Thailand cannot stop the spread of a mysterious disease within its borders after the virus popped up in China earlier this year.
Thailand’s health ministry has confirmed 14 cases of coronavirus, the second-most of any country behind China. China has more than 4,500 confirmed cases of the virus, mostly in the city of Wuhan, where the virus began. More than 100 Chinese people have died from the disease.
Thailand health minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Tuesday that the government is “not able to stop the spread” of coronavirus in the country, according to Sky News. The Thai government estimates that about 22,000 tourists from Wuhan visited the country in January, possibly exposing vast numbers of people to the virus.
Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok is attempting to combat the spread of the disease by placing thermal scanners at the entrances to shopping malls and assigning workers to give out disinfectant to visitors. Surgical masks are selling out across stores.
Nobody has died from the disease outside of China, but the coronavirus has spread to over a dozen countries, including the United States. The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed five cases of the virus in the U.S. and is monitoring more than 100 other potential cases.
