BANGKOK, March 5 — Thailand confirms four new cases of Covid-19 including a Thai and a Chinese student who travelled to Iran which recorded the highest death toll outside of China, taking Thailand’s tally to 47.
Disease Control Department director-general Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said the first case was a 22-year-old Chinese male student who was travelling from Iran to China, was screened with Covid-19 symptoms while on transit at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on March 1.
The second, a 20-year-old Thai male student arrived from Iran on February 27 and was diagnosed with the virus on March 2 after seeking treatment at Nakhon Si Thammarat Province in southern Thailand on March 2.
He said the third new case was a 29-year-old Italian man who arrived in Thailand on March 1 and sought treatment at a hospital in Chonburi Province the next day.
The fourth person is a 42-year-old Thai man, an employee of a private company who returned from Italy on March 2 and was diagnosed with the virus on March 3 in a hospital in Chonburi Province, he added.
“To date, 31 patients have recovered while 15 are undergoing treatment, including a 70-year-old tuberculosis (TB) patient diagnosed with Covid-19, who was reported to be in critical condition,” he said at a daily briefing on Covid-19 today.
Since the outbreak in January, Thailand reported 47 confirmed Covid-19 cases with one fatality.
To contain Covid-19 outbreak, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has ordered 437 schools under its jurisdiction to end the semester tomorrow after finishing the final examinations.
In Pattani, southern Thailand, schools that have completed the final examinations will also end the semester immediately.
Amidst the Covid-19 outbreak, the 41st Bangkok International Motor Show which is scheduled to be held on March 25 to April 5 has been postponed to April 20 to May 3.
Besides that, the 48th National Book Fair and 18th Bangkok International Book Fair scheduled from March 25 to April 5 at Impact Arena, Exhibition and Convention Centre in Nonthaburi will now go online.
Meanwhile, Ayutthaya World Heritage Fair 2019 (2019) which is scheduled to be held from March 13 to 22 has been postponed indefinitely. The annual fair also featured light and sound shows usually held in mid-December every year but due to financial constraints, the 2019 edition was put off until March this year.
— Bernama
