By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, March 21 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Thailand is looking into tougher measures to combat the fast-spreading COVID-19.
Government spokesperson Narumon Pinyosinwat said Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan o-cha had directed agencies and authorities to come up with suggestions to curb the spread of the disease which had claimed one life in the kingdom to date.
“We will evaluate all suggestions and recommendations and will announce it when the time is right,” she said in a statement.
Narumon said the government was aware of the hardships faced by the people due to the pandemic, thus the implementation of the measures would be done in stages to reduce the impact on people’s daily life.
“The health and safety of the people is the government’s utmost priority. COVID-19 is a threat to the nation, therefore we must fight COVID-19 head-on,” she said.
Narumon said Prayuth also urged people to stay at home to minimise the spread of the virus.
To contain the spread of COVID-19, all educational institutions including local and international schools, universities and tuition centres in Thailand will be temporarily closed for two weeks, from March 18 to 31.
Besides that, all sports venues including stadiums, boxing arena, and horse-racing venues, entertainment outlets, pubs, bars, cinemas and massage centres in and around Bangkok are also closed for two weeks.
The kingdom reported COVID-19 cases recorded in its 24 provinces with 80 per cent of confirmed cases were in Bangkok.
Of the 322 cumulative cases, 43 had been discharged, 278 still in the hospitals and one had died.
Prayuth, on Wednesday, had not ruled out a lockdown to halt the spread of COVID-19, given a sharp spike in cases in the kingdom.
— NNN-BERNAMA
