National –
The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), under the leadership of chairman Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-O’Cha, concluded at a small gathering yesterday, September 24, that the Thai government should extend the state of the emergency decree for another month due to a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in a neighboring country, namely Myanmar.
The panel stated that the emergency decree is still mandatory to ensure and strengthen strict health measures nationwide under the supervision and the cooperation of the Public Health Ministry to prevent possible local transmission.
The emergency decree is also crucial in terms of preventing the surge of Covid-19 infections in neighboring Myanmar, where the number of new cases has rapidly risen to 5,000 cases within one month, according to the CCSA.
The further talks regarding the extension will be discussed at a large CCSA meeting next Tuesday before being considered and finalized by the cabinet on Wednesday, September 30. More details of re-opening the country under the Special Tourist Visa (STV) program will also be considered at the meeting.
The current emergency decree is scheduled to end on September 30 and has been in effect since last April. It would be the seventh time of the decree extension if the cabinet eventually agrees on another extension in October.
