Thailand has tightened security at the main border trade gateway with Myanmar in Mae Sot district of Tak province after three Myanmar nationals tested positive for the coronavirus at the Thai border.
Deputy provincial governor Suppimitr Paorik has ordered vehicles from Myanmar to load and unload goods only at designated areas in the district from Sunday until further notice.
The vehicles are not allowed to enter the border town and must leave Thai soil within seven hours, according to the announcement signed on Saturday and released on Sunday.
The province also ordered Thai vehicles crossing the border to Myawaddy town in Myanmar to return within seven hours.
Thailand has banned the entry of Myanmar nationals in Tak and other border areas after a spate of new Covid-19 infections in the neighbouring country.
In Mae Sot, the only vehicles now permitted to enter are those transporting goods via the second friendship bridge, and they must unload in the immediate area. Prior to the new restrictions that took effect on Sunday, they were allowed to drive to warehouses in the district.
The new Covid-19 restrictions come after three Myanmar lorry drivers were found to be infected with the virus.
District officials monitor the border with Myanmar from the bank of the Moei River in Mae Sot district of Tak province on Friday. (Photo from Tak District Facebook account)
The first two cases were found on Friday during active testing carried out by Mae Sot Hospital and the third patient was found on Saturday, the Disease Control Department said.
Dr Sophon Iamsirithavorn, chief of the Communicable Disease Division, said on Sunday all three were immediately sent back to Myawaddy. Tests on 73 people who had come into contact with the three Myanmar drivers returned negative, he added.
Security authorities in Tak are on high alert to prevent people crossing the border from Myanmar illegally amid worries they may carry the virus into the kingdom.
Myanmar's Health Ministry reported 2,158 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday -- a record daily rise -- along with 32 additional deaths, according to Reuters.
A total of 26,064 cases and 598 deaths have been reported in Myanmar, the vast majority since a second wave began in mid-August.
