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Thailand clamps down on coronavirus outbreak at seafood market

WION Web Team
Bangkok, ThailandUpdated: Dec 20, 2020, 10:23 AM IST
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So far, Thailand has registered more than 1.8 million cases and 18,865 deaths -- the bulk of them detected after the highly contagious Delta variant emerged in April. The country is still reporting about 10,000 new cases per day. Authorities aim to have 70 per cent of the population jabbed by the end of the year. So far, about 40 per cent of Thais have been fully vaccinated. Photograph:(AFP)

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Sunday's local elections were, however, expected to go ahead as planned, as long as voters wore masks.

Thailand's biggest seafood market and the surrounding area have been locked down to contain a coronavirus outbreak.

Despite being the first place to register an infection outside China, the kingdom had been mostly unscathed by the pandemic, with just over 4,000 cases and 60 deaths so far. On Saturday, the country reported its largest spike in cases since the pandemic began.

Authorities announced 548 positive cases connected to a seafood market in Mahachai, Samut Sakhon province, about 40 minutes southwest of Bangkok. A strict lockdown and curfew followed.

Myanmar has had more than 115,000 cases of coronavirus and Thai authorities have been ramping up border controls over recent months.

Sunday's local elections were, however, expected to go ahead as planned, as long as voters wore masks.