Thailand faces growing outbreak ahead of New Year travel

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai authorities struggled Friday to contain a growing coronavirus outbreak just days before the country's traditional Songkran New Year’s holiday, when millions of people travel.

Health officials reported 559 new infections nationwide on Friday, following increases of 405 cases and 334 cases the previous two days. Authorities have responded by ordering the closure of entertainment venues in 41 provinces for two weeks starting Saturday, while governors of some provinces are placing restrictions on travelers arriving from elsewhere.

Such daily increases are rare for Thailand, which has weathered the coronavirus pandemic far better than many nations through measures including strict border controls that have decimated the country's lucrative tourism industry. Thailand has also experimented at times with curfews, alcohol bans and closures of schools, shopping malls and restaurants.

Travelers and businesses alike had been hoping that this year's Songkran holiday could go forward without a spike in infections. The official holiday was canceled last year to slow the spread of the disease, as it came as the country was experiencing its first major outbreak.

The national government has so far declined to issue blanket travel restrictions this year, though provincial authorities are allowed to set quarantine rules for people coming from high-risk zones such as Bangkok. Several provinces have done so, throwing many people's travel plans into question.

The director-general of the Department of Disease Control, Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, said Wednesday that according to Health Ministry projections, the number of new infections could rise as high as 10,000 per day if no adequate measures are taken.

The current outbreak is the largest the country has seen since one...