Thailand imposes tighter restrictions to slow virus spread
The giant Buddha statue of Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen temple is seen at the end of an avenue amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand, June 9, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand announced tighter restrictions in the capital Bangkok and nine provinces on Friday in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, including travel curbs, mall closures, a curfew and limits on the size of gatherings.
Some measures will take effect from Saturday, others from Monday, and come as Thailand reported one of its highest daily infection tallies at 9,276, with 72 new deaths, amid a battle against its longest-running and most severe outbreak so far.
"In the 10 provinces there will be restrictions on unnecessary travel and people cannot leave their home between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. unless necessary," Apisamai Srirangsan, spokeswoman for the government's COVID-19 taskforce told a televised news briefing.
The announcement confirmed information provided earlier to Reuters by two government sources.
Malls, beauty clinics, spas and massage shops in Bangkok and five surrounding provinces must close from Monday, while COVID-19 testing facilities will be expanded to better detect and isolate clusters, Apisamai said.
Gatherings will be capped at five people, although there will be some exceptions. The government also discouraged inter-provincial travel.
Thailand on Friday took delivery of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by Japan.
Apisamai said the AstraZeneca vaccine and that of Pfizer and BioNTech would be used for elderly people and those with medical complications, plus foreign residents over 60, diplomats and athletes competing overseas.
She also said medical personal would be offered Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA booster shots.
Most Thai medical workers were administered the vaccine of China's Sinovac, which some experts say may be less effective against more transmissible coronavirus variants.
Maximum and strict controlled areas (10 provinces): Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Yala, Samut Prakarn, Samut Sakhon
Maximum controlled areas (24 provinces from 5 provinces before): Krabi, Kanchanaburi, Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Chai Nat, Tak, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nakhon Sawan, Phetchaburi, Pra Chuab Khiri Khan, Prachinburi, Phra Nakhon Si Ayuttaya, Ranong, Rayong, Ratchaburi, Lopburi, Samut Songkhram, Saraburi, Singburi, Suphanburi, Ang Thong, Uthai Thani
Controlled Areas (25 provinces from 9 provinces): Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum, Chumphon, Trang, Trat, Buriram, Phattalung, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Petchabun, Roi Et, Mahasarakham, Loei, Sisaket, Satun, Sa Kaeo, Sukhothai, Surat Thani, Surin, Nong Bua Lamphu, Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani
High Surveillance Areas (18 provinces from 53 provinces): The remaining 18 provinces
Finnair ser möjligheter att flyga långlinjer från Sverige och lanserar i vinteren ny bas på Stockholm Arlanda Airport med tre nya långdistanslinjer till Bangkok, Phuket och Miami.
På grund av reducerad trafik under pandemin har Stockholm Arlanda i dagsläget ingen trafik till varken Thailand eller USA. Därför kommer Finnair inför vintersäsongen år 2021 för första gången att utöka destinationsutbudet från Sverige med en bas på Arlanda flygplats bestående av tre Airbus A350. Finnair öppnar tre interkontinentala destinationer, Bangkok, Phuket och Miami från Stockholm vilket ger närmare 15 nya avgångar från Arlanda per vecka i vinter.
"Vi är glada att kunna möta svenskarnas längtan efter resande med direktflyg från Arlanda till Bangkok, Phuket och Miami. Detta är några av de absolut populäraste vinterdestinationerna för svenskar. Vi vet att många just nu planerar sina vinterresor i takt med att världen öppnar upp och vi ser fram emot att välkomna dem ombord på våra Airbus A350", säger Ole Orvér, Chief Commercial Officer på Finnair.
Från den 22 oktober kommer Finnair att flyga Stockholm-Bangkok fem gånger i veckan och från den 28 november blir det en daglig avgång på sträckan. Den 23 oktober lanseras Stockholm-Miami som ska flygas två gånger per vecka för att den 29 november ökas till fyra avgångar per vecka. Den 24 oktober börjar Finnair flyga Stockholm-Phuket med en avgång per vecka, två avgångar i veckan mellan den 3 november och 29 december och tre avgångar i veckan från den 30 december.
Före coronapandemin flög SAS mellan Stockholm och Miami och Thai Airways mellan Stockholm och Bangkok. Även Phuket flögs under delar av året av Thai Airways.
Pattaya proposes moving up reopening, but hopes dim for even original Oct. 1 date
Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome presides over a meeting to prepare for the reopening of Pattaya City to welcome a new round of tourists on September 1.
The only thing Pattaya officials and local tourism companies and associations could agree on at their latest meeting was that the city needs to reopen to foreign tourists soon. How to make that happen, however, remains a mystery.
Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome had no answers and no good news for anyone at the July 7 session. The city already had submitted its "Pattaya Move On" strategy to reopen Pattaya Oct. 1 to the National Security Council but heard nothing back. With the local economy plummeting, Sonthaya said a revised strategy with a targeted Sept. 1 opening date now will be submitted.
Hopefully, he said, it won't be ignored, but Sonthaya noted that the NSC has a lot of other problems, including planning for a possible national lockdown, management of migrant workers at construction camps, and a daily coronavirus caseload that has now reached 7,000 a day.
The only way Pattaya can reopen is if 70 percent of the local population gets vaccinated against Covid-19. But the government is steering the vast majority of its small supply of vaccines to Bangkok, leaving Pattaya's vaccination plan far behind schedule.
Sonthaya said the city cannot promise the people in the tourism industry, pubs, bars, restaurants and all other nightlife workers an exact time for reopening.
The only thing Pattaya officials and local tourism companies and associations could agree on at their latest meeting was that the city needs to reopen to foreign tourists soon. How to make that happen, however, remains a mystery.The only way Pattaya can reopen is if 70 percent of the local population gets vaccinated against Covid-19.
Sonthaya said the city cannot promise the people in the tourism industry, pubs, bars, restaurants and all other nightlife workers an exact time for reopening.
Chonburi announces 317 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19
Chonburi –
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 317 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, July 9th.
This makes a total of 10,892 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 3,788 still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 57 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April.
Additionally, 7,047 people in total have now been released from medical care and fully recovered since this current wave began. 237 people were released yesterday.
The district-level new cases were as follows today:
Mueang Chonburi 76, Si Racha 73, Banglamung (Pattaya) 51, Panat Nikhom 28, Sattahip 14, Ban Bueang 41, Pan Thong 17, Bor Thong 2, and 15 new cases transferred from other provinces for medical care.
The details on the cases are as follows:
Proactive case finding at schools in Panat Nikhom, 23 cases (More information was not given as in person schools are closed, this is believed to be special needs schools where the students live full time)
Proactive case finding at a cluster in Ban Bueang, 22 cases
New soldiers in Sattahip, 8 cases
Risky occupation, meets a lot of people, 5 cases
Close contact from previous confirmed case at a party, 2 cases
Medical staffer, 2 cases
Close contact from previous confirmed case from New Market Naklua in Banglamung, 1 case
Close contact from previous confirmed case from New Market in Mueang Chonburi, 1 case
Proactive case finding at Bor Thong Market in Bor Thong, 1 case
Proactive case finding at worker camp SSS&P in Si Racha, 4 cases
Worker camp in Khao Kansong, Si Racha, 1 case
Close contact from previous confirmed case from Huay Yai Jeen in Huayyai, Banglamung, 1 case
Traveling from high-risk areas in Phuket, 1 case
Contact from previous confirmed case traveling from other provinces
Bangkok, 1 cases
Chachoengsao, 1 case
Contact from previous confirmed case in Rayong, 3 cases
Contact with previously confirmed patients:
70 in families
53 in work place
Previously confirmed patients (Which is under investigation), 53 cases
Currently investigating, 64 cases
A total of 691 close contact searches were received today with 1,664 initial proactive searches, and more proactive search reports are pending.
The vast majority of the cases, around 90 percent, are asymptomatic or very mild according to the health department.
TIMELINE: Pattaya and Chonburi informs residents who visited places in relation to most recent Covid -19 confirmed cases
The Chonburi Public Health Office last night (July 8th) has released a timeline to inform people who went to specific places last month and this month to notify health authorities and monitor their health. The following is an English translation of the release.
Chonburi –
Jae Ueng restaurant Soi Lang Wang Ton Son in Bang Plasoi, Mueang Chonburi from June 25th to July 5th from 6:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M..
Chum Pae Moo Kata buffet in Nongprue, Banglamung from June 25th to July 7th from 4:00 P.M. to 11:30 P.M.
Makro store North Pattaya (dried food and fresh fish) in Naklua from June 27th to June 30th from 1:00 P.M. to 10:30 P.M.
Funeral in Sri Palo Temple in Nong Maidang, Mueang Chonburi on June 28th from 7:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Fitness First (Central Plaza Chonburi Mall branch, Samet in Mueang Chonburi)
Body Combat Class on June 28th from 4:30 P.M. to 6:15 P.M.
Bicycle Class on June 29th from 4:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.
Body Combat Class on July 1st from 5:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.
Bicycle Class on July 2nd from 6:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.
Santa Fe Steak in Central Plaza Chonburi Mall, Samet in Mueang Chonburi on June 29th from 6:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M.
Yaowarat Gold Shop at Big C Mall in Sattahip from June 29th to July 3rdfrom 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.
McDonald's in Central Plaza Chonburi Mall, Samet in Mueang Chonburi on June 30th from 11:45 A.M. to 12:15 P.M.
Jantaboon restaurant near Yannasangwararam Temple, Na Jomtien in Sattahip on July 1st from 11:30 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
AKA (Japanese food) on the fifth floor in Central Festival Pattaya Beach in Nongprue on July 1st from 10:00 A.M. to 11:30 A.M.
The restaurant at Wonnapa Beach in Sane Suk, Mueang Chonburi from July 2nd to July 4th from 6:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (No further details were given)
Nai Chang Boat Noodle No 36 on Phraya Sajja Road, Samet in Mueang Chonburion July 3rd from 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M.
Rom Poe Moo Kata buffet in Nongprue, Banglamung on July 3rd from 7:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
If anyone has problems with respiratory symptoms and/or fever within 14 days from when they had visited those places, they must go to a hospital, according to the Chonburi Public Health Office.
Please inform the hospital that you visited the same place as a Covid-19 confirmed case, they continued.
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 317 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today, July 9th.
"Dark red provinces under partial lockdown for 14 days from Saturday"
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced on Friday that maximum control (dark red) provinces will go under partial lockdown from Saturday in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The controls will be in place for two weeks.
The CCSA also extended the state of emergency by another two months.
Breaking: Proposed measures for metro Bangkok just announced: Work from home 100 percent. Malls/non essential closed. Stay home from 10PM to 4AM (not a hard curfew however). Stay home except going for essential food, hospital, vaccinated. Full details soon. Proposed to start Saturday. Developing story.
A peek at how Thailand's healthcare system has adapted to the Covid-19 situation
Thailand's healthcare system is facing one of its toughest-ever challenges, with the novel coronavirus spreading like wildfire and the cumulative total of Covid-19 crossing the 300,000 mark as of Thursday.
And as the end of the outbreak is still nowhere in sight, something new may need to be done to ease the situation of the country's strained healthcare system. The National Health Security Office (NHSO) has, therefore, held a forum for its partners to share their views on the matter.
Entitled "National health security system in the face of Covid-19", the brainstorming session was held on June 25. It also included a seminar on the role of each healthcare system's division in the country's fight to contain the outbreak.
Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the Department of Health Service Support (DHSS), shared his department's experience in working behind the scenes to ensure every part of the healthcare system functions as effectively as possible while struggling to cope with the impact of Covid-19.
Since the start of the outbreak in Thailand, he said, DHSS has been enhancing the capacity of laboratories, which play a key role in testing Covid-19; reorganising the system for managing public healthcare facilities and medical supplies; and using social mechanisms such as health volunteers for Covid-19 control in each area.
And now that the country is struggling to deal with this new rapid wave of Covid-19, Bangkok has been running out of hospital beds to accommodate new patients, he said.
The DHSS has therefore come up with an idea to turn more than 71 hotels in the capital into temporary isolation facilities, which are actually capable of taking care of infected patients whose conditions are rated as yellow (with moderate symptoms) and green (with mild or no symptoms), he said.
These so-called "hospitels" have more than 10,000 beds for Covid-19 infected people, he said.
"We've also resolved to allow private parties to take part in handling Covid-19, especially in Bangkok [where the situation is most critical]. Five announcements have been issued to permit these private partners to support us in terms of pooling healthcare resources," he said.
After Covid-19 was declared to be a medical emergency, all healthcare facilities, both private and state-run, have begun working together in taking care of Covid-19 patients under healthcare cooperation similar to the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) system, which is practised under the Universal Coverage Scheme (USC), he said.
And to keep up with the changing situation, the NHSO is trying to make its funding for healthcare services provided by healthcare facilities in this same system as flexible and effective as possible, said Dr Jadej Thammatach-aree, NHSO secretary-general.
At the beginning of the outbreak, the overall capacity of laboratories in Thailand remained limited, which hindered the country's ability to detect new cases of Covid-19, he said.
In response, the NHSO sought to divert the government's central budget to fund the work of improving the capacity of these laboratories until the active case-finding strategy could be adopted to find new cases and provide necessary healthcare services at isolation units such as field hospitals, whose operations are also subsidised by the NHSO, he said.
Later when the government rolled out its mass Covid-19 vaccination drive to contain the outbreak, the NHSO began offering a new disbursement rate of 40 baht per vaccine injection service in a bid to accelerate and support the expansion of the national vaccination programme, he said.
At the same time, the NHSO also began implementing a new mechanism to boost public confidence in the government's financial compensation programme for adverse events following vaccination, he said.
And most recently, the NHSO has started drafting rules on a new financial compensation programme for "Home Isolation/Community Isolation", which will allow people to undergo Covid-19 isolation at home, he said.
"Covid-19 has taught us a lesson – the speed of responding to a crisis is the key to success," he said.
In case of the financial compensation programme for Covid-19 vaccine recipients suffering adverse events, for instance, although the preliminary financial assistance being offered isn't that much, it does improve public confidence in the government's promise to take care of them in the event they suffer any unwanted consequences of vaccination, he said.
Covid-19 has, in a way, accelerated certain systems designed to support the development of the country's healthcare system, which had not succeeded earlier, such as the telemedicine project, he said.
"On the one hand, Covid-19 came as a catalyst for change in several services, ideas, and organisational practices. It has been driven us to move forward to the new normal," he said.
Watchari Nim-anong, president of Hua Pho sub-district local administration organisation in Suphan Buri's Song Phi Nong district, meanwhile, offered a broader picture of how Local Administration Organisations (LAOs) can use the Community Health Fund to support its fight against public health problems at the local level, including Covid-19.
As many LAOs remain reluctant to use this budgetary mechanism simply because they are worried about the strict inspection by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) of their spending, a great deal of money remains unused, she said.
"You should never worry about strict inspection by the OAG as long as you spend the given money for disease prevention and health promotion and for helping people," she said.
The fund is allowed to be used in case of outbreaks and disasters such as for purchasing Covid-19 prevention equipment for local educational institutions, child-development centres, elderly care centres and healthcare facilities, she said.
Saree Aungsomwang, secretary-general of Thailand Consumers Council, said the council is focusing on three areas of the government's provision of healthcare services during the Covid-19 crisis.
The three areas are ensuring treatment for Covid-19 patients remains totally free, redefining medical emergencies and improving the quality of healthcare services being offered, she said.
She also urged the government to improve clarity and transparency in its communication with the public about Covid-19, such as details on the procurement of Covid-19 jabs.
She also expressed concern over the possibility of Thailand joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which she said the government should put a hold on until it is proved that the country will truly benefit from the trade pact.
Elderly people flock to Bang Sue Grand Station for Covid-19 shots available for those aged 75 and over. They are allowed one family member or helper each to assist them during the vaccination process. Nutthawat Wicheanbut
It has become common knowledge that Thailand's national vaccine plan is inadequate, full of loopholes, flip-flopping and even worse, and might not be enough to deal with the fluid threat and devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic effectively. But vaccine mismanagement no longer appears to be the root cause of Thailand's Covid-19 trials and tribulations.
There are three potentially related processes in motion that underpin Thailand's inadequate vaccine rollout. If all three are found to be at work, their profound and explosive implications and consequences will likely lead to an unprecedented political cataclysm.
First, at a minimum, Thailand's vaccine plan has been a policy blunder. After one full year of grappling with virus outbreaks and infections from early 2020, Thailand ended up with just two vaccines, the British-Swedish AstraZeneca and the China-made Sinovac. Myriad criticisms have been levelled at the Prayut Chan-o-cha government's decision to procure AstraZeneca in an exclusive licensing deal with local manufacturer, Siam Bioscience.
The policy blunder here is that AstraZeneca was set out late last year to be the country's primary vaccine. Betting on AstraZeneca as the main strategic vaccine, the authorities demurred from pursuing other well-known vaccines that neighbouring countries also had including Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna -- both US-made vaccines that subsequent clinical research showed as having more efficacy in dealing with virus mutations.
When Siam Bioscience -- as the licensed manufacturer of AstraZeneca -- fell behind in delivering the previously agreed amount, the government did not provide the public with a clear answer about why and on finding a new substitute. Sinovac -- a China-made vaccine -- suddenly became the substitute until so much of it, 14.5 million doses to date, was purchased and sent from China that it has turned out to be Thailand's primary vaccine.
Much has gone wrong within the realm of policy shortcomings. The lack of AstraZeneca, which is perceived as superior in efficacy to Sinovac, left people feeling short-changed.
Criteria for accessing both vaccines at different stages were subjective and decided in executive session rather than on objectives based on older age groups, frontline professionals, and vulnerable workers, as is practised in more advanced and fairer countries.
Apart from supply shortages, rollout has been slow and uneven. Access through internet applications, such as Mor Prom and Thai Ruam Jai, has been problematic and haphazard. When Sinopharm became the third vaccine that was suddenly purchased by the Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA) and delivered for local jabs at personal cost, the deal resulted in two-tier treatment with reports of some securing free jabs and others having to fork out 1,000 baht per shot.
As public outrage intensified, the Prayut-led cabinet finally relented and approved a proposal to buy 20 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, and agreed to import an unspecified amount of Moderna on a commercial basis. People then started to question the government's shoddy vaccine strategy.
If these two globally popular US-made vaccines are worthy of purchase and import now, why did the government waste precious time by not stocking them earlier. At the cabinet meeting, another lot of 10.9 million Sinovac doses worth 6.1 billion baht was ordered, even though its relatively lower efficacy is shrouded in doubt.
Many other policy-related questions abound with few answers to meet them. Such a complete policy failure and breakdown is enough to undermine the government's stability. This is why the calls for Prime Minister Prayut's resignation are becoming louder.
The second set of question marks involve the possibility that perhaps there is more than meets the eye in Thailand's vaccine procurement.
The Sinovac vaccine is produced by China-based Sinovac Biotech; it has been reported by foreign media including the Washington Post, that its CEO bribed China's drug regulator for Sars and swine flu vaccine approval back in 2003-2006. The company, nevertheless, became a rising star for investment in biotech.
Hong Kong-listed Sino Biopharmaceutical, with CP Pharmaceutical Group as a shareholder, invested $515 million, giving it a 15% stake in Sinovac Life Sciences, the unit in charge of the Sinovac vaccine.
When Sinovac's efficacy is being questioned in Chile, Indonesia and elsewhere, where Sinovac-immunised people have contracted Covid variants, why has the Prayut cabinet kept ordering more and more of this Chinese vaccine instead of pursuing superior doses elsewhere?
How come the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), whose board members are associated with the Bhumjaithai Party under Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, seem hellbent on importing this vaccine, while seemingly being reluctant when it comes to procurement of the US-made vaccines that are reported to have more efficacy?
Could it be that American companies are regulated by their country's Foreign Corrupt Practices Act? These are valid questions when the Prayut government has gambled the country's public health on limited choices and is reluctant to acquire better alternatives.
Finally, as Thailand's Covid death toll rises steadily towards 3,000 and more people suffer untold hardships, the government's sordid policy and gross incompetence alone warrant its riddance.
But if there is fishy business involved, the possibility of criminal lawsuits must come into the picture. Are people dying and succumbing to the virus because of policy shenanigans?
To be sure, Thailand is not alone in suffering from the multiple crises of virus, variants, and vaccines.
Other countries that did well last year in virus containment, such as South Korea and Taiwan, have also seen case spikes in recent weeks.
But few countries are encountering Thailand's combination of doubtful policy, government mismanagement, and accused conflicts of interest, at the expense of public health and economic well-being.
Thailand no longer has a free and open space for the investigative journalism needed to reveal what's behind these vaccine suspicions and irregularities. Opposition politicians are doing some of it but much more muckraking is imperative.
The vaccine saga looks like a "vaccine-gate", full of questions with few answers so far. The more we know, the more we realise what we don't know and need to know.
Getting to the bottom of Thailand's vaccine crisis as the virus situation goes from bad to worse will likely compound the political rumblings seen and heard last year, confirming this country is indeed overdue for fundamental reforms.
Thitinan Pongsudhirak, PhD, is professor at the Faculty of Political Science and director of its Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University.
Officials check a new City Hall-operated community isolation centre to be opened on Tuesday. (Photo by Pornprom Satarbhaya)
The government is set to impose tougher measures to slow the rising rate of Covid-19 transmissions, including restricting people's movements, as new daily cases topped 7,000 on Thursday.
Approval for the measures, proposed by the Public Health Ministry, will be sought from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) today.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said he was following the Covid-19 outbreak with concern and wanted to come up with suitable containment measures.
"We may have to take stricter measures to restrict movements to prevent crowd gatherings and close additional premises.
"As the director of the CCSA, I will chair the CCSA meeting to consider proposals submitted by the parties involved. I will inform you of the outcome immediately," the prime minister wrote on Facebook.
"The government and I will do our best to bring the situation under control as quickly as possible," he said.
Speaking after the meeting, Kiatiphum Wongrajit, permanent secretary for public health, said the proposal, which will be imposed for 14 days in at-risk provinces including Bangkok and neighbouring provinces, includes restrictions on people's movements to discourage them from going out, except for buying food and visiting the doctor, and receiving vaccine shots. Inter-provincial travel will also be banned.
Other measures include shuttering at-risk premises and locations where people gather for certain activities. Supermarkets, fresh markets, and premises that are essential to daily lives will remain open.
The measures will be enforced in areas known as "buffer zones" for at least 14 days, Dr Kiatiphum said, adding the CCSA will determine in which provinces the measures will be enforced.
"The Public Health Ministry wants to present measures to curb transmissions so the public health system will be better able to take care of patients," Dr Kiatiphum said.
Asked if the tougher measures are tantamount to a lockdown, he said: "We don't want to create confusion because a lockdown, which was imposed previously, also included a ban on foreigners visiting Thailand."
"But the main thrust of the new measures will be to restrict people's movements and close at-risk premises," he said.
He said the new measures will be as tough as those enforced in April last year.
Apisamai Srirangson, assistant spokeswoman for the CCSA, said officials from the Interior Ministry and the Defence Ministry will set up checkpoints to reduce interprovincial movements.
She said the Public Health Ministry also proposed a maximum degree of working from home for both the government and private sectors.
Businesses would be asked to change their operating hours to discourage people from going out, she said, referring to department stores, convenience stores and night-shift markets and eateries.
"The Public Health Ministry did not mention any lockdown measures, but discussed changes to operating hours of businesses and services in specific areas and provinces," Dr Apisamai said.
Meanwhile, a record 75 Covid-19 fatalities and 7,058 new cases were reported on Thursday, as the continuing surge in Covid-19 cases spread to provinces throughout the kingdom.
There were new 6,990 cases in the general population and 68 among prison inmates, the Ministry of Public Health said.
Bangkok logged 2,212 new cases, followed by 565 in Samut Prakan, 517 in Samut Sakhon, 290 in Chon Buri, 229 in Pathum Thani, 213 in Songkhla, 180 in Nonthaburi, 175 in Pattani, 150 in Prachuap Khiri Khan and 146 in Yala.
