Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has appealed to the public not to pressure the Government to hasten the fourth phase of the easing of lockdown restrictions, noting that it must be done step-by-step.

Speaking to the media at Government House today (Tuesday), the Prime Minister urged the public to cooperate fully with the Government, by observing the basic guidelines for the prevention of the spread of COVID-19, including social distancing, the wearing of face masks in public and regular washing of hands with sanitizer gel.

He stressed that full cooperation from the public will be the key factor in determining the timing of the fourth phase of relaxations.

The Prime Minister said that frontline health workers, and all officials involved in the fight to contain coronavirus, have been working tirelessly for public safety adding, however, that without public cooperation their efforts will be futile.

The Government, he said, has eased lockdown restrictions on many activities, to allow the economy to start recovering but, at the same time, he stressed the need not to lower the guard, fearing that a second wave of infections may occur.

Regarding a potential Thai vaccine, the Prime Minister said that there has been some progress by both the Government and the private sector, but he warned against over-expectation, saying that the process will take time.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Japanese government’s decision to allow Thais to visit Japan but, as far as Thailand is concerned, he said that the Government has not yet considered when Thailand will lift the ban on in-bound flights, pointing out that there are several things that have to be taken into account.