Thailand wants to buy more vaccines as surge worsens

Thailand’s prime minister says he wants to secure more vaccines for his country and give as many first doses as possible, as it battles a surge of the pandemic with Bangkok reporting a record number of cases

BANGKOK -- Thailand's prime minister said he wants to secure more vaccines for his country and give as many first doses as possible, as it battles a surge of the pandemic with Bangkok reporting a record number of cases. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced Friday night it will extend restrictions that were due to end this weekend until May 17. They include limiting restaurants to takeaway meals, closing 35 types of venues including bars, gyms, stadiums and boxing rings, and limiting the operating hours of other businesses. Bangkok has recorded more than 500 new cases every day since the beginning of this month, with no sign of decline, said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration. On Saturday, Thailand reported 2,419 cases and 27 deaths. The government of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha managed to contain the coronavirus for much of last year, with relatively small numbers of cases and deaths. But after a wave of infections hit a crowded community of migrant workers near Bangkok late last year, and this March another wave spread from the city's upmarket entertainment venues, the government has been criticized for failing to secure adequate supplies of vaccines.