PETALING JAYA (The Star/ANN): Thailand has barred the movement of people at all its nine border checkpoints, including ports effective Sunday (March 22) in a move to contain the spread of Covid-19.

All checkpoints at Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar borders are temporarily closed until further notice.

Thai Ambassador to Malaysia Narong Sasitorn has notified the South-East Asian secretariat of the decision made by the Thai authorities to contain the pandemic within its borders.

"During the temporary closure of borders, all foreign and Thai nationals are barred from criss-crossing in and out of Thailand via land and sea," said a statement issued by South-East Asian's Thai foreign desk.

Thai nationals and Malaysians are only allowed to return to their respective home countries via flight.

Although Thailand has banned movement of people across borders, it continues to allow transportation of goods across designated checkpoints.

These include Sadao-Bukit Kayu Hitam (Kedah), Sungai Golok-Rantau Panjang (Kelantan), Wang Prachan-Wang Kelian (Perlis), Thammalang Jetty-Kuala Perlis Jetty (Perlis) and Betong-Pengkalan Hulu (Perak).

Thailand has also imposed stringent guidelines for those involved in transporting goods across its borders.

Only one Malaysian driver is allowed in each heavy vehicle except in Satun where a driver can enter with an assistant, and at the Thammalang Jetty-Kuala Perlis Jetty where five crew members are allowed in a boat.

All of them will only be allowed to enter after mandatory health screening at the borders.

Thai has requested Wisma Putra's Covid-19 taskforce to relate the information to Malaysian Customs and Immigration Departments.