No countrywide lockdown in Thailand to stop Omicron, PM insists

BANGKOK — Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha insisted that the government would not impose a countrywide lockdown for now to stop the new Covid-19 Omicron variant from spreading.

Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said that after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Prayut advised people not to panic after the first Omicron case was reported in Thailand last Friday, while asking the public to remain confident in the country’s health system.

“The prime minister thanked public health professionals and all Thais who have been working hard to keep the infection rate low,” Thanakorn said. “He also insisted that the government has no plan to…