City Hall denies full lockdown rumours

BMA briefing ‘didn’t discuss shutdown’

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday dismissed as untrue reports that it will announce a full lockdown and keep city residents at home in a bid to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

City Hall spokesman Pol Capt Pongsakorn Kwanmuang said the rumour about a full lockdown might have been triggered by Monday’s meeting of BMA executives.

He insisted no further measures were tabled at the executive meeting which is held every other Monday to follow up on the operations of agencies under the BMA’s supervision.

“The BMA executives didn’t discuss any further lockdown measures at the meeting,” he said.

City Hall recently ordered the closure of more places in Bangkok until April 30 in addition to the 26 types of businesses which were ordered shut down on March 23.

The new venues include playgrounds in public parks and housing estates, libraries, museums, theatres, outdoor cinemas, and public and private nurseries (except those in hospitals).

Wantanee Wattana, the deputy city clerk, said the BMA’s communicable diseases control committee will meet today to consider if additional measures are needed to tackle the outbreak.

She said a total of 15 checkpoints are up and running around the city and at three bus terminals to check the temperature of travellers and send those with a fever for further screening.

Pol Maj Gen Paisan Leusomboon, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said more than 43,000 people were screened at the checkpoints between March 26 and March 30 and 35 were sent for medical care.

He said the checks are focused on passenger vans, buses or vehicles carrying several passengers or children and the elderly.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Commerce Ministry to re-allocate the daily supply of surgical masks for the next five days, she said.

Of the 2.3 million masks manufactured in the country daily, 800,000 of them will be handed over to the Interior Ministry for distribution to personnel in 76 provinces and the remaining 1.5 million given to the Public Health Ministry.

The prime minister has also instructed the police to step up crackdowns on illegal gambling, street racing and large parties that sidestep the closure orders as these activities draw big crowds, she said.

Chulalongkorn Hospital earlier said it was running low on N95 masks and has been trying to find more from all possible sources.

“The hospital only has enough masks for another two weeks,” said its director Suttipong Wacharasindhud.