Three schools in two border provinces, Prachuap Khiri Khan and Kanchanaburi, have been temporarily closed over fears of the Covid-19 outbreak spreading from adjacent Myanmar.
In Kanchanaburi, students came in close contact with illegal border crossers from Myanmar who later fell sick and were hospitalised.
Ban Kui School in Thong Pha Phum was closed for three days and parents, teachers and volunteers began a major clean-up, starting with disinfecting the premises on Tuesday. (continues below)
A volunteer spray disinfectant at Ban Kui Yae School in Kanchanaburi on Tuesday. (Photo by Piyarat Chongcharoen)
In Prachuap Khiri Khan, students' parents were reported to have crossed back and forth over the border through natural passage ways in Hua Hin district.
Anan School in tambon Huay Satyai and Ban Huay Khrai School in tambon Bueng Nakhon of Hua Hin issued letters to students' parents announcing classes had been suspended from Sept 1-7.
The letters cited a fax message from the Interior Ministry about an outbreak of coronavirus disease in Myanmar, where more than 580 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed since Aug 16.
Most cases are in Rakhine state, which borders Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal in the west of Myanmar.
The two public schools are near the Myanmar border and members of the students families reportedly sneaked across the border and back recently through natural crossings.
To prevent the spread of Covid19, the schools had to close from Sept 1-7. Classes resume on Sept 8.
The letters sparked panic among parents and other local residents. They feared that coronavirus disease might spread across border areas.
Some residents mistakenly believed that authorities had ordered a lockdown in 10 provinces bordering Myanmar –Tak, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Kanchanaburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ratchaburi, Chumphon and Ranong.
Prachuap Khiri Khan governor Panlop Singhaseni said on Tuesday he had received a report from Hua Hin district authorities about the closure of Anan School and Ban Huay Khrai School. He said the communities comprised Thais and ethnic Karen and Myanmar people who frequently crossed the border.
Anan School had 576 students, of whom about 300 were from Karen and Myanmar ethnic families. Recently, a student had a fever and did not go to school. An investigation found that four members of the student's family crossed the border to Myanmar and returned to Thailand on Aug 26.
According to the report, they were Thanachai Chongcharoen, Jorsaw Chongcharoen, Lungsui Chongcharoen and Suaydae Boonyaek.
The student who was sick was Mr Jorsaw's child. The boy fell ill before his father returned home.
Mr Thanachai went to Pa La-u junction along the border twice to buy paint. Mr Jorsaw had crossed the border to work as a hired-hand at a reservoir. Mr Suaydae went to buy goods at Pateng market along the border on Aug 30. They were quarantined in houses.
Ban Huaykhrai School has 310 students, including 45 from ethnic families. No students have been sick.
Health officials recently visited villages near the school to question residents about the movements of people through natural border crossings. (continues below)
No classes at Ban Kui Yae School in Kanchanaburi's Thong Pha Phum district from Sept 1-3.(Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)
In Kanchanburi, a school in Thong Pha Phum district was temporarily closed after three students were found to have been in close contact with three men who illegally crossed the border from adjoining Myanmar and stayed in their house, health officials said.
The three students are in 3rd, 4th and 7th grade at Ban Kui Yae School, which has 857 students and 45 teachers.
The three Myanmar men illegally slipped across a natural border pass in tambon Huay Khayeng on Aug 23 and stayed in Ban Phu Lo in tambon Lin Thin, at the house where the three students live.
On Aug 31, two of them went to tambon Kui Yae Hospital after falling sick. They were found to have a high fever, with temperatures of 39°C and 40°C. The hospital reported the cases to Thong Pha Phum health office, suspecting the men may have Covid-19.
The three men were detained for illegal entry and Thong Pha Phum health office gave instructions they be admitted to Thong Pha Phum Hospital for a Covid-19 test.
The office also said the three students who had been in close contact with them should stay at home for 14-days isolation.
The principle then closed Ban Kui Yae School for three days, Sept 1-3, pending the result of the Covid-19 tests on the three Myanmar men.
