Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called on provincial governors to investigate after news reports said that some Thais have taken Chinese infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus to border hospitals.

“We confirm that there is strict inspection at entry and exit points along the border on land, water, and also at airports. If we find that Chinese people have entered illegally, we will deport them,” he vowed.

“Today [February 24], the Army has sent troops to screen these people, while we received a report from the Public Health Ministry that no infected patients have been found in the hospitals.”

Talking about the rising coronavirus cases in South Korea, Prayut said Thailand has third-phase measures to tackle the outbreak if it got any worse. “The government held a conference last week to deal this situation and how to proceed with the measures, some of which will become stricter,” he said.

The National Communicable Disease Committee met this afternoon and was set to declare Covid-19 a dangerous contagious disease to facilitate public health officers to work more effectively.

“We don’t want anyone to panic because the country has not reached the third phase of the epidemic, but it should have legal support to facilitate officers to control the situation,” he said.

Prayut also confirmed that Thailand is not concealing any patient information, adding that the number of infected people is still the same.

“There are more than 1,000 cases under investigation, but we don’t want people to panic because it will affect the country in many aspects. The government is deeply concerned about people’s health, but we must have measures in place to control any epidemic if necessary.