Pattaya’s mayor urged residents and tourists not to panic, reassuring them that Pattaya is safe and prepared for any second wave of coronavirus infections.
Sonthaya Kunplome spoke to the media Dec. 7 amid a rash of new, locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 in Bangkok and the North. As of Tuesday, the local cases were confined to medical workers at alternative state quarantine hotels in Bangkok and contacts of a group of 10 Thai women who illegally crossed the Myanmar border and skipped quarantine.
Sonthaya said the city has equipment and personnel in place to handle any new outbreak as it did during the March-July lockdown.
The Public Health Department has also checked local construction camps for Burmese laborers and found none had traveled recently from Myanmar.
Regardless, Sonthaya urged people in crowded areas, such as this weekend’s Pattaya Music Festival, to wear masks and practice social distancing.