State of emergency extended for 2 months
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State of emergency extended for 2 months

There was little traffic near the famous Erawan Shrine at at Ratchaprasong intersection, a central business area of Bangkok, on Tuesday, when lockdown measures took effect in 13 provinces heavily hit by Covid-19, including Greater Bangkok. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
There was little traffic near the famous Erawan Shrine at at Ratchaprasong intersection, a central business area of Bangkok, on Tuesday, when lockdown measures took effect in 13 provinces heavily hit by Covid-19, including Greater Bangkok. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

The cabinet on Tuesday extended the state of emergency nationwide for two months, until the end of September, to cope with the local Covid-19 situation.

Deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul said extension was from  Aug 1 to Sept 30, as proposed by the National Security Council. The NSC functions as the operations unit of the government's Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

The extension was necessary to facilitate the swift and integrated implementation of measures to control Covid-19 for the sake of public safety, she said.

The decision was a response to the thousands of new Covid-19 cases being recorded daily in Greater Bangkok, where  easily transmissible and drug-resistant Covid-19 variants were spreading and being carried by workers returning to their home provinces, Ms Traisuree said.

The Public Health Ministry was predicting about 10,000 new Covid-19 cases and more than 100 fatalities a day, she said.

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