Thailand extends state of emergency amid rising COVID-19 infections

BANGKOK, May 21 (Xinhua) — Thailand announced Friday to extend the state of emergency to the end of July as the country grappled with its worst COVID-19 outbreak so far that has shown no sign of improvement.

The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday approved the extension of the emergency decree nationwide until July 31 to contain the spread of the virus, according to CCSA spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin.

The decree, which has been put in place since March last year and extended several times on a monthly basis, allows the government to streamline disease-control measures without multiple approval procedures.

Thailand is now fighting against the third wave of outbreak, with its total caseload more than quadrupling and death toll increasing sevenfold in the past seven weeks. The outbreak, which started from entertainment venues in the capital Bangkok in early…