Source::AP
BANGKOK,
Thai authorities struggled to contain a growing coronavirus outbreak just days before the country’s traditional Songkran New Year’s holiday when millions of people travel. Health officials reported 559 new infections on Friday, following increases over the previous two days. The government response has so far centered on closures of nightlife venues in 41 provinces for two weeks. Governors of some provinces are placing restrictions on travelers arriving from elsewhere.
Such daily increases are rare for Thailand, which has weathered the pandemic far better than many nations through measures including strict border controls that have decimated the country’s lucrative tourism industry. Thailand has also experimented at times with curfews, alcohol bans and closures of schools, shopping malls and restaurants.
The outbreak — which has infected at least one Cabinet minister and forced a number of others into self-quarantine — is increasing criticism of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government and its handling of the pandemic. While Thailand has only recorded 30,869 infections and 96 deaths, critics say the vaccination drive is too slow — less than 1% have gotten their jabs — and support for people whose livelihoods have been wiped out by the pandemic is lacking.
The director-general of the Department of Disease Control, Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, said this week that according to Health Ministry projections, the number of new infections could rise as high as 10,000 per day if no adequate measures are taken. Travelers and businesses alike had been hoping that this year’s Songkran holiday could go forward without a spike in infections. The official holiday was canceled last year during the country’s first major outbreak.
The government has so far declined to issue blanket travel restrictions though provincial authorities are allowed to set quarantine rules for people coming from high-risk zones such as Bangkok. Several provinces have done so, throwing many people’s travel plans into question. Chief among them was Chiang Mai in the north, one of the country’s most popular destinations until the coronavirus pandemic crippled the tourism industry.
Chiang Mai provincial health officials are requiring visitors from Bangkok and four surrounding provinces to self-quarantine for the duration of their stay, up to 14 days, the state Thai News agency reported. A 280-bed field hospital has been set up to treat COVID-19 patients.
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