Thai villagers go fishing instead of market amid COVID-19 fears

Villagers in northern Thailand are fishing for their supper to avoid crowds of people at the local market amid COVID-19 fears.

Villagers in northern Thailand are fishing for their supper to avoid crowds of people at the local market amid COVID-19 fears.

Footage from this morning (April 09) shows locals from Na Prang, Thailand, catching fish together in the nearby river as they were worried that it is a risk going into town.

Fishing in the lake allows them to follow the coronavirus social distancing rules.

Townhall officials dropped an angling ban and opened up the lake to members of the public to catch fish in Phayao province.

One of the council members said she thought it was a good idea to use resources to support the community.

Kaew Sudarat said: "The land has just become fertile again after the long drought and fortunately it is the same time that villagers are in desperate need of food because of the virus.

"People are worried that going into town is risk of being infected by COVID-19, so I think catching fish here is safe.

"They can feed their family by the fish they caught and can also sell the leftover for a little extra money."