Death of a salesman: King Power branch linked with coronavirus death is closed

King Power, Thailand’s largest travel retail group, has temporarily shuttered an outlet linked to Thailand’s first coronavirus-related death. A statement on Facebook earlier today said the branch has been closed since February 6 as part of health and safety measures, and that all its outlets have been sanitised.

King Power, which holds the proprietary concession for all of Thailand’s duty-free sales, did not say when the branch might reopen, and admitted to a sharp drop in sales since the start of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

The firm did not make clear whether the branch was ever visited by the man who died yesterday after multiple organ failures. He worked for a trading partner of King Power and products under his supervision were sold at the Srivaree, branch according to the statement.

King Power’s statement says the 35 year old man developed a fever on January 28 and was treated as a flu patient at a private hospital the following day. He resumed work on the evening of January 29 but took sick leave due to dengue fever from January 30. he was transferred to Bamrasnardura Infectious Diseases Institute in Nontha Buri province, near Pattaya, on February 5 and doctors confirmed he was infected with the coronavirus on February 6.

On the same day that he was confirmed infected, the company decided to temporarily close its Srivaree branch.

The Disease Control Department said today, and The Thaiger reiterates, that the patient had tested negative for the virus since February 16, but later suffered from failure of his lungs, heart and other organs, leading to his death.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post