Several areas in Pattani province have been hit with severe flooding, with Barahok sub-district suffering the most due to heavy rains and runoffs from Yala province.
At least 100 homes were inundated by up to 2-metres of water, forcing residents to move to higher ground.
They have also had to move their livestock to a safe place and have left their vehicles parked in a highway nearby.
The local school, which has also been flooded, is closed indefinitely.
Border patrolling units in Mae Hong Son province have been doubled to stop people from crossing over illegally from Myanmar.
Provincial governor Sithichai Chindaluang said the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has ordered each province to find people who are at risk of infection.
He added that since Mae Hong Son shares a border with Myanmar, border patrols have been intensified to prevent illegal crossings and violators will face serious action.
As for the transport of goods, he said the province has prepared specific areas for delivery which can only be accessed at specific times.
Samut Prakan authorities have announced a lockdown from Tuesday in the province to deal with a new wave of Covid-19 infections.
According to the announcement, schools, tuition centres and childcare centres in Phra Samut Chedi and Phra Pradaeng districts will be closed until January 4. Other schools are allowed to either stay open or close.
Officials have instructed visitors to entertainment venues – clubs, pubs or bars – not to dance in these places.
Government agencies were also asked not to hold events that draw crowds.
Health check points have been set up to test migrant workers arriving from or moving to Samut Sakhon province. These workers are prohibited from visiting religious places in Samut Prakan.
Parks in the province have been ordered to limit visitors to one at time.
Shopping complexes, department stores, markets and restaurants are required to screen their customers and urged to use the ThaiChana platform to record each customer’s visit.
Boxing and cockfighting stadiums, boxing camps, game centres, Internet cafes and snooker clubs have all been ordered to shut temporarily.
People have also been asked to avoid holding marriages and other public ceremonies.
Samutprakarn Hospital has set up a round-the-clock call centre via 02-701-8132-39 to deal with emergencies, the announcement added.
Apart from Samut Prakan, lockdowns have been imposed in Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Chiang Mai and Suphan Buri so far.
Suphan Buri’s Song Pee Nong district has been put under lockdown until January 3 in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Currently, there are seven Covid-19 cases in the province, with a seven-month-old girl being the youngest.
Suphan Buri governor Natthaphat Suwanprateep said this move was approved by the province’s centre for disease control because the number of new patients is likely to increase.
He said the province has implemented the following measures to contain the spread of the disease in Song Pee Nong district:
• People can only leave the district if absolutely necessary and are required to wear a face mask while outside.
• No parties are allowed, while organisers of ceremonies like ordination, weddings, funerals or other religious gatherings must strictly follow the Culture Ministry’s guidelines.
• Stores are barred from selling alcoholic drinks, and food can only be sold on a take-home basis.
• Sports fields, fitness centres, flea markets, amusement parks, gaming centres, internet cafes, snooker shops, amulet markets, massage shops, theatres, karaoke shops, pubs, bars, stadiums, swimming pools, nurseries, nursing homes, schools and tutorial schools must be closed.
Police arrested 14 of 23 Myanmar nationals from Samut Sakhon, who were brought to Samut Prakan and reportedly “abandoned” on the way to Rayong by their employer as some had no work permits and amid news that all migrant workers would be checked for Covid-19. The other nine had left the truck they were being transported in to go stay with their relatives, according to one of the arrested workers.
Officials arrested the 14 at the entrance of Soi Mooban Green Lake, Bang Na-Trat Road in Samut Prakan.
The 14 were reportedly among the 23 migrant labourers being taken to work in pineapple farms in Rayong. Their employer instructed them to go and stay with their relatives after transporting all of them to Rama II area in the hope that the workers would join their relatives in Bang Phli District, Samut Prakan. However, some of their relatives reportedly refused to take them in. Shortly after, the 14 were arrested at Soi Mooban Green Lake. The other nine had left the truck to go stay with relatives before the arrests were made, one of the 14 workers said.
According to an investigation, six of the 14 arrested have legal work documents stating that they are workers in the processed-seafood industry, while the other eight have no work permits.
All were promptly taken to a sports stadium to await health officials, who were to test them for Covid-19.
One of the 31 migrant workers deemed to be at risk for Covid-19 tested positive upon return to Krabi province.
Provincial health officials said the 48-year-old Myanmar national, who works in Krabi’s Muang district, had travelled to Samut Sakhon to extend her work permit.
Though the passengers who travelled in the same van as her tested negative, they will be quarantined for 14 days.
The province has prepared field hospitals and is urging people who may have visited risky locations to report to health officials.
Four provinces that are facing the risk of a new wave of Covid-19 infections have officially imposed lockdown measures to keep the coronavirus from spreading.
Samut Sakhon stepped up preventive measures, declaring that the province is now a “quarantined area” from December 19 to January 3.
Various public venues such as sports stadiums, public parks and educational institutions are now closed. Restaurants have only a takeaway option and grocery shops must be closed from 10pm to 5am.
Samut Songkram announced a lockdown on Wednesday, which will stay in effect until January 4, resulting in a closure of public venues and the cancellation of New Year festivities.
Samut Prakan also has also gone into lockdown – from December 23 to January 4, closing public venues and cancelling all public events.
Chiang Mai has meanwhile clamped a lockdown in three subdistricts – Tha Ton, Malika and Mae Ai.
A seven-month girl in Suphan Buri was infected with Covid-19, provincial Governor Natthaphat Suwanprateep said on Tuesday.
He said the province’s Centre for Disease Control is discussing implementing measures to prevent the virus from spreading in the province.
Natthaphat said the number of Covid-19 cases in the province is now seven.
The timeline of the seven-month girl is as follows:
December 16: Lived in her house in Bangtathen subdistrict.
December 17: Her mother took her to the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives in Song Pee Nong subdistrict at 10am. The mother then took her to Khok Ta Ek flea market in Bang Len subdistrict at 1pm.
December 18: Her mother took her to a shrimp pond in Salee subdistrict at 11am.
December 19: She was back in her house in Bangtathen subdistrict.
December 20: Her mother took her to a private hospital in Mueang Suphan Buri district at 4pm.
December 22: She took sick and underwent medical treatment at Somdejprasangkharach XVII Hospital.
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