Thailand: Phuket enters month-long lockdown to contain spread of coronavirus
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In a photo from March 20, 2020, international tourists, predominantly Russian nationals, enjoy the beach at a resort in Phuket.
PHOTO: AFP
BANGKOK • Phuket Island in Thailand went into lockdown from yesterday, with most transport to the resort island banned, in the latest effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the popular tourist destination.
The order will last for at least one month, according to Phuket Governor Pakkapong Taweepat. Boats, cars and trucks providing essential goods and services are exempted.
The restriction of access to the island is a toughening of state-of-emergency rules imposed by the government last week under which non-essential businesses are shut and inter-provincial travel is discouraged.
Thailand yesterday reported 136 new coronavirus cases and two more deaths, raising the total number of infections to 1,524 and fatalities to nine. The new cases were scattered across 18 of its 77 provinces. The capital Bangkok now accounts for nearly half of the cases overall.
According to the Health Ministry, 49 cases have been reported in Phuket, making it the province with the highest number of cases outside the Bangkok metropolitan area.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
