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BANGKOK: Thailand said on Wednesday (September 9) that it had screened nearly 600 people potentially exposed to the first national case of coronavirus in more than three months, but so far it has found no new infections.
The 37-year-old man had worked as a DJ at a nightclub at three different locations in the capital Bangkok in the two weeks before he tested positive upon arrival in prison, following his recent conviction for a crime related to nightmares. drugs
People considered at risk in 12 locations, including the court where he appeared, nightclubs and supermarkets were tracked and 569 tests were conducted, the Public Health Ministry said.
So far, all the tests have come back negative and 32 people were waiting for the results. Authorities have asked another 400 people considered low risk to self-quarantine for 14 days.
How the man became infected remains a mystery, with all recent cases from Thailand, usually less than a handful each day, detected in state quarantine among people returning from abroad.
READ: New COVID-19 Cases Destroy Hopes of Reviving Southeast Asian Vacation Spots
Thailand has reported a total of 3,447 confirmed infections, 58 deaths, and has relaxed internal restrictions. That number is one of the lowest in the region, with Indonesia and the Philippines the highest with more than 200,000 cases each.
Natural border crossings and checkpoints with neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Laos have been strengthened to prevent illegal entry, said the permanent secretary of the Thai Interior Ministry, Chatchai Promlert.
Last week, Myanmar sealed its capital city after cases doubled in just a few weeks.
The reappearance of the virus in Thailand was another blow to its economy, delaying a plan from October 1 to start allowing the return of foreign tourists, initially on the island-resort of Phuket, with mandatory quarantine and movement limits.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy suffered its biggest contraction in more than two decades in the second quarter, as the coronavirus outbreak froze tourism and slowed consumption.
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