Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has estimated the intense COVID-19 situation will affect the country for the next two to three weeks or four weeks at most, said Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha.
Mr Pitutecha said Gen Chan-o-cha told this to a cabinet meeting yesterday where the PM added that relevant agencies must let people know the reality of the situation.
The country has logged more than 10,000 new cases daily in recent days with daily fatalities frequently topping 100.
Mr Pitutecha said the prime minister has given a directive that in 14 days, the lockdown and the curfew will be reviewed and a decision will be made based on the severity of the situation at that time.
Any decision to step up the restrictions after 14 days rests with the Department of Disease Control and the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, he said.
The deputy public health minister said the cabinet meeting discussed measures underway to bring down the COVID-19 curve, including sending those infected back for treatment in their home provinces so to alleviate overcrowding at hospitals and medical facilities in the hardest-hit provinces, including Bangkok.