BANGKOK: Some 3,000 students gathered on Friday (Feb 14) in Thailand's Ayutthaya province to send Valentine's Day well-wishes to China, which is facing an ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.

"China keep fighting," students and teachers of Jirasat Wittaya School chanted, as they stood with a pair of elephants in a heart formation in a courtyard.



Elephants join Thai students as they form a heart shape on Valentine's Day to show their support for China in the fight against COVID-19, Feb 14, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)

Thailand has recorded a total of 33 coronavirus cases, but no fatalities so far, Feb 14, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)

"Now in China the people are feeling anxious and worried, so people from other countries should give them confidence so they can press on," said Liang Jie, a Chinese language teacher at the school from the city of Xiamen, on China's east coast.

"So if the Thais can give us their confidence and support, we will surely be thankful to them."



Thailand has recorded a total of 33 coronavirus cases, but no fatalities so far.

A girl arrives to a school wearing a protective face mask on Valentine's Day in Ayutthaya, Feb 14, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)

An elephant joins Thai students as they form a heart shape on Valentine's Day, Feb 14, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Chalinee Thirasupa)

In its latest update, China's National Health Commission said it had recorded 121 new deaths and 5,090 new coronavirus cases on the mainland on Thursday, raising the total of infected to 63,851 people.



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