Traveling and Celebrating During Songkran as Super Spreading Events: A Potential Triggering Factor of the Surge of COVID-19 Cases in Thailand

Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country in Southeast Asia, recently celebrated Songkran, a Buddhist new year festival, on April 12 to 15, 2021.1 Since the celebration is a four-day holiday that ends on a Thursday, many Thais extended their celebration until the weekend, making it a week-long holiday. As a result, many people from Bangkok, the country’s capital, went home to their respective provinces or visited tourist hotspots to spend their week-long vacation despite the slight surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country. The complacency of several Thais became apparent as the country had successfully controlled the outbreak in the past months. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Songkran was celebrated every April 13, typically marked by the traditional splashing of water in the sweltering summer heat and commemorated by visiting temples to pay respect to the monks and getting together with family and friends.1 However, the annual Songkran celebrations in 2020 and 2021 were completely different from the usual and accustomed holiday activities. In 2020, the government completely canceled the Songkran festival due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Strict preventive measures were implemented during that time, and the public willingly followed due to fear of catching the contagious disease.1 Due to the cancellation and successful implementation of strict public health protocols, the Songkran in 2020 did not cause any problem in the country’s COVID-19 situation.