All 11 Hmong villages in Tak’s Ruam Thai Pattana sealed after Covid patient sneaks in
The Hmong hill tribe in Ruam Thai Pattana subdistrict in Tak’s border Phop Phra district has closed all 11 villages, leaving only one guarded entrance after finding an infected person smuggled across from Myanmar.
The village headmen and villagers in the subdistrict set up checkpoints for screening people going in and out of the 11 villages to prevent Covid-19 from spreading within their communities.
Phop Phra district found that the Thai patient, who worked as a Chinese interpreter at a Myanmar casino, was smuggled into a hard-to-reach forest along the border.
The vulnerable area connects the district with Mae Sot.
There are up to 14 natural channels along the Thai-Myanmar border, and Ruam Thai Pattana subdistrict has 2-3 of them.
Phop Phra chief Sompong Fungthaweewong said the district did not have any Covid-19 case until now.
Setting up community checkpoints for each village is in accordance with the policy of the Tak governor.
Now 55 villages in Phop Phra district, including the 11 in Ruam Thai Pattana, have recruited volunteers to man the checkpoints.
Ruam Thai Pattana headman Weerachai Kongpanaphaison said the 11 villages, with a population of approximately 14,000 people, resolved to “seal” the villages in the subdistrict.
