Eleven municipal schools, in Mae Sot district of Thailand’s northwestern province of Tak, are closed today as health workers spray them with disinfectant.

Meanwhile, health officials are conducting random COVID-19 tests today on Thais and migrant workers from Myanmar in several communities in the district which are deemed to be at risk.  About 4,000 people are expected to be tested today.

People living in high-risk communities have been told not to venture out of their homes, unless it is essential, and to be extra careful in protecting themselves, by wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing and to frequently sanitizing their hands.

The COVID-19 scare has gripped the border town after three truck drivers from Myanmar, visiting the town, were found to be infected on their return to Myanmar’s Myawaddi Township, opposite Thailand’s Mae Sot district.

The second permanent border crossing, at the Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, remains open as normal today, with many trucks arriving from Myawaddi at a cargo yard in front of the checkpoint, to unload their cargo and to be loaded with goods for transport back to Myanmar.

New travel restrictions have been imposed on drivers on both sides of the border. In Mae Sot, one driver and an assistant per truck are allowed to enter Thailand and one occupant per car. They can stay in the district for seven hours only.

Meanwhile, the CCSA has reported five new COVID-19 infections in Thailand today.

The new cases include five Thais returning from Hong Kong, the US, Singapore and the United Kingdom.  All of them are in state quarantine.

Cumulative infections in Thailand, to date, are 3,641, with 3,454 recoveries. 128 others are still being treated in hospitals and the country’s death toll remains 59.

Related story: 74 Thais in Mae Sot quarantined after contact with infected Myanmar truckers