Around 200 Thai workers leave for Israel as coronavirus 'eases'

The sending of expats to work on Israeli farms follows the labor cooperation partnership Thailand and Israel have established since 2010.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A drip irrigation farm. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A drip irrigation farm.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Approximately 200 workers from Thailand left for Israel to work on farms last Wednesday on a flight arranged by the Thai Labor Ministry, who explained that the coronavirus situation was "easing," the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported.
The Thai expats were seen off at Suvarnabhumi airport by the labor minister's adviser Thiwalrat Angkinan and Labor Secretary Thianrat Nawamawat, according to the Thai Labor Ministry's Facebook.
In total, the 214 workers were split into two groups. The first group consisted of 131 newly hired workers, who had delayed their initial trip to Israel since the coronavirus pandemic first hit the Jewish state in February. The second group consisted of 83 workers who were returning at the behest of their Israeli employers, Thiwalrat explained, according to IANS.
The sending of expats to work on Israeli farms follows the labor cooperation partnership Thailand and Israel have established since 2010.
Sending workers overseas is something that Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha places great emphasis on, according to Thiwalrat. This makes sense, due to how much money Thai expats working overseas bring back to the country in remittances. According to the Thai Labor Ministry, over 100,000 Thai workers normally go overseas each year, with their remittances amounting to around 100 billion baht.
However, COVID-19 has seen the Thai government stop workers from leaving. But due to measures taken by the Thai government, Thiwalrat explained, the situation has eased to a certain extent, IANS reported.
Thai Labor Minister Suchart Chomkiln sent his best wishes to the expats, and asked them to abide by Israel's laws and culture, including following coronavirus restrictions, and to keep away from drugs and alcohol, IANS reported.
While the situation has eased in Thailand, Israel has seen a sharp rise in cases over the past few months, with the country even needing to go into a second lockdown period to stem the outbreak.
Indeed, while Thailand is ranked 137th in terms of COVID-19 infections globally, Israel is ranked 24th, with its weekly infection rate per capita the highest in the world.
However, new cases have been declining over the past five days, with the rate of infection standing at around 11% of all tests coming out positive as of Saturday, compared to its earlier peak of 15%. This is seen by many as a sign that the lockdown measures are starting to bear fruit.
Maayan Hoffman contributed to this report.


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