Thailand reports COVID-19 death, imposes entertainment curbs in Bangkok
29 December, 2020
Thailand announced its first coronavirus death in nearly two months and tightened restrictions on entertainment businesses in its capital on Monday (Dec 28), in a bid to contain an outbreak which has reached over fifty percent of the country's provinces.
Authorities confirmed 144 new infections on Monday due to new clusters emerged stemming from it is biggest outbreak yet, prompting a good ban found in Bangkok on betting businesses and midnight closures because of its bars, nightclubs and music venues until Jan 4.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul stated he was undergoing fourteen days of quarantine after contact with an contaminated provincial governor, while property speaker Chuan Leekpai asked 29 parliamentary staffers to get tests after meeting someone who contracted the virus.
The baht eased 0.3 % on Monday while the currency markets fell 2.3 %, amid concerns about new curbs.
Thailand, the first region outside China to report a coronavirus contamination, has recorded just 6,285 cases and 61 COVID-19 deaths, having brought earlier outbreaks in order.
Its achievement has been attributed to tight restrictions in inbound travelling and swift assessment and contact-tracing.
Bangkok's tighter procedures follow similar restrictions in a few of the 43 provinces with conditions since a huge outbreak was learned 11 times ago among migrant staff at a seafood industry in Samut Sakhon, a province nearby the capital.
A good cluster has been found in the eastern province of Rayong associated with a gambling den, with 92 attacks in three times and one loss of life, a 45-year-old man.
Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, spokesman for the Bangkok authorities, said a good field medical center would also be create in the administrative centre and the limitations reviewed next week.
The outbreak could hamper efforts to regenerate a crucial tourist industry devastated by the pandemic, as authorities ease some restrictions on foreigners and offer incentives to boost domestic travel.
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