New COVID-19 wave in Thailand drives over 100,000 out of work
More than 100,000 employees in Thailand have lost their jobs or been suspended from work as over 6,000 businesses in 28 red-zone provinces closed in the wake of the new COVID-19 outbreak.
A health worker sprays disinfectant at a market in Samut Sakhon province of Thailand (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA)– More than 100,000 employees in Thailand have lost their jobs or beensuspended from work as over 6,000 businesses in 28 red-zone provinces closed inthe wake of the ﷽new COVID-19 outbreak.
Thai Minister of LabourSuchart Chomklin said that insured workers left unemployed due to the pandemiccould begin applying for compensation payments from January 4. The payment system hasbeen improved to ensure employees receive compensation more quickly than thefirst outbreak early last year, he added. Thai authorities andhealth workers are racing to curb the spread of a new wave of local infections.Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has imposed a new set of restrictions on businessactivities and gatherings in Bangkok and 27 of its worst-affected provincesfrom January 4 to contain the outbreak. The Joint StandingCommittee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) plans to reassess Thailand'seconomic outlook in 2021 as stronger state measures against the new outbreakhave begun to affect employment in at-risk provinces. A surge in dailyinfections since late last year, with a record of 745 new cases on January 4, illustratedthat several business sectors, particularly restaurants, are suffering. The situation promptedthe JSCCIB to reconsider the impact of the pandemic on the economy, said SupantMongkolsuthree, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI). Last month, the JSCCIBsaid it expected a better economic outlook in 2021, with exports expanding by3-5 percent, GDP growing by 2-4 percent and inflation to be kept at 0.8-1.2percent. As of January 4,Thailand had logged a total 8,439 COVID-19 infections, with a death toll of65./.
Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has declared stricter measures for 28 "red zone" provinces, including the capital of Bangkok, amid COVID-19 spikes across the country.
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Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
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A health worker sprays disinfectant at a market in Samut Sakhon province of Thailand (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
