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| Thailand extends tougher restrictions including night curfew to three more provinces as the kingdom recorded 11,397 new COVID-19 cases |
COVID-19: Thailand extends restrictions to 3 more provinces as new cases hit another record high
BERNAMA
18/7/2021
BANGKOK, July 18 -- Thailand extends tougher restrictions including night curfew to three more provinces as the kingdom recorded 11,397 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike for a third consecutive day as the kingdom battles it worst outbreak of the pandemic.
Over the last 24 hours, Thailand reported 101 deaths, a lowere number than the 141 deaths reported on Saturday.
To date, Thailand’s COVID-19 cases have breached the 400,000 mark bringing the cumulative figures in the kingdom to 403,386 and death toll stood at 3,341 since the pandemic started in January last year.
According to the Royal Gazette, three provinces namely Chon Buri, Ayutthaya and Chachoengsao provinces have been added to the “maximum and strict controlled areas” or “dark red zones” list where night curfew from 9 pm to 4 am will be imposed.
Besides that, shopping malls and some businesses would be closed with people advised to avoid making unnecessary trips.
To halt the spread of COVID-19, public transport nationwide will limit its passengers to half of its capacity starting Wednesday.
The restriction, effective Tuesday (July 20), for two weeks until August 2 aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19 in the kingdom fueled by the highly contagious Alpha and Delta variant.
Starting July 12, Thailand imposed stringent measures in Bangkok and nine provinces including four provinces in the southern Thailand – Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla following a rapid surge in COVID-19 cases.
On Friday, Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) assistant spokesperson Dr Apisamai Srirangsan said the government is considering to introduce tougher restrictions as number of new daily cases continue to rise despite the restrictions imposed on July 12.
Of the 11,397 new COVID-19 cases, CCSA said a total of 11,388 were local transmissions of which 2,400 found through active case detection that included 318 prisoners. There were also and nine imported cases.
The new fatalities involved 52 men and 49 women aged between 30 and 97 years old.
