Thai Government Extends State of Emergency to Curb Virus Spread
Thai Government Extends State of Emergency to Curb Virus Spread
(Bloomberg) --
Thailand’s military-backed government extended the country’s state of emergency for a third time, to July 31, even as a drop in novel coronavirus infections led officials to relax a lockdown.
The step is needed to maintain vigilance as most businesses resume operations from July 1 and travel restrictions for visitors from some countries are eased, according to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha.
“Cases worldwide have reached more than 10 million,” Prayuth said after the Cabinet backed the extension on Tuesday. “We can’t be careless even though we only have a few thousand cases here. This has to do with public health and has nothing to do with my power.”
Former army chief Prayuth seized power in a military coup in 2014, ruled at the head of a junta for five years and returned as leader after last year’s disputed election, held under rules crafted during the junta’s tenure. His government has said the emergency decree is an apolitical tool to counter the spread of the pathogen.
Thailand’s has detected just 3,171 coronavirus cases, the majority of which have recovered, and there’s been no local transmission in the past 36 days. While loosening lockdown rules in several stages to restart the economy, the government cites the risk of a second wave of infections for retaining emergency rules, imposed in March.
Opposition parties have said the extension gave Prayuth sweeping powers, and have called for the state of emergency to be scrapped.
The extension of emergency rules will create more economic problems and will hurt confidence in trade and investment, said Sudarat Keyuraphan, chief strategist for the biggest opposition party, Pheu Thai.
Thailand’s economic performance has lagged the Southeast Asian region for a prolonged period. This year, the nation is on course for a record contraction of 8.1% of gross domestic product.
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