After months of calm, Thailand challenged by virus outbreak
by Grant Peck And Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul, The Associated Press
Posted Dec 22, 2020 11:56 pm EDT
Last Updated Dec 23, 2020 at 12:12 am EDT
A vendor wearing a face covering to help prevent the spread of coronavirus sells fish from a pushcart outside a produce market in central Bangkok on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Thailand has kept the coronavirus largely in check for most of the year but is facing a challenge from a large outbreak of the virus among migrant workers linked to a major seafood market close to the Thai capital.(AP Photo/Adam Schreck)
BANGKOK Thailand, which has kept the coronavirus largely in check for most of the year, is facing a challenge from a large outbreak of the virus among migrant workers in a province close to Bangkok.
Grant Peck And Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul
A worker wearing a face mask to help prevent the spread of coronavirus prepares an artificial Christmas tree outside a shopping mall that would normally be busy with foreign tourists in Bangkok on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020. Thailand has kept the coronavirus largely in check for most of the year but is facing a challenge from a large outbreak that threatens to undo months of efforts to contain the virus and hasten recovery of an ailing economy that relies heavily on tourism.(AP Photo/Adam Schreck) December 23, 2020 - 5:04 AM
BANGKOK - After managing against the odds to keep the coronavirus largely in check for most of the year, Thailand has suddenly found itself challenged by an expanding outbreak among migrant workers on the doorstep of Bangkok, the capital.
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BANGKOK After managing against the odds to keep the coronavirus largely in check for most of the year, Thailand has suddenly found itself challenged by an expanding outbreak among migrant workers on the doorstep of Bangkok, the capital.
The surge of cases in Samut Sakhon province threatens to undo months of efforts to contain the virus and hasten recovery of Thailand’s ailing economy.
Seeking to slow the spread of the virus by isolating infected patients, the army and navy have been ordered by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha to help set up a 1,000-bed field hospital in the province, Defense Ministry spokesperson Lt. Gen. Kongcheep Tantrawanit said Wednesday. It would be located as close as possible to where the most patients already are in order to reduce the risks of transmission by transporting them elsewhere, he said.