Editor’s Note
This report details a localised Covid-19 outbreak linked to a specific workplace in Thailand, highlighting the ongoing need for vigilance and targeted public health measures even as broader restrictions ease globally.
Authorities have ordered the closure of a gems market in Muang district of Chanthaburi province after 52 people there tested positive for Covid-19.
All 52 new patients were African nationals working in the gems trade at the market, Thai media reported. Of the total, 25 cases were confirmed on Thursday and 27 others on Friday.
Chanthaburi governor Suthee Thongyaem signed an order on Thursday to close the gems market on Srichan Road in Muang district. Thai PBS reported that the market, the gems trade hub in this eastern province, has been shuttered for 14 days as part of Covid-19 control measures.
Apirak Pisut-aporn, chief of the Chanthaburi provincial public health office, said the 52 cases represented a sizeable new cluster.
Governor Suthee expressed his concern over the outbreak at the gems market. An intensive public relations campaign has been launched to urge people who may have been exposed — both Thais and foreign nationals — to urgently seek Covid-19 tests. The governor also ordered the closure of a nearby amulet market.