Thailand is considering ending the night curfew in the fourth phase of the easing of lockdown measures, a senior national security official said.
The night curfew could be lifted for 15 days, as a trial, but the emergency decree will remain in force to ensure continued containment of the COVID-19, said deputy army chief Gen. Nathapol Nakpanit, who is also deputy of the Thai government’s committee on COVID-19 control.
The Southeast Asian nation cut the curfew to 11:00pm to 3:00am, from 10:00pm to 4:00am on June 1.
Without the curfew people can resume their normal lives, but the state of emergency will remain in place in case the government needs to take swift action to stop the coronavirus from spreading, he said.
Normal laws would not facilitate swift and effective responses to the disease, he noted.
The responses include 14-day quarantine for people arriving from foreign countries. The emergency decree prevented airlines from suing the government for banning their flights, Gen Nathapol explained.
Gatherings would not be prohibited, to show that imposition of the emergency decree had nothing to do with any political interests, he added.
Gen Somsak Roongsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council and head of the disease control committee, said that boxing stadiums might reopen in the fourth stage of relaxation of business and other activities.
However, all disease control decisions would be made by the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, he said.
On June 10, Thailand reported four more COVID-19 cases among returnees from abroad, putting the country’s tally at 3,125. There were no new fatalities with the death toll still at 58.
Thailand has found no new community infections for 16 consecutive days.
