Thailand extends ban on incoming passenger flights

Thailand has extended a ban on all passenger flights from landing in the country to curb the outbreak of the new coronavirus, the country's aviation agency said on Monday.

The ban on incoming flights came into effect on Saturday morning and was originally set to run until the end of Monday, according to a previous order by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. The new order, which extended the ban for 12 more days until the end of April 18, came after the country reported 51 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Monday, raising the numbers to 2,220 cases and 26 fatalities.

The number of new cases was the lowest daily rise since March 20. Monday also marked two weeks - the estimated incubation period for the new coronavirus - since Bangkok shut down shopping malls to limit the spread of the virus.

The majority of infected patients are in Bangkok, which is under an indefinite curfew. Thailand has declared a state of emergency until the end of the month.