Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing the overall situation regarding the ongoing protocols if you will associated with the pandemic situation or the COVID-19 situation. A recent article from the Pattaya News, that is thepattayanews.com, came to our attention and the article is titled: Group of Thai parents protest at the Thai Ministry of Education over mandatory COVID-19 testing and facial masks for students. I am going to quote a little more than I usually quote because there is a lot going on in here and I think this could have implications in a more broader context, maybe not immediately but in the relatively foreseeable future, possibly. Quoting directly: "A group of parents arrived at the Ministry of Education yesterday January 18th, 2022 to demand the cancellation of regular ATK (Rapid COVID-19) testing and the mandatory policy of wearing facial masks for students." Quoting further: "The adults who had reportedly traveled from Bangkok and all over the country, were seen raising banners and messages written in Thai such as "Checking with ATK is a waste of money", "Stop forcing ATK testing", "Make COVID-19 endemic", "If you're forced to have your ATK test every week how do you feel," etc. Natthamon, and apparently this is someone that was at the scene but only was cited as being Natthamon, they only gave one name, Natthamon stated to the Associated Thai Press, "When concerned parents saw the children were in pain during compulsory ATK testing, our hearts broke too. We don't think it is needed to be frequent and was not necessary. At the same time wearing a mask should not be compulsory but should be voluntary especially for young children who find them uncomfortable." Therefore the parents were urging the Government to call off mandatory ATK testing on all children and only to conduct testing on those who were having suspicious symptoms as well as to accelerate the country's reopening without creating complicated conditions to discourage tourists in order to urgently revive the domestic economy." 

So again at first glance this may kind of just seem like a matter of pertaining to the Thai education system but as I said it looks like it might have broader implications down the line. In light of this as well as other news that we may be seeing a resumption of for example the "Test and Go" initiative as well as the reports of the possibility of easing of restrictions and things although we have yet to see some of this come to actual fruition, there is some evidence to suggest at least as of the time of this video, that we might be seeing a change in the direction of the overall situation here in Thailand. 

Now that stated, the exact implications of this if any, remain to be seen but we will certainly keep people updated on this channel as the situation evolves.