NARATHIWAT – Thailand has beefed up security along the border with Malaysia to prevent its citizens from returning home for Aidilfitri, with authorities citing the kingdom’s Covid-19 outbreak as the cause for the measure.
Commander of the Thai military’s 15th Infantry Division Paisal Noosang said security forces will increase border patrols at so-called hotspots to stop Thais from crossing the border to return home.
“Thais working in Malaysia are expected to return home to celebrate Hari Raya using illegal trails to enter Thailand.
“Security forces will enhance patrols along the Thailand-Malaysia border to prevent the Thais from making illegal border crossing and avoid the mandatory quarantine,” he said during a press conference.
In the efforts to negate the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand has made it compulsory for all those entering the country to undergo 14-day quarantine.
More than 100,000 Thais in Malaysia were reported to have returned home since the Covid-19 began with another 40,000 to 50,000 Thais still remaining in Malaysia.
Local media have reported that authorities have detained almost 16,000 individuals who tried to sneak into Thailand from Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in the first four months of the year.
On Sunday, police apprehended 10 Myanmar illegal workers who tried to sneak into the country in two taxis. – Bernama, May 11, 2021
