The Government is yet to decide whether a 24-hour curfew is necessary, government spokeswoman Mrs. Narumon Pinyosinwat said today, as she tried to allay public fears about the extension of the current night time curfew.
She assured that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has not yet made that decision, adding that a 24-hour curfew would only be imposed if the COVID-19 rate of contagion warrants it.
She said the public should wait for a formal government announcement and not to rely on fake news, which has triggered panic hoarding as people flock to hypermarkets to stock up on essential items.
Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has decided to extend the current suspension of all international flights to Thailand until April 18th.
On Friday, CAAT director Chula Sukmanop announced the suspension of all incoming flights for three days, to curb the spread of COVID-19 by arrivals from abroad.
The suspension followed commotion at Suvarnabhumi international airport on Friday night, when 158 inbound Thai passengers, mostly from the United States, refused to go into state run quarantine, claiming that they were not informed before their boarding.
There are exceptions for flights of state or military aircraft, emergency landings or technical landings without disembarkation and humanitarian, medical, relief, cargo and repatriation flights.
Passengers, on flights en route before the extension of the airport closures were announced, will be allowed to enter Thailand, but they will be subject to the 14-day quarantine at state run facilities.
