Prime Minister and Defense Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged the public to be confident about the Government’s handling of the 2019-novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation.

In his statement on 27 January 2020, the Prime Minister said that Thailand has continued to strictly screen and conduct surveillance for the disease, while closely monitoring the situation in the country and overseas.

The Ministry of Public Health has upgraded the alert code of 2019-nCoV to level 3: Avoid travel to areas affected, in accordance with the severity of the situation. Apart from five international airports, the screening of all passengers arriving from risk areas has also been carried out at border areas and various ports in Thailand.

The Prime Minister stressed that the Government would give explanations of the situation in accordance with factual information, based on the principle: "The lives and health of the people are the most important.”

He said that Thailand’s surveillance and screening measures in disease prevention and control were ranked No. 6 out of 195 countries by Johns Hopkins University. The ranking indicates that the country’s medical and public health systems are at international standards.

Concerning the plan to evacuate Thai nationals from virus-hit cities in China, the Prime Minister emphasized the Royal Thai Government's readiness as soon as the Chinese government gives the green light, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been closely coordinating.

What is worrisome is "fake news,” he said. Accurate information on the 2019-nCoV situation can be obtained from the Department of Disease Control hotline 1422. Legal action will be taken against the spread of misinformation.

The Prime Minister called for the checking of information on the issue to ensure accuracy before sharing it on social media, as misinformation that circulates may create confusion and cause panic. The people may follow up on news and information on the 2019-nCoV situation, which will be issued by the Emergency Operations Center, Ministry of Public Health, until the situation eases.

Source : Department of Public Relations, Royal Thai Government