Thailand’s National Security Council (NSC) is proposing to extend the national State of Emergency to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday during the Cabinet meeting, recommending the easing of some restrictions to allow several businesses to reopen.
The current State of Emergency will end on Thursday, April 30.
Reports said that NSC secretary-general Somsak Roongsita has agreed that the State of Emergency decree should be extended since the pandemic has not yet been brought under full control.
The government will settle on how long the extension will last and will discuss the easing of some restrictions with the National Economic and Social Development Council.
Meanwhile, prime minister Chan-o-cha will also call for a meeting with the CCSA to decide whether to extend the State of Emergency. If agreed, which appears to be likely, the proposal will go before the Cabinet for approval this coming Tuesday.
Details regarding the relaxation of restrictions will be announced after Monday’s meeting, and the NSC will call on business leaders to share opinions on how they can operate whilst preventing the spread of new infections.
CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, says there is grave concern that a second wave of Covid-19 transmissions might occur once life starts returning to normal.
Taweesin also denied reports about lifting the curfew restriction in 32 provinces next month, saying any relaxation of the State of Emergency must first be approved by the Cabinet.
Professor Yong Poovorawan, head of the Clinical Virology Department at Chulalongkorn University explains that an area must have gone through at least 28 days without any new infection, or twice the 14-day incubation period of the coronavirus before a restriction could be lifted.
Source: Bangkok Post
