As my dear old mother once put it, global epidemics have never quite been her cup of tea.
“Son,” she once told me. “I can tolerate anything, from the rotten smell of your father’s feet to his snores like an overgrown pig. But still, there’s one thing I simply refuse to stomach. Global epidemics.”
She sighed.
“When I was about to go on a date with my best friend Andy Lau back in the early 2000s, the SARS outbreak erupted and I was forced to go out with your dad instead. And when the H1N1 fever hit home I was forced to entertain your dad under the- never mind.”
She smiled weakly, looking at me like I was something borne out of an undesirable night.
“But hey, good thing we still have that Thailand vacation in 2020, huh? It’s the only salvation I have in mind, doing whatever we want for a week.”
Whole of Thailand to be in State of Emergency for a Month from 26 March 2020
Well, as it turns out, global epidemics really aren’t my mum’s cup of tea. With the emergence of the Covid-19 virus, numerous countries around the globe have been forced to adopt emergency measures as the situation gets ever direr…
And voila, Thailand’s one of them.
“F*ck this sh*t,” my mum would probably say. But that’s for another day.
Thailand will be in an emergency mode for a month to cope with the recent coronavirus outbreak.
The country’s state of emergency will be effective from 26 March. The information was conveyed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha via a news conference today (24 March).
According to reports, the emergency decree will allow the prime minister to wield the executive power to implement further virus-containing measures.
He will also be capable of granting extra authority to officials if necessary, as well as the permission of checkpoints to cut down on people movements.
Details of the measures will reportedly be announced at a later time.
During the teleconference, which was held with his ministers at the Government house, the Prime Minister was spotted wearing a protective face mask.
Not exactly a good example, no?
Thailand
Earlier today (24 March 2020), the country reported 3 deaths and 106 new coronavirus cases.
The country now has 827 cases and four fatalities.
As of 24 March, 1:50 a.m., Italy hosts the highest tally of reported deaths since the outbreak began, with 6,077 fatalities.
Mainland China, on the other hand, has had 57 deaths in the past week.
Spain has also seen a spike in cases, with 2,206 deaths to date.
Singapore currently has 2 deaths, and 558 confirmed cases.
