Security Agency Calls for 1-Month Extension to Emergency Rule

A district office in Bangkok installs a plastic barrier to prevent the potential spread of the coronavirus on May 21, 2020.

BANGKOK (Xinhua) — Thailand’s National Security Council (NSC) on Thursday called for a one-month extension to the emergency rule currently enforced against the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration, chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, is scheduled to consider on Friday approving the NSC-proposed extension until the end of June.

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The nationwide emergency rule, which features varied anti-pandemic measures and five-hour curfew, was earlier scheduled to last until the end of May.

According to NSC secretary general Somsak Rungsita, the NSC resolved on Thursday to have the emergency rule extended for another month on grounds that such stringent measures have been considered necessary to deter the possibilities of a second wave of the pandemic in Thailand.

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He said public health officials and representatives of the private sector, who attended Thursday’s NSC meeting, agreed to the emergency rule extension.