A cash reward of 10,000 baht has been offered to anyone providing information which leads to the apprehension of any of the 80 Thai workers from South Korea, who escaped quarantine upon their arrival at Suvarnabhumi international airport on Saturday.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said today (Monday) that he has asked the Immigration Bureau to provide the profiles and pictures of all the escapees to the Disease Control Department, so that they can be published.
According to the Disease Control Act, the escapees face a maximum 1-year jail term and a 200,000 baht fine.
So far, 187 workers returning from South Korea have been quarantined at Sattahip naval base, including 44 who arrived at the base at 1am this morning. So far, none have shown any symptoms related to coronavirus.
The buses which took them from Suvarnabhumi to Sattahip will be disinfected and then dried in sunlight for six hours to make sure they are safe.
Commenting on a video clip, showing a group of returnees drinking and smoking in their room at Sattahip naval base, with one of them inviting other returnees to enter quarantine for the good food and free accommodation, Vice Admiral Prachachart Sirisawat, the deputy chief-of-staff of the Royal Thai Navy, said that the navy has not imposed restrictions on how the returnees should behave and wants them to relax during their quarantine period.
The main concern is to ensure safety and prevent the disease from spreading, he said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Dechawat Jangchuen, director the Consumers Protection Division on Direct Sales, told Thai PBS that the Internal Trade Department has asked online trading sites, such as Lazada and Shopee, to check online posts offering face masks for sale at exorbitant prices.
He said that more than 20,000 posts had been removed from Shopee and information about the traders has been sent to the Internal Trade Department for investigation.
