CityNews – 29th April 2020, the government declared a national state of emergency, effective March 26th, in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in Thailand. Most restaurants, stores, and entertainment venues are closed except for food delivery, supermarkets, restaurants’ delivery service providers and food markets, drug stores, convenience stores, banks, and other stores selling necessary items. Several provinces have closed their borders, requested most hotels to close, and have instituted additional restrictions on movement within the province.
As of yesterday, the government has also declared an extension of the state of emergency, stating that it will now last until 31st May.
This will also mean that there will be no flights into Thailand until that date. The 10pm-4am curfew will remain in place and all unnecessary travel should be avoided. Large groups of people are not to gather.
The government will also continue to give 5,000 baht in cash to the needy, covering the period from 24th April to 30th June, expanding its coverage from 14 to 16 million employees. A budget of 240 billion baht has been set aside for such relief. As to farmers, they will also receive three months of 5,000 baht payment with a budget of 150 billion slated for 10 million farmers. The two million Thais who are handicapped will receive 1,000 baht each as a onetime payment and the 120,000 handicapped who are under 18 will have their monthly allowance increased from 800 to 1,000 baht. There is also a subsidy to help cassava farmers with a budget of 458 million baht in addition to the 9.6 billion baht already approved.
