BANGKOK, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Through his social media page, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the 20 Thai billionaires from whom he sought help during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"All of the 20 billionaires had responded to me directly and offered to assist, especially to the vulnerable group whose business operations had to close due to the pandemic," Prayut wrote in his Facebook.
Prayut said that it was not the amount of money or the value of the projects the tycoons undertook to assist those in difficulty, but their willingness to offer a helping hand to ease the hardships of the Thai people at an extremely challenging time.
"The unity, generosity and care of Thai people for their fellow countrymen and others are unique," said the prime minister.
In addition to the billionaires, from whom he sought help directly, the prime minister said that there were others who volunteered their help, as well as members of the public who did whatever they could to alleviate the sufferings of others.
Noting that despite many sectors calling for the lifting of the emergency decree and the curfew, Prayut said the present situation has not been promising enough for an immediate end to the imposition.
"But we have relaxed several lockdown restrictions measures, despite the pandemic hitting on the Thai economy, the health and the well-being of the Thai people is my priority," said Prayut.
Thailand on Monday reported three new COVID-19 cases, raising the total cases to 3,031 while the death toll remains at 56. Enditem
