Samut Sakhon Provincial Governor Weerasak Wijitsaengsri has tested positive for COVID-19, while Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and senior officials, who were in the coastal province on Sunday for a meeting with the governor, have been quarantined 14 days.
CCSA spokesman Dr. Taweesin Wissanuyothin told a news conference this morning (Monday) that those who were within 5 metres of the governor for more than 15 minutes and did not wear face masks have been classified as a “high risk” group and told to undergo immediate screening.
Other officials in the meeting room have been told to work from home and to monitor their health, wear face masks and observe social distancing, he said, adding that Mr. Anutin has confined himself to home and has undergone a test. Anutin’s aide, meanwhile, said the minister’s test result cleared him of the disease but that he will take a second test in five days.
Dr. Taweesin added that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha hasexpressed concern for those infected and instructed officials in Samut Sakhon to do their best to contain the spread of the contagion.
In Bangkok, City Hall spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang said, in his Facebook post on Sunday, that 17 new COVID-19 cases were recorded yesterday, raising the number of infections in the capital to 75 since December 20th. He added that another 18 cases are under investigation.
In the eastern province of Rayong, where there are 85 confirmed cases among a group of gamblers, all bars, pubs, massage parlors, schools, nurseries, nursing homes for the elderly, spas, beauty clinics, fitness clubs, public swimming pools, libraries, museums and game shops in Muang district have been closed by the governor.
Super markets, drug stores, convenience stores, smart phonestores, banks and government offices remain open, while food shops are open for take-home orders only. In other districts, all those premises are allowed to open until midnight, but everyone is required to wear a face mask and observe social distancing.
In the central province of Nakhon Nayok, the baby son of an infected seafood vendor tested positive for the virus on Sunday. He is now being treated at a provincial hospital, bringing the number of infections in the province to two. Ten others,classified as being at high-risk have been cleared of the contagion, but remain in quarantine for 14 days.
A new case was reported in both Narathiwat and Chiang Mai provinces on Sunday. In the southern border province of Narathiwat, the new case is a 60-year old woman who contracted the virus from her infected son in Songkhla province,who attended a party with other big bike enthusiasts on Lanta Island in Krabi province last week.
The Chiang Mai case was linked to an infected man from Rayong province.
