The government has given assurances that it can fully contain the outbreak of the Wuhan coronavirus as it has stepped up its monitoring and assessment of the situation, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says.
''The government has taken 100 percent control of the situation,'' said the prime minister in Monday's television broadcast.
Gen Prayut said the government's precautionary measures are in line with international standards and the screening of international passengers is efficient. Of eight confirmed virus infection cases, five have recovered and been discharged from hospital while the rest are under close medical attention, Gen Prayut said.
He said that the Public Health Ministry has heightened its public health emergency operation to level three -- the highest level -- to ensure all communities nationwide, as well as hospitals and airports, can respond to the severity of the outbreak.
Other precaution measures have also been put in place at all five major international airports in the country, as well as other channels such as borders, and ports and piers to increase the monitoring and screening of passengers arriving not only from Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus, but also other high-risk areas in China, the prime minister said.
Gen Prayut stressed the need to provide facts on the virus outbreak without any concealment, adding that Thailand's medical and public health systems are well-equipped to monitor and prevent major infectious disease outbreaks.
He said Thailand was ranked 6th in the 2019 Global Health Security Index among countries best prepared for a major infectious disease outbreak. Thailand received a score of 73.2 after the United States in first place (83.5), the United Kingdom (77.9), The Netherlands (75.6), Australia (75.5) and Canada (75.3).
Meanwhile, Tana Weskosith, the deputy permanent secretary for foreign affairs, told the press after the meeting of the Rapid Response Centre that the authorities will prepare in case the necessity arises for an operation to evacuate and assist Thai people living in Wuhan whenever the Chinese government gives permission.
He said the Chinese government has yet to allow any country to send emergency teams to enter the city which is now locked down.
There are 64 Thai people in Wuhan, most of them are students, and 18 other Thais in other cities in Hubei province, he said, adding that the Thai embassy in Beijing has provided several channels to contact and assist care of them.
"China has pledged to take care of Thai people and bring the situation under its control," he said.
The working group, Mr Tana said, also proposed to include doctors in the WeChat group to provide medical advice as well as to transfer money to local universities to help Thai students, adding that the working group will also discuss the possibility of dispatching supplies to Wuhan.
Mr Tana said the MFA has not received any requests from Thais to return home because it is the only city which has gone into lockdown.
In a related development, the Public Health Ministry announced that it would assign an additional 5,000 health officials to monitor the 20,000 Chinese tourists currently in Thailand.
Sukhum Kanchanaphimai, the permanement secetary for public health, said these 20,000 Chinese tourists, of which 80% are from Wuhan, have been stranded in Thailand, and are waiting to return to their country.
''They are the group that the ministry is keeping its eyes on. So far, we have not received any reports of fever in this group of stranded tourists,'' said Dr Thanrak Palitpatra, deputy chief of the Department of Disease Control under the ministry of public health.
Meanwhile, Charoen Pokphand Group in China has donated more than 222 million baht and 33 tonnes of antiseptic products to Hubei province to aid the Chinese government's efforts to suppress the spread of the coronavirus.
