July 19, 2022
BANGKOK – The purchases were proposed by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), and the 3.995 billion baht needed for it will be taken from the 500 billion baht loaned to the Public Health Ministry.
NESDC reasoned that the Public Health Ministry needed the medication and test kits to cope with the Covid situation, which is expected to worsen due to the highly infectious BA.4/5 subvariants of Omicron.
Meanwhile, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the prime minister urged the Cabinet to use the rest of the loan wisely and said all state agencies should jointly work towards preventing new Covid-19 clusters.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has also called on all agencies to strictly enforce Covid-Free Setting, especially when big events are held.
He has also urged all government agencies to be ready in case there is a new surge of infections.
The Cabinet moved its weekly meeting from Tuesday to Monday this week because the ministers will have to monitor the no-confidence debate that kicks off on Tuesday and continues to Friday.
The Public Health Ministry is scheduled to meet the Bangkok governor to discuss what can be done to prevent Covid clusters in the capital.
On Monday, Thailand recorded 1,813 new Covid cases and 17 more fatalities over 24 hours. These numbers do not include those who tested positive with ATK tests and are not seeking treatment.