BURI RAM: A Covid-19 outbreak has caused the shutdown of the fire station in Muang district until early next month.
The communicable disease committee ordered the fire station be cordoned off from Wednesday to March 5 and that it operate as an isolation centre for the other firefighters, all considered at high risk of infection.
Initially, one fire fighter tested positive for Covid-19. Health officials then conducted mass testing which found nine others were also infected. The 15 other firemen were deemed high-risk because of close contact and were quarantined at the fire station pending RT-PCR test results.
The Muang Buri Ram municipal office, which supervises the fire station, asked nearby fire stations to fill in during the closure.
The public health office of Buri Ram reported that from Jan 1 to Feb 22 the province logged more than 9,000 Covid-19 cases and 10 coronavirus-related fatalities.
