State of emergency should be extended for another month until the end of July in order to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 infection in Thailand, the National Security Council (NSC) recommends.
The NSC made the recommendation at its meeting on Thursday. Its proposal will be submitted to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) for consideration on Monday.
NSC Secretary-General General Somsak Rungsita said the Council viewed that the emergency decree would be essential to prevent a second wave of outbreak when phase five of reopening became effective next month.
The Thai government has prepared for the fifth phase of lockdown easing which will allow almost all business activities to resume.
Disease Control Act alone could not guarantee effective response to a possible next wave of infections, Gen Somsak told reporters after the meeting.
The emergency decree would give the government more tools to protect vulnerable groups; the elderly and children as the new semester began on July 1, added Gen Somsak.
He insisted that the decision was based on public health standpoint, not politics. There would be no political implication nor it would affect people’s livelihood, Gen Somsak said.
Since enacting the state of emergency decree late March, the government has been criticised by the opposition parties that the decree was intended to suppress anti-government movements. (TNA)
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