Thailand closes pubs,clubs in 41 provinces

Thailand has decided to close all entertainment places in 41 provinces, including Bangkok, for at least two weeks as Covid-19 cases linked to them spread rapidly across the country. According to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), new cases linked to pubs, bars and clubs in Thong Lor area of the capital. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin told to media that, the closure has already imposed after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha signed the order.The closure decision comes just before the long Songkran holidays next week, when millions of people will hit the roads for vacations or family reunions. 

All 20 provinces hit by the Thong Lor cluster are included in the 41-province list. There had been 405 new infections registered, 391 of them local transmissions, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 30,310, the CCSA said on Thursday. No new deaths were reported. Bangkok led the list with 48 cases reported by hospitals and 47 from mass testing. Fourteen cases were imported - from the United Arab Emirates, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia,Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Turkey. The latest outbreak has already prompted two provinces, Buri Ram and Bung Kan, to issue orders that people coming from Bangkok, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Nakhon Pathom must observe self-quarantine after arrival in the province.