Fourth local Covid-19 case reported in Chiang Rai, Thai returnee evaded quarantine

A fourth local Covid-19 case was reported in Chiang Rai today. The patient is a 25 year old Thai woman who recently returned to Thailand from Myanmar by using an unofficial land crossing to avoid quarantine.

The woman travelled to Myanmar’s Tachileik district earlier this month to work at a hotel, she told officials. 3 other infected Thai women also tested positive in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai after working at a bar in Tachileik. Those women also allegedly entered Thailand illegally, dodging the mandatory 14 day quarantine period.

The women could face charges for entering Thailand illegally and violating the Emergency Decree. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says he’s asked authorities to press charges “to the fullest extent of the law.”

When the 25 year old heard the news of other returnees testing positive, she got tested. She has not reported any symptoms. The woman claims she stayed in a hotel room in the Mae Sai district from November 24 to 27 and ordered food to the room. She moved to another hotel in the Muang district. The woman claims she wore a mask and did not go to public places.

The Chiang Rai Disease Control is investigating and is urging the public not to panic.

SOURCE: Pattaya News