COVID-19: Thailand reports only one new case, no deaths

Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said, to date the total number of COVID-19 cases in the kingdom stood at 3,082, with 57 fatalities.

“There have been no local transmission in the past seven days. There are 29,725 Thais under quarantine at state facilities after returning from abroad. To date, 145 returnees have tested positive for COVID-19 while undergoing quarantine,” he said at the daily COVID-19 briefing here today.

Of the 3,082 cases, 2,965 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital while 60 are still warded, with no fatalities reported over the last 24 hours.

Starting today, Thailand has kicked off its third phase of further easing restrictions by reopening more businesses, including spas and massage parlours, cinema, theatres and zoos with strict health preventive measures in place.

Thaweesilp urged the public to wear masks and observe social distancing to prevent a second wave of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Thailand’s Parliament on Sunday passed a 1.9 trillion baht (100 baht = RM13.63) stimulus package aimed at cushioning the economic fallout following the pandemic.

The package comprises plans to borrow 1 trillion baht to fund the government’s economic and social rehabilitation, including 600 million baht for public health works and relief measures and to rebuild the economy and create jobs; provide 500 billion baht soft loan to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) hit by the outbreak; and 400 billion baht to maintain liquidity in the financial sector.

Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) slashed its forecast for the country’s 2020 gross domestic product (GDP) with a contraction of between five and six per cent from a growth of 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent projected in February.