Govt closes schools and bars, postpones Songkran

Students wearing protective masks attend an admission exam for the Triam Udom Suksa School, a state upper-secondary school that has the largest enrollment in the country, at Impact Forum in Bangkok on March 5, 2020. (Reuters photo)
Students wearing protective masks attend an admission exam for the Triam Udom Suksa School, a state upper-secondary school that has the largest enrollment in the country, at Impact Forum in Bangkok on March 5, 2020. (Reuters photo)

The cabinet on Tuesday approved plans to postpone next month's Songkran New Year holiday and to close schools to limit the spread of the coronavirus, a government spokeswoman said.

To contain the situation in stage 2 of the outbreak as long as possible, the cabinet will restrict certain activities.

Preventive measures are:

Universities, tutorial schools and all educational institutions in Greater Bangkok will be closed for two weeks from Wednesday.

Boxing arenas, stadiums, horse racing tracks in Greater Bangkok will also be closed until the situation improves.

Pubs, entertainment and service places and theatres in Greater Bangkok will be closed for 14 days.

During the closures, actions must be taken to clean these places. 

Malls, markets, eateries, public offices and state enterprises remain open but are instructed to take preventive measures such as surface cleaning or use of temperature scanners.

Songkran holiday (April 13-15) will be delayed until further notice.

Frequencies of public transport services will be increased to avoid congestion.

Inter-provincial mass movements such as by military personnel must be avoided, including those of migrant workers.

Government offices will adopt overlapping working hours and home working and use technology such as teleconferencing.

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Vocabulary

  • approval: official permission - การอนุมัต
  • cockfighting: when male fowl (chickens, roosters) fight - การชนไก่
  • congestion: a situation in which a place is crowded with people or vehicles - แน่นขนัดไปด้วยรถหรือคน
  • discretion (noun): the freedom or power to decide what should be done in a particular situation - ความอิสระในการตัดสินใจ
  • governor: a person who is chosen to be in charge of the government of a state or province or a government agency - ผู้ว่าการรัฐ, ผู้ว่าราชการจังหวัด
  • migrant worker: someone who travels to another place or country in order to find work - คนงานต่างถิ่น
  • postpone: to delay; to decide that something will be done at a later time - เลื่อนออกไป
  • preventive measure: an action which is intended to try to stop something that causes problems or difficulties from happening - มาตรการป้องกัน
  • provincial (adj): related to "provinces" , the different parts of a country - ประจำจังหวัด, ส่วนท้องถิ่น
  • situation: all the circumstances and things that are happening at a particular time and in a particular place - สถานการณ์
  • spokeswoman/spokesman: a person who speaks on behalf of a group or an organisation - โฆษก
  • teleconference: a meeting involving people who are in different places, but who are connected by video and computers -
  • theatre: a building or an outdoor area where plays and similar types of entertainment are performed - โรงละคร, โรงมหรสพ

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