Thailand declares emergency, approves $3.3bn stimulus to ease coronavirus impact

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha wears a protective face mask due to the coronavirus outbreak during a teleconference for a weekly cabinet meeting with his ministers on March 24, 2020. (Thailand Government House via Reuters)

• Measures include cash handouts, soft loans, emergency loans and tax breaks
• Thailand reported three deaths and 106 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday

BANGKOK: Thailand will be in an emergency mode from March 26 for a month to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told a news conference on Tuesday.
Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday also approved additional stimulus measures worth 107 billion baht ($3.25 billion) in a bid to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The measures include cash handouts, soft loans, emergency loans and tax breaks.
The emergency decree will mean the prime minister will have the executive power to declare further measures to contain the virus, including giving extra authority to officials and allowing the setting up of checkpoints to reduce people movements, Prayuth said.
He said details of the measures will be announced later.
Thailand reported three deaths and 106 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. The country now has 827 cases and four fatalities since the outbreak began.