Thai villages isolated over variant find amid vaccine worry

Thailand placed barbed wire and checkpoints in several southern villages along the Malaysian border after identifying a cluster of infections with a coronavirus variant that’s believed to spread faster

BANGKOK -- Thailand placed barbed wire and checkpoints in several southern villages along the Malaysian border Monday after identifying a cluster of infections with a coronavirus variant that's believed to spread faster. The lockdown came as Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha sought to assure people that his government could manage a recent surge as it is set to start a national vaccination campaign next month. “Please understand that we can manage this,” Prayuth said as he received the second dose of his coronavirus vaccine. Also Monday, the agency managing Thailand's coronavirus response reported 2,713 new cases and 30 more deaths. It raised the nation's totals to 132,213 cases and 806 deaths, the overwhelming majority of them occurring since April 1.