Thailand on alert to prevent spread of virus

A patient suspected to have contracted coronavirus is seen at Nakhon Pathom Hospital in Nakhon Pathom on Thursday. (Reuters photo)
A patient suspected to have contracted coronavirus is seen at Nakhon Pathom Hospital in Nakhon Pathom on Thursday. (Reuters photo)

Thailand has taken high-level measures to monitor and prevent the spread of a new coronavirus after China's public health authority confirmed the virus can spread from human to human.

The Ministry of Public Health said China's decision to put Wuhan -- the epicentre of the new coronavirus outbreak -- and Huanggang on lockdown will benefit Thailand.

According to Reuters, Wuhan's local government shut down all urban transport networks and suspended outgoing flights from the city at 10am local time on Thursday, adding the government has told citizens not to leave the city unless for special circumstances.

The World Health Organisation called a new coronavirus that has killed 18 people in China and infected around 650 globally "an emergency in China" on Thursday, but stopped short of declaring the epidemic of international concern.

So far, Thailand has confirmed four cases of the coronavirus which has claimed 17 lives.

One of the patients with the virus is a 73-year-old Thai woman who is now being treated in Nakhon Pathom.

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Vocabulary

  • circumstances (noun): facts or conditions that affect a situation - เหตุการณ์แวดล้อม
  • citizens (noun): people who have the right to live permanently in a particular country - พลเมือง
  • claim lives (verb): to kill people - ทำให้ตาย
  • epicentre (noun): the point on the earth's surface where the effects of an earthquake are felt most strongly; the central point of something - ศูนย์กลาง
  • epidemic: a large number of cases of a particular disease happening at the same time in a particular community - โรคระบาด
  • infected: having a disease transmitted from someone else - ซึ่งติดเชื้อ
  • lockdown (noun): an official order to control the movement of people or vehicles because of a dangerous situation -
  • outbreak: the sudden start of a disease - การระบาดของโรค
  • suspend: to stop for a period of time - ยกเลิกชั่วคราว, ระงับชั่วคราว

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