The authority handling the Covid-19 pandemic in Thailand has issued a stark warning: cooperate with our guidelines or there will be a nationwide lockdown by March.
Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said the ultimate measure would be taken if there was not “proper cooperation from the people” and if the situation spiralled out of control.
Dr Taweesilp was addressing widespread concerns following the latest outbreak of infections originating at a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, affecting mostly migrant workers.
As of Friday, Bangkok had six new cases, taking its current total to 40. Four new cases were found in Samut Songkhram, raising the province’s total to 11. All four had travelled to Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of the latest outbreak, which remained in the highest-risk red zone with 87 new cases. All entertainment venues and restaurants in the province must shut from midnight-5am and no live music can be played or food served after 10pm. Migrant workers cannot enter or exit the province.
DECEMBER 26TH SITUATION
The CCSA on Thursday announced a colour-coding system to identify provinces most at risk of a Covid-19 outbreak.
The red zone means maximum control and a high number of infections.
The only province given this highest at-risk category was Samut Sakhon.
The second-highest control zone (orange) covers those provinces surrounding Samut Sakhon — Bangkok, Samut Songkhram, Ratchaburi and Nakhon Pathom.
The high surveillance zone (yellow) comprises 25 provinces, including Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan, while the surveillance zone (green) applies to provinces without infection.
Villagers in Bo Nok subdistrict, Prachuap Khiri Khan, resolved to prohibit non-locals from travelling and staying overnight in the area, which has many tourist sites and aquatic animal farms. All outsiders who have entered the area will be quarantined immediately by subdistrict officers. Provincial public health authorities said one person had contracted Covid-19 from the Central Shrimp Market in Samut Sakhon.
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health said on Saturday that it had discovered 110 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the virus has made its way to every region of the country.
Of the 110 new cases, 64 were local infecton cases, 16 were in state quarantine and 30 cases were found in migrant worker dormitories where the second wave of infections began.
The 30 new cases in the dormitories brings the total number of infections in the migrant worker population to 1,338 cases. The government said it would continue to test within the population and that field hospitals had been set up in Samut Sakhon Province where the outbreak occured.
The government also said that the virus has now hit every region with new three cases in Khon Kaen and six cases in Korat.
According to government spokesman Dr Thaweesin Visanuyothin, the government will now be deploying rapid testing kits to help quickly determine those infected.
The new test kits will be cheap and easily administered and were given to several members of the government house that had exposure risk – but the tests turned up negative.
