Concerned Thais are taking increasingly bizarre steps to protect themselves from the coronavirus - even using toothpicks to press lift buttons.<br /><br />Pictures show that many offices and apartment blocks are leaving cotton buds or toothpicks inside elevators so residents don't have to touch the buttons with their fingers.<br /><br />Others have even covered the controls in cling film to stop germs from gathering on the metal surface.<br /><br />While some office workers have even connected safety pins to lighters which they use to touch the buttons then burn off any germs immediately after.<br /><br />Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, whose apartment is using toothpicks stuck into a board of polystyrene, said: ''This is advanced. Whoever had the idea should be congratulated.''<br /><br />Thailand has 177 declared cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus and one death. Yesterday (March 16) saw the biggest jump in cases yet, with 30 recorded.<br /><br />Internationally, there have been more than 183,325 cases and 7,177 deaths caused by the pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, last year.
