Prachuap Khiri Khan blocks borders with barbed wire after Covid-19 reports in Myanmar

With the recent report of 41 new Covid-19 cases in a neighbouring Myanmar town, Prachuap Khiri Khan officials are making sure the Thai-Myanmar natural border is blocked with barbed wire fences. The province’s governor Panlop Singhaseni says all districts have been told to keep borders secure.

In Prachuap Khiri Khan, 40 natural borders have been closed off to prevent people from entering Thailand illegally and potentially spreading the virus. Thai truck drivers can still cross the border to transport basic necessities. The province also set up more than 20 Covid-19 screening checkpoints. 400 locals in the area have been tested, but there have been no positive cases in the province.

Myanmar was hit with a surge of cases last month and the virus continues to spread. The majority of cases first spread in the Rakhine state on the country’s western coast and then spread across the country, popping up in towns bordering Thailand. The country has reported 18,781 Covid-19 cases with 5,548 recoveries and 444 deaths, according to Worldometer.

Recently, Myanmar’s Myeik province, which borders 8 districts in Prachuap Kiri Khan, reported 41 new Covid-19 cases, adding up to 66 cases in the area. 39 of the new cases are monks. A Covid-19 screening point was set up in Myeik requiring travellers entering the province to show a passport and certificate of examination.

Thailand border officers in various districts have been tightening patrol over the past month, monitoring the area and arresting a number of migrants caught allegedly crossing the border. Some have placed barbed wire to prevent people from crossing into Thailand through natural passageways. Some volunteers have even started to patrol the area.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

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