Chiang Rai Covid alert as 15 new cases linked to Tachilek
published : 7 Dec 2020 at 14:26
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Saritdet Marukatat
A second hospital has been prepared to receive Covid-19 patients, with six new cases reported in Chiang Rai among people returning from working in Tachilek, in Myanmar.
On Monday, nine Thais returning from Tachilek were among 21 new cases.
The new cases included four women who worked at the 1G1-7 Hotel in Tachilek. They returned and reported to authorities last Wednesday. Their tests on Sunday confirmed their infections.
The other two women had worked at the Hollywood nightclub and Karaoke bar in the Myanmar town, and returned on Saturday. Their tests on Sunday were also positive.
All are being treated at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital.
Thailand has 38 cases linked to people returning from Tachilek, 26 of them found in Chiang Rai, since the first was detected on Nov 24.
Officials in the northern province are working with their Myanmar counterparts to encourage Thais working in the Myanmar town to return through the official border checkpoint at the second Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, hoping to contain the outbreak.
But although they return through the checkpoint they will still be charged with crossing illegally, because the border is officially closed.
The hotspot in Tachilek is the 1G1-7 Hotel. It promotes itself as an entertainment complex and is just 1.5 kilometres from the Thai border, Mae Sai district, and 2-3km from the border crossing. It has foreign investors and offers a full range of pubs, young girls, drinks, karaoke and a casino.
Hundreds of Thais work there.
The hotel has been closed since Nov 24 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
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Vocabulary
- alert: a warning to people to be prepared to deal with something dangerous - การเตือนให้ระวัง
- authority (noun): a person or government agency who has the power to make decisions or enforce the law - เจ้าหน้าที่ผู้มีอำนาจ
- casino: a building where gambling games, especially roulette and card games are played for money - บ่อนการพนัน
- checkpoint: a place where people are stopped and questioned and vehicles are examined, especially at a border between two countries - ด่านตรวจ
- complex: an area that has several parts - พื้นที่ประกอบด้วยส่วนต่าง ๆ
- counterpart (noun): someone who has the same job or purpose as another person, but in a different country, time, situation or organisation - คนที่อยู่ในตำแหน่งเดียวกันของอีกประเทศ หรือ กลุ่มหนึ่ง
- detected: noticed, discovered or found out - จับได้ พบได้
- hotspot: a place where there is a lot of activity, or a higher temperature than normal -
- illegally: in a way that is against the law - อย่างผิดกฎหมาย
- positive (adj): showing clear evidence that a particular substance or medical condition is present มีประจุบวก (การทดสอบ) - มีประจุบวก (การทดสอบ)
