BANGKOK — More coronavirus cases were reported in Bangkok and its outskirts as of Tuesday morning, all of them associated with the large outbreak at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon.
They include the owner of a popular seafood restaurant in Thonburi, two Samut Prakan natives who hawk their vegetables and seafood throughout northern Bangkok, and two seafood vendors at a market in the northwestern suburb of Pathum Thani.
Writing in an online post, Somsak Pu-Ob 2 restaurant said its owner, ‘khun Ratt,’ tested positive for coronavirus after visiting a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon. The page admin also noted that the virus test – taken at Phyathai 3 Hospital – wasn’t free in spite of the government’s announcement that anyone who recently traveled to Samut Sakhon was eligible for free coronavirus lab tests.
“We also want to ask the authorities why the test costs money, even though we went to Samut Sakhon,” wrote the admin, who identified herself as the owner’s daughter. “Our restaurant has to close down temporarily for 14 days.”
Read: Seafood Vendors, Restaurants Hung Out to Dry by Virus 2nd Wave
Samut Sakhon has recorded at least 800 cases of coronavirus since a 67-year-old vendor at the province’s sprawling seafood bazaar tested positive on Thursday. It remains unclear how she contracted the virus.
Health officials also said two hawkers from Samut Prakan were found infected with coronavirus – a 39-year-old man and his 37-year-old wife who recently bought seafood in Samut Sakhon. The pair reportedly drove around multiple parts of Bangkok on their vehicle, a pum puang truck, to sell their wares prior to testing positive.
Venues visited by the pair include Wat Chotikaram, Wat Tuek, Wat Bang Aoi Chang, Ram Intra, and Ku Bon Road. The vehicle driven by the two was identified as white pickup truck, license plate number 8631 Samut Prakan.
A market at Wat Sa Bua in Pathum Thani was also shut down by public health authorities on Monday evening upon the discovery that two vendors there were infected with the virus. Both of them have a history of travels to the fish market in Samut Sakhon, reports said.
The recent surge in virus cases shattered Thailand’s record of having near zero transmissions for months since May. The country’s tally of total coronavirus infections currently stands at about 5,300, including 60 deaths.
