BANGKOK, Jan 27 (TNA) — The Thai embassy in Beijing is keeping in touch with Thai people in Wuhan and Hubei, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Busadee Santipitaks, spokesperson of the ministry, said the ministry was aware of a call for help from Thai student Pasnicha Krutdamrongchai in Wuhan and the Thai embassy already contacted her and asked other Thai students there to offer help. The embassy also advised her on food sources while keeping channels to contact Thai people in Wuhan and Hubei, she said.
Ms Pasnicha Krutdamrongchai, a student at Wuhan University, wrote in her Facebook post that most Thai students in the city in central China where a new coronavirus originated, were unable to stockpile food because they were given short notice of the city’s shutdown.
The Thai student has appealed to the Thai government to help evacuate her and her compatriots, claiming they are running out of food.
Ms Busadee also said that Wuhan was 1,200 kilometers away from Beijing and the Chinese government sealed off Wuhan to contain the novel coronavirus.
Earlier Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told the Thai News Agency that 54 Thai students and 10 Thai workers in Wuhan were safe and did not want any evacuation. However, they might have problems with their living conditions, especially food supplies, if the Wuhan closure was prolonged, he said.
“An evacuation plan will depend on situations. When a city is closed, it creates uneasiness. There may be impacts on (people’s) minds and living conditions,” the minister said.
He said the Chinese government had first-hand experiences in handling the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and was likely to take efficient action. Meanwhile, Chinese people were cooperating with the government, the minister said. (TNA)
