Thai soldiers are carrying out round-the-clock patrols along borders with neighbouring Myanmar following a spike in Covid-19 cases.<br /> <br />Navy officers were this morning monitoring the Andaman Sea and the Kra Buri river in Ranong province - a gateway for smugglers and human traffickers in the region.<br /> <br />Thailand's borders were closed on March 22 but hundreds of people from poverty-stricken Myanmar, also known as Burma, have been arrested while trying to enter the country illegally in search of work.<br /> <br />Myanmar had only a handful of coronavirus cases until the end of August when it suffered a surge and has now recorded 1,807. <br /> <br />Thai government chiefs are desperate to keep the virus out of the country and have increased security along its western border with the former British settlement.<br /> <br />Colonel Prisawat Wongphensri, Head of the Thai-Myanmar Border Fisheries, said that the number of coronavirus cases in neighbour country Myanmar has continued to increase, so they don’t want to risk transmission through undocumented entrance.<br /> <br />He said: ''It is difficult to guard the border, especially at night, but the military has a radar device to detect incoming and outgoing ships.''<br /> <br />The military officer also asked the cooperation of locals and fishermen in the area to report any suspicious activities in the river.<br /> <br />He added: “I hope our brothers and sisters living in the area will understand the situation. If they see smugglers or any suspicious boat trying to enter the area, they should notify us.”<br /> <br />A patrol boat has been dispatched to the area and is on alert 24 hours a day. <br /> <br />Thailand ranked highest in a global survey for its effective handling of Covid-19 and recovery from the crisis and has had just one 'mystery' local transmission of Covid-19 in the previous 100 days.
