Good morning and welcome to the morning briefing this Thursday, April 23rd. Here are some of the headlines you may have missed from the past 24 hours:
Immigration officers catch covid-19 causing Sadao border shutdown
Two immigration officers who work at the Sadao border checkpoint in Songkhla province tested positive for coronavirus leading to the closure of the border crossing yesterday afternoon.
High ranking officials who work at the checkpoint and came into contact with the infected pair have been placed into quarantine, while as many as 70 immigration staff have been tested for the coronavirus.
The border will remain closed indefinitely while it is disinfected and an investigation is carried out.
Thailand’s coronavirus numbers continue to drop, but PM in “no rush” to ease restrictions
Thailand officially recorded only 15 new covid-19 cases yesterday, with one death. The figure continues the downward trend of new cases being recorded around the country over the past few days.
However, the Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has indicated he is in no rush to reopen the economy and allow businesses to operate again.
He went on to insist that the general public “must work harder” to further reduce the number of covid-19 cases and that a decision regarding the emergency decree will be made before the end of this month.
Domestic abuse and sexual harassment on the rise in Thailand
The Department of Women’s Affairs and Family Development (DWF) in combination with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security released data showing an increasing number of domestic abuse cases since people started working from home due to the coronavirus.
The report also showed that as many as one in five Thai women has been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace.
The government is currently in discussion about how to deal with these worrying statistics including setting up a walk-in center in Bangkok.
School director arrested for molesting a 13-year-old schoolgirl
In one of yesterday’s mots harrowing stories, a school director in Petchabun was arrested and subsequently released on bail following accusations of molesting a schoolgirl.
The police caught wind of a video that was circulated online showing the man performing obscene acts with the young girl.
If he is found guilty he will face up to 20 years in prison.
More food donations broke up by police
In a recurring theme, a woman who organized food donations in Nakhon Pathom province was informed by police that she was breaking emergency decree-laws by creating a gathering.
The woman had prepared 300 packages of food to give to hungry people in the area, but police confiscated the packages and distributed them to people living in the local slums.
The woman then took to social media to display her frustration and sadness at the situation.
Photo: Reuters
