CORONAVIRUS | New patients are friends who shared drinks, cigarettes on two occasions last month, say Thai officials.
Thai officials played down the possibility of "super spreading" of the coronavirus today as they reported a group of friends were responsible for the biggest daily rise in the country's cases since the outbreak began.The new patients are a group of friends who appeared to pass the virus to each other after one of their number was first infected by a tourist who has since returned to Hong Kong, officials said.
The male and female friends, all Thai nationals aged in their 20s and 30s, socialised and shared drinks and cigarettes on two occasions late last month. "The first patient was infected from a tourist from a dangerous communicable disease area," Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, director-general of the Disease Control Department, told reporters.Officials stressed the foreign source of the group infection and announced they were stepping up travel restrictions for visitors from a list of "designated dangerous communicable disease areas" announced last week. Those include South Korea, China, Macao, Hong Kong, Italy and Iran.
"Visitors from the six places will need to present medical certificates before they can obtain boarding passes. They must be prepared for a full state quarantine when they arrive," said Sukhum Kanchanapimai, the health ministry's permanent secretary.Tourism-reliant Thailand had previously said on Wednesday that it was temporarily suspending the issuance of visas on arrival and visa waivers to visitors from 22 countries and territories, including China.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Covid-19 conference in New York cancelled due to Covid-19 | Malay MailPETALING JAYA, March 11 — A planned roundtable titled “Doing Business Under Coronavirus” by US non-profit think tank, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) has been called off due to rising concerns over the Covid-19 spread. It was originally scheduled to take place in New York on March 13, and...
Read more »
COVID-19: Actor Tom Hanks, wife struck with coronavirusCORONAVIRUS | ‘Forrest Gump’ actor in Australia for film shoot, they got tested after feeling unwell.
Read more »
Covid-19: Saudi Arabia widens travel ban to Europe, others over coronavirusCORONAVIRUS | The kingdom will impose a fine of up to RM566,000 on those who did not disclose health information, travel details at entry points.
Read more »
80pc of Covid-19 cases exhibit mild cough, fluNSTnation: Some 80 per cent of Covid19 cases only exhibit a mild form of cough and flu and not other associated symptoms. coronavirus
Read more »
Covid-19 cases fall further in China, but more imported from abroadBEIJING (AFP): The number of fresh infections at the epicentre of China's coronavirus epidemic dropped to a new low on Thursday (March 12) but the country imported more cases from abroad.
Read more »
Health watchdog calls for suspension of Friday prayers, church masses as Covid-19 cases riseIt calls for drastic measures after authorities confirm that a victim had been at a tabligh gathering attended by thousands. FMTNews FridayPrayers Tabligh
Read more »