<p>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FCCThailand/photos/a.266558006762490/2888058027945795/?type=3&amp;theater">statement</a> and open letter addressed to the Prime Minister released yesterday (6 April), the Foreign Correspondents&rsquo; Club of Thailand (FCCT) calls for the exemption of journalists from the <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/8443">nationwide curfew</a> implemented last week, which prohibited people from leaving their residences between 22.00 - 4.00.</p>

<p>&ldquo;In prevention and assisting the people, we will follow the principle of health before freedom,&rdquo; said Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday (2 April) during a televised announcement of a nationwide curfew starting today (3 April), as an additional measure to contain the spread of COVID-19.</p>

<p>Bangkok&rsquo;s Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said today (1 April), following a Bangkok Communicable Disease Control meeting, that all restaurants, street food stalls, and convenience stores will be asked to close between midnight and 5.00 am from 2 April in an additional measure to contain the transmission of COVID-19.</p>

<p>The National Multimedia Group announced yesterday (31 March) that it will be cutting the salaries of all its employees and suspending all employee benefits due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on its business.</p>

<p>In a <a href="https://www.tlhr2014.com/?p=16785&amp;lang=en">statement</a> released on Monday (30 March), Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) says that while they find that it is necessary for the state to &ldquo;impose measures&rdquo; to control the spread of COVID-19, it finds that the Emergency Decree, in effect from 26 March to 30 April, &ldquo;contains provisions which significantly restrict people&rsquo;s rights and freedom,&rdquo; especially freedom of expression, press freedom, and freedom of movement, raising concerns about the necessity and proportionality of the measures issued under the decree.</p>

<p>Arthit Suriyawongkul, a Thai PhD student at Trinity College Dublin, has filed a complaint with the Thai Administrative Court on Wednesday (25 March) calling for the repeal of the new travel restrictions announced by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), which require Thai nationals returning from overseas to present a fit to fly certificate and a certifying letter from their local Thai Embassy before being allowed to board a flight home.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.article19.org/resources/thailand-emergency-measures-threaten-human-rights/">ARTICLE 19</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/25/thailand-covid-19-clampdown-free-speech">Human Rights Watch (HRW)</a> have issued statements following the announcement of <a href="https://prachatai.com/english/node/8429">emergency measures</a> by the Thai government yesterday (26 March), raising concern over how these measures may threaten freedom of expression and access to information.</p>

<p>On Tuesday (24 March), an announcement was posted in the Royal Gazette stating that King Vajiralongkorn has approved a name change for two military bases in Lopburi, which were previously named after revolutionary leaders, renaming them after his parents.</p>

<p>Thai students in the UK are struggling to return home after the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, announced that Thais returning from overseas will be required to present a Fit to Fly certificate and a certifying letter from their local Thai Embassy before being allowed to board a flight home.</p>

<p>Bangkok&rsquo;s Governor announced today (21 March) that malls, educational institutions and places of entertainment are to close for 22 days, while the number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand has risen to 411.</p>