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BANGKOK (REUTERS) – Thailand announced its first coronavirus death in nearly two months and tightened restrictions on entertainment companies in its capital on Monday (December 28), in a bid to contain an outbreak that has reached more than half of the country’s provinces.
Authorities confirmed 144 new infections on Monday as new groups emerged stemming from its biggest outbreak yet, prompting Bangkok’s ban on gambling businesses and midnight closures for its bars, nightclubs and music venues until the 4th. from January.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he was under two weeks of quarantine after being exposed to an infected provincial governor, while House Speaker Chuan Leekpai asked 29 members of the parliamentary staff to do so. tests after meeting someone who contracted the virus.
The baht fell 0.3 percent on Monday, while the stock market fell 2.3 percent, amid concerns about further restrictions.
Thailand, the first country outside of China to report a coronavirus infection, has recorded just 6,285 cases and 61 deaths from Covid-19, having controlled previous outbreaks.
Its success has been attributed to strict restrictions on inbound travel and quick tests and contact tracing.
Bangkok’s stricter measures follow similar regulations in some of the 43 provinces with cases since a large outbreak was discovered 11 days ago among migrant workers at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon, a province near the capital.
A group has been found in the eastern province of Rayong linked to a gambling den, with 92 infections in three days and one death, a 45-year-old man.
Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, a spokesman for the Bangkok authorities, said that a field hospital would also be established in the capital and restrictions would be reviewed next week.
The outbreak could hamper efforts to revive a crucial tourism industry ravaged by the pandemic as authorities ease some restrictions on foreigners and offer incentives to boost domestic travel.
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