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Thailand Increases Land Border Surveillance to Curb Virus Risks

Thailand Increases Land Border Surveillance to Curb Virus Risks

Thailand has stepped up its border surveillance to reduce illegal crossings of migrant workers who risk spreading coronavirus infections, according to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha.

Myanmar, Thailand’s neighbor and a top source of migrant labors for the Southeast Asian nation, has been reporting a spike in new infections in recent weeks. Thailand has now gone almost 100 days without any local cases with the cumulative infections at 3,417 and 58 fatalities, Health Ministry data showed.

“Even though we have no cases for the past three months, it doesn’t mean that it won’t happen again like in many countries,” Prayuth said on Tuesday. “But our hospitals and medical equipments are ready.”

On Tuesday, the Cabinet also approved a budget of 883 million baht ($28 million) to set up more state quarantine facilities in private properties to house Thai citizens seeking to return home from overseas. More than 22,000 Thais have sought to return to the country in the past two months, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.