Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has estimated that the worrying Covid-19 situation would continue to hit Thailand for two to four more weeks at most.
Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said that, during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the prime minister asked the relevant agencies to let people know the reality of the country’s Covid-19 crisis.
In recent days, Thailand has logged more than 10,000 new Covid-19 infections and over 100 coronavirus-related deaths daily.
On Wednesday morning, the Public Health Ministry reported a record 16,533 new cases and 133 new fatalities found in the last 24 hours.
Mr. Sathit stated that Gen Prayut ordered officials to review the lockdown and curfew in 14 days.
They would announce the coming moves based on the situation’s severity at the time, he added.
Any decision to tighten pandemic restrictions or extend the lockdown after the period stipulated by Gen Prayut rests with the Department of Disease Control and the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Mr. Sathit explained.
At Tuesday’s meeting, the cabinet also discussed ongoing measures to reduce the Covid-19 curve, the Deputy Public Health Minister reported.
Mr. Sathit said that authorities had discussed sending Covid-19 patients to their home provinces for treatment.
The move aims to alleviate overcrowding at hospitals and medical facilities in Bangkok and other worst-hit provinces amid reports of ICU bed shortages and growing numbers of positive tests.
