Here is an updated list of some of the most shared topics in the Lao social media this past week, based on reach and engagement on Facebook.
Mittaphab Hospital Prepares for COVID-19
These pictures of depicting the high-quality facilities of the new Mittaphab Hospital and 103 Hospital in Vientiane Capital quickly spread through Lao social media after a Thai news anchor angered Lao netizens when he cast aspersions on the Lao health system and its preparedness to defend against the pandemic.
Saved By The Tears
A man sits on the ground next to Lao police at an unknown traffic checkpoint crying. He is let off with a warning.
“Did you have a fight with your wife?” says the policeman. “I’ll let you off this time, go on. Don’t cry.”
Lao Labour Returns Home From Thailand
Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Khampheng Saysompheng is at the Vientiane-Nongkhai border, assessing the situation as over 500 Lao workers (who are destined to 12 provinces) are returning from Thailand. Lao authorities have set up camps outside the Thannaleng train station to screen for the possibility of infected persons.
The clip was taken on March 23 (15:00).
Lao authorities are also planning to requisition vacant schools around the country to quarantine the labor migrants who have recently returned.
Another clip of hundreds of Lao returnees waiting anxiously at the Thai side of the 2nd Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, linking Moukdahan to Savannakhet also garnered a huge number of views. The sheer volume and proximity of people in relation to others, many of whom do not have masks, is highly concerning.
Here is another video clip of Lao immigration police handling a situation of returning Lao workers.
