|
 Thailand has imposed tighter control measures in some areas,
including on entertainment businesses, which will be reassessed in
seven days, said COVID-19 taskforce spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin.
Health authorities confirmed 155 new cases on Tuesday as new
clusters emerged in the wake of a big outbreak discovered 12 days
ago at a seafood market near Bangkok, among mainly migrant workers
from Myanmar.
Though low in comparison to many countries, Thailand's average of
142 new daily cases is a setback for its efforts to keep the virus
at bay, having recorded just 6,440 infections and 61 deaths since
its first case in January.
"If the situation is under control, we will continue the current
measures. If not, we will review them all. So we need to help each
other more," Taweesin said, urging people to stay home.
The latest curbs announced on Monday include a ban in Bangkok on
betting businesses and midnight closures for its bars, nightclubs
and music venues until Jan. 4.
[to top of second column] |
 Keeping new cases under 1,000 a
day may need more aggressive restrictions as
imposed earlier in the year to fight the first
outbreak, Taweesin said.
Those measures, which included closures of
malls, restaurants and entertainment areas and
restrictions on international travel, caused the
tourism-reliant economy to contract the most in
22 years in the second quarter.
On Tuesday, the cabinet agreed to allow illegal
migrants from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to
register to work in Thailand for two years and
also approved a budget of about 11 billion baht
($366.30 million) for combating the new
outbreak.
($1 = 30.03 baht)
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Orathai
Sriring; Editing by Martin Petty)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
