Visitors have been banned from Koh Si Chang island and the passport office in Pattaya has been closed until further notice, as part of measures to control the rapid spread of Covid-19 in Chon Buri province.
Chon Buri governor Pakkathorn Thienchai on Wednesday signed an order of the provincial communicable disease committee to shut the Pattaaya passport office from Wednesday.
The office is a branch of the Consular Affairs Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Pattaya is an independent jurisdiction, not part of the provincial administration. But the committee has the authority to enforce all orders related to coronavirus in the resort city.
The order also banned visitors to Koh Si Chang, off the Sri Racha district coast, until Jan 19, and directed the district chief to strictly screen people going to and from the island.
Mr Pakkathorn said in the order it was aimed at urgently controlling the spike of new infections in the province.
Chon Buri added 30 new patients and one death on Wednesday. The new figures will be added in the nationwide tally of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Thursday.
Sri Racha led other districts, with 21 infections, and the fatality was in Bang Lamung district, which adjoins Pattaya city.
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