Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is ready to take decisive action at the appropriate time, to cope with the relentless spread of COVID-19 but, for the time being, he prefers the step-by-step approach, to reduce the impact on the people, said government spokeswoman Mrs. Narumon Pinyosinwat on Friday evening.
She said that the Prime Minister is in the process of reviewing all the measures already implemented to deal with the contagion, after attending the latest meeting of medical experts and listening to their opinions.
She added that the Prime Minister is receptive to the recommendations of all parties concerned, especially medical experts, and will roll out tougher measures at the right time.
In the last couple of days, the rate of new confirmed COVID-19 infections in Thailand jumped to more than 50 per day, prompting serious concern that the rate will continue to increase as officials step up the tracking and screening of people suspected to be infected or have been in close contact with the infected.
The Prime Minister is beseeching the public to have patience, to be mindful of the public interest and to face the hardship together, noting that the contagion is a “national threat” and this is not a time for political squabbling, but a time for unity to overcome a national threat, according to Mrs. Narumon.
At a brain-storming session at Government House today, the deans of numerous university faculties of medicine predicted that the COVID-19 situation in Thailand will deteriorate significantly over the next 30 days, and advised the Government to lockdown big cities now to keep everyone at home, except those responsible for providing essential services.
According to an informed source, however, the Prime Minister disagreed, due to legal constraints related to the lockdown, saying he prefers to seek public cooperation.
