COVID-19 Emergency Decree to be Extended Through June

Thailand’s nationwide emergency decree in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is set to extend through June.

Deputy Premier Gen. Prawit Wongsuwon claimed that the extension is necessary to prevent a second wave of infections–not about political reasons.

Those in favor of lifting emergency decree argue, however, that the policy is no longer needed, pointing to the low prevalence of new cases and the economic destruction caused by the nationwide lockdown.

Detractors also state that the Communicable Disease Act alone would give the government enough power to handle any further outbreaks.

In the past couple weeks, new COVID-19 cases in Thailand have consistently been in the low single digits, including some days with zero new cases reported.

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