PM says Covid restrictions could be eased next month if enforced more efficiently now

Thailand’s PM says some Covid-19 restrictions may be relaxed from next month, if the infection rate starts to come down. Until then, he says everyone should strictly adhere to the rules, thereby making the restrictions more effective and reducing the number of new cases and fatalities.

Prayut Chan-o-cha was addressing the nation via his Facebook page, according to a Bangkok Post report. In his statement, he maintains that, despite daily new cases surpassing the 20,000 mark, there are still signs that the infection rate is decreasing. He points out that the number of recovered Covid-19 patients has surpassed the number of new cases for several days now. However, he admits to being concerned by the death rate.

“We don’t want a single person to die. The Public Health Ministry has concluded that if the government increases the efficiency of the lockdown measures, we will be able to reduce the number of infections and deaths further.”

He adds the lockdown measures were extended until the end of the month in the hope of decreasing the rate of infection, thereby enabling some restrictions to be eased.

“If the lockdown is enforced more efficiently, we may be able to survive the peak of the infection curve expected by the end of this month, and infections are expected to slow down next month. Then we can ease curbs on some activities and businesses.”

He has called on the public to work together to combat the spread of the virus, adding that there may be numerous asymptomatic carriers who have not yet been tested. Furthermore, even fully vaccinated people can contract and spread the virus. Therefore, everyone should adhere to the same guidelines, regardless of whether they are high-risk contacts or not.

In other news, the Bangkok Post reports that Australia has pledged AU$2.8 million (over 67.5 million baht) to help Thailand fight the pandemic.

Today, Thailand has reported 20,902 new infections and 301 deaths.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post