and professions across the country.

The results were broadly similar to those of Suan Dusit Poll.

When asked if they agree to the announcement, a large majority – 73.46% – disagreed. Of them, 53.55% disagreed completely, arguing that the country shouldn’t risk taking in foreigners while the pandemic was not under control, adding that the reopening should be postponed until most of the people in the country are vaccinated are; 19.91% disagreed moderately and said they do not trust government preventive measures.

On the flip side, 26.01% agreed – with 12.43% overall they agreed, saying it would boost the economy and revitalize tourism-related businesses, while 13.58% agreed with moderate support.

The rest, 0.53%, had no answer or were not interested.

When asked if they believe the government can actually reopen the country in 120 days, a majority – 71.62% – said “no”; 27.16% said “yes”; and 1.22% had no answer or were not interested.

When asked if they were willing to accept the risk of reopening that would lead to a more serious outbreak of the virus and how much they would blame the government for it, 52.56% said they would not take any chances and the government must take full responsibility, while 11.29% said they would take no chances but would not blame the government.

On the flip side, 24.56% said they would accept the risk but the government must take full responsibility and 9.00% said they would accept the risk and not blame the government.

The rest, 2.59%, had no answer or were not interested.

When asked whether they attach more importance to economic survival or health security, 69.19% said health security was mentioned, 18.99% said economic survival and 11.82% said they were equally important.