No Bangkok lockdown, PM insists, but shuts infected construction sites for a month
The meeting of the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration has rejected a proposal to lock down Bangkok and its perimeter areas as well as the four southern provinces of Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat to contain the spread of Covid-19, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday.
The proposal came from the Ministry of Public Health, which cited the concerns of several doctors and medical experts that hospital beds and ICU rooms in these areas were mostly occupied while the number of new infections in the country were still rising at around 3,000 to 4,000 patients per day. Also, the rental contracts of several field hospitals in Bangkok are about to expire, which will further reduce the city’s capacity to treat new patients.
“There will be no lockdown in Bangkok, its surrounding provinces and the four southern provinces,” said Prayut, who chaired the CCSA meeting. “However, construction sites that have reported infections will be shut down for a month. The Ministry of Labour will be responsible for taking care of affected Thai and migrant labourers.”
The prime minister also urged people to refrain from travelling to reduce the chances of the virus spreading to wider areas.
“If inter-provincial travel is unavoidable, please strictly adhere to Ministry of Public Health’s disease control measures and other measures announced by each province,” he said. “If you have to enter Bangkok, we urge you to remain in self-quarantine for 14 days and refrain from going to crowded areas.”