NONTHABURI – More businesses and activities may resume in two weeks on the condition that the number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients does not rise, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.
Mr Anutin said after an academic conference on the promotion of health and environmental hygiene that COVID-19 prompted people to have “new normal” lifestyles for their own safety. He cited social distancing, the use of face masks and frequent hand washes.
He said the COVID-19 situation in Thailand significantly improved regarding the number of patients, the recovery rate and the small number of patients at hospitals and the Public Health Ministry allocated about 5 billion baht to vaccine development and already stored relevant medications.
“If the number of patients is stable in the next two weeks, more restrictions will be eased so that businesses and activities can resume,” Mr Anutin said.
He also said that the Faculty of Medicine at Prince of Songkla University successfully used plasma from previously confirmed COVID-19 patients to treat new patients but the success and its factors should be thoroughly studied because the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute had used the same technique but failed. (TNA)