Bangkok-
According to Anutin Charnvirakul, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong has been proposed officially as the permanent secretary for the Ministry of Public Health today, July 12th, 2022.
Dr. Opas is well known in Thailand as the Director-General of the Department of Disease Control and was a major driver of Thailand’s Covid-19 plan, restrictions, and measures over the past two plus years.
Dr. Opas has frequently appeared in the press and media warning about Covid-19 and Monkeypox and has often erred on the extremely cautious side in terms of restrictions and regulations.
The proposal was given to the Thai Cabinet and if accepted officially Dr. Opas will take over from Dr. Kiatpoom Wongrachit from October 1st, 2022, onwards.
This role would continue to keep Dr. Opas in a prominent medical leadership position in Thailand who has been widely praised by the medical and scientific community for his efforts during Covid-19. Critics online, however, claim the doctor was too cautious and took too long lifting restrictions and recommending easing things like border closures, mask mandates, and business sectors shut like nightlife.
