Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will tour Suvarnabhumi international airport on Wednesday to observe officials screening passengers arriving from China, as part of the measures to prevent the spread of novel coronavirus 2019 and to offer them moral support.
Meanwhile, the cabinet today appointed Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to head an ad hoc committee to handle the coronavirus situation.
The Prime Minister assured families of Thai students, trapped in the Chinese city of Wuhan, that the Government has already worked out a plan to evacuate them back to Thailand and is awaiting a greenlight from the Chinese government.
He said that the Thai embassy in Beijing and the Chinese government have been taking care of the Thai students in Wuhan.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said today that, so far, no foreign government has been allowed to land planes in Wuhan.
Because of the good relationship between Thailand and China, he said that there was no need to put pressure on the Chinese government regarding the trapped Thai students, but should trust the Chinese government to take good care of them, just as the Chinese government should have confidence in the Thai government’s ability to ensure the safety of Chinese tourists who are unable to return home for now.
The State Railway of Thailand has stepped up preventive measures by ordering train masters at all railway stations, especially the Hua Lamphong terminal, to keep their stations clean, and to spray all passenger cars and toilets with germicide.
The Office of Civil Aviation of Thailand has issued an announcement requiring all airlines to screen their passengers before boarding planes and to deny boarding passes to any passengers exhibiting flu-like symptoms, such as coughing, sore throat, runny nose or having difficulty breathing.
Health officials must be informed about the suspected cases immediately.
