BANGKOK, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed on Wednesday the re-opening of several sectors of services as the COVID-19 curve is on a downturn.
The National Infectious Disease Committee has on Wednesday enlisted the reopening of three types of businesses set for May 4.
The first are businesses which provide life's basic necessities, including non air-conditioned barber shops, wet markets and open-air food shops.
The second type include those with a large customer base and have an impact on the Thai economy, such as shopping malls, restaurants and Thai massage parlors.
The third type include those which help to improve health, such as fitness centers, gyms and spas.
Anutin said that after four months of intensive efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, Thailand has achieved a certain level of success in controlling the disease, and the businesses which do reopen must strictly observe social distancing and other anti-viral measures.
Anutin also said that the committee will organize more testing among high-risk groups, from 2,000 per 1,000,000 of the population to 5,000, in order to find those infected before they infect others.
He said people in the high-risk group are of medical personnel, new prison inmates, workers who are in constant contact with many people, such as bus drivers, ticket collectors and postmen.
Thailand on Wednesday reported single-digit confirmed cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day with 9 new cases only and no fatalities.
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 2,947 and death toll at 54. Enditem
