Thailand to evaluate lockdown rules

Bangkok, Aug 15 Health authorities in Thailand are expected to make a decision on whether to extend the current lockdown measures on Monday, as the country's average daily Covid-19 cases reached 20,000 over the past seven days with no signs of decline.

Thailand announced on August 1 to expand restrictive measures, including travel curbs, shopping mall closures and night-time curfews to 29 provincial regions from the previous 13 for at least two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency.

Without the lockdown, the number of daily infections would have reached a level of 60,000 to 70,000 and more than 800 fatalities per day based on calculations, according to Thaweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

The CCSA will also discuss whether to ease some restrictions, and allow certain essential businesses to reopen on the premises of department stores, as many people and businesses have been severely hit by the tough measures.

Thailand has so far registered a total of 885,275 confirmed Covid cases and the death toll stood at 7,343, according to the CCSA.

Some 5,590 patients are currently in critical condition, of which 1,151 are receiving ventilatory support.

The World Health Organization Thailand office predicted that the country's medical system will continue to see a very high burden of severe Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks, and the daily deaths will remain high.