Boxing fans suffered disappointment yesterday, while actor and singer Matthew Deane Chanthavanij posted a message on Instagram saying that he has been infected with the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Matthew: Tweets he has Covid-19
"This is NOT a joke, for those that have been in close contact with me the last few days please take precautions. I have the Covid-19 virus#covid 19," the 41-year-old actor wrote.
He also said his Khlongsittha Muay Thai boxing-gym would be closed yesterday for deep cleaning and disinfection to protect customers from any possible contagion.
Meanwhile, Lumpini Boxing Stadium has announced that it will bar spectators from attending bouts until the end of the month after two fans who used the names "Sakol Muaytoo" and "Meenae Sitsei" posted on Facebook that they had contracted the disease.
The bouts and television broadcasts will continue as usual.
Responding to the claims, Opas Kankawinphong, director-general of the Department of Medical Science insisted on the veracity of the department's number of Covid-19 patients which stood at 75 yesterday, five more than Thursday, as reported by the Public Health Ministry.
He said if those social media users' information was untrue, they could be prosecuted for spreading false information on the internet.
The Public Health Ministry yesterday reported all five new local cases of Covid-19 were linked to people arriving from Hong Kong and South Korea.
Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai, permanent secretary for health, said the new cases were cluster infections.
Two were a woman, 36, and a man, 37, who went to a pub in a group of 15 people, 11 of whom were declared Covid-19 patients on Thursday. They were all acquaintances, some of whom had met visitors from Hong Kong last month.
The three other new patients' infections were linked to a 27-year-old Thai woman who returned from South Korea, where she had plastic surgery, Dr Sukhum said.
One is her younger brother, aged 19. He fell sick last Saturday with a cough and flu-like symptoms.
He was examined by a doctor on Monday and is now being treated at a private hospital.
Another is a Thai woman, 29, a friend of a 27-year-old Thai returnee from South Korea being treated at Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital in Bangkok. She also fell sick last Saturday with a fever and cough, and was examined at a private hospital on Sunday.
The woman had earlier gone to an entertainment venue with 13 friends.
One of those friends was the other new patient, a 37-year-old man who fell sick last Monday and went to a public hospital on Tuesday after also exhibiting flu-like symptoms.