Thailand reports no new coronavirus cases for first time since March 9

BANGKOK - Thailand on Wednesday reported no new coronavirus cases for the first time since March 9.

Thailand has a total of 3,017 cases and 56 deaths since the outbreak escalated in January.

The Thai government continues to urge the public to wear masks, practice good hygiene and maintain social distancing measures, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

Areas that are still at risk include Bangkok and surrounding provinces, as well as southern Thailand, where there have been a large number of cases in the past several weeks, Taweesin said.

Since the outbreak in Thailand, 2,844 patients have recovered from infections and gone home.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Tom Hogue)

-reuters-

Thailand to postpone New Year holiday, close schools to curb coronavirus

BANGKOK - Thailand's cabinet on Tuesday approved plans to postpone next month's Thai New Year holiday and to close schools to limit the spread of the coronavirus, a government spokesperson said.

The approvals followed a series of plans announced on Monday to close schools, bars, movie theatres, cockfighting arenas and other entertainment centers as well as postpone the Thai New Year holiday, or Songkran, which falls between April 13 and 15.

"The cabinet approved that the Songkran holiday be postponed and schools closed," Ratchada Thanadirek, the government's deputy spokesperson, told Reuters.

She added that closures of entertainment venues would be up to the discretion of each provincial governor, adding that more details would be available later. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com