Aircraft on standby: PM

Aircraft on standby: PM

Wuhan flight awaits nod from Beijing

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha talks to officials as he inspects the screening of incoming passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday. (Government House photo)
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha talks to officials as he inspects the screening of incoming passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday. (Government House photo)

A team of medical staff will depart on a commercial aircraft that has been put on standby to airlift Thai citizens out of Wuhan, China, as soon as the plan gets the go-ahead from Beijing, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday.

Earlier plans to airlift Thai citizens out of Wuhan had been hampered by Chinese regulations which do not allow military transport planes to come in and pick up foreign nationals, the prime minister added.

The government has come under heavy criticism for being slow to evacuate Thais from Wuhan, the centre of the novel coronavirus outbreak which has been locked down since Jan 23.

Japan and the United States started evacuating their citizens on Wednesday.

Gen Prayut said the government will use a commercial aircraft in the evacuation, but military planes will also be put on standby in case of an emergency.

"We have a plan in place to bring Thais back home and we're waiting to move them out. We're taking care of it," Gen Prayut said as he observed the screening of incoming travellers at Suvarnabhumi airport.

He said Thai citizens currently in Wuhan are known to be healthy and are in constant contact with Thai officials. There are 64 Thai citizens currently in Wuhan.




The prime minister said Thailand has a good track record of handling health emergencies of this scale as he allayed concerns about further contagion.

He noted that China has imposed travel restrictions and intensified screening to halt the virus' spread.

"We're seeing what can be done and we are trying to do as much as possible without affecting relations. Above all, the health of the Thai people is most important," he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry is warning of a further spread after local transmission was confirmed in Japan.

The ministry issued the warning after a Japanese coach driver was confirmed to have been infected with the new coronavirus. He had not travelled to Wuhan, but drove for a Chinese tour group from the city.

"The spread in Thailand is possible on a limited scale," said Tanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control.

"We are closely monitoring sensitive areas with large numbers of Chinese tourists such as Chiang Mai, Phuket and Bangkok," he said, adding that screening has been expanded to include groups who have been in contact with Chinese tourists.

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand remained at 14 with nine patients currently being treated at hospital.

Health officials in Chiang Mai are investigating the mysterious death of a 32-year-old Chinese woman at a resort in Mae Rim district.

The woman was found dead on Wednesday morning without any signs of foul play.

Thongchai Lertwilairattanapong, a public health inspector-general, said the woman had travelled from Guangzhou to Chiang Mai on Jan 28 with a group of friends.

He said that based on initial interviews with the woman's friends, she did not appear to have shown any symptoms associated with the coronavirus infection.

That said, her tissue samples were collected for lab testing and doctors are planning to perform an autopsy to establish the cause of death.

To help curb the spread of the virus, surveillance at airports, seaports and land border checkpoints are being boosted by army, navy and air force medics.

Airlines are also taking measures to prevent the outbreak from spreading. Thai Lion Air has reportedly cancelled five chartered flights between Chengdu and Hat Yai between tomorrow and Feb 10.

It is also reported that the number of travellers from China at Chiang Mai airport is decreasing, even though flights between Chiang Mai and 10 Chinese cities are still operating as usual.

Separately, Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister, Prapat Pothasuthon, on Wednesday downplayed concerns about the risk of contagion from food products, saying shipments of agricultural produces and consumer goods from China have been suspended.

Prayoth Benyasut, deputy director-general of the Internal Trade Department, on Wednesday urged consumers not to stockpile face masks, saying the manufacturers had insisted they are only capable of making 100 million of them a month.

So far, he said, there is no need to limit their purchase or declare face masks as a controlled item but such measures could be considered in the future if the situation deteriorates.

Source: Johns Hopkins CSSE

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