The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)’s subcommittee has proposed to extend the State of Emergency (SOE) for another month, its representative said on Wednesday.
The SOE came into effect in late March and has been extended several times until the end of August. All businesses including domestic tourism have resumed activity but the entry ban is still in effect.
The extension means that the SOE and the entry ban could be in place until the end of September.
The news will continue to devastate businesses within the tourism sector which is expecting only 8 million visitors compared to nearly 40 million in 2019.
At the same time, opposition parties have been against the move since the previous extension as they believe that the extension is now more about the current political situation than the coronavirus outbreak.
The country has recorded zero local transmissions for nearly three months. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 protestors have hit the street on Sunday in an effort to oust Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha’s government and rewrite the constitution.
General Nattapol Nakpanit, the deputy army chief who is the co-chair of the CCSA’s subcommittee, said the extension is needed to maintain the entry ban and the mandatory 14 days state or alternate state quarantine for visitors.
He said the extension does not affect local people’ lives and it will not affect any future rally.
“The State of Emergency decree can uphold laws that the Communicable Diseases Act cannot,” he said.
The subcommittee will propose an extension of the SOE at the CCSA’s main meeting which is chaired by Prayut this Friday.
