11 Aug, 2021
KANCHANABURI: The communicable disease committee of the western province has closed the country's longest wooden bridge, known as Saphan Mon, isolating a village where Covid-19 cases are increasing.
The Sangkhla Buri district office has used shade netting to restrict entry to the 445-metre-long Saphan Mon, officially the Uttamanusorn Bridge, effectively quarantining people in Ban Wang Ka village across the Songkalia River.
In normal times, the bridge is a big tourist attraction.
The bridge's closure was set for Aug 6 to 19. It was decided after about 130 people returned positive findings from antigen kit Covid-19 tests. About 8,000 people live in the village.
Sangkhla Buri district chief Pakorn Kanwanlee ordered the construction of a community isolation centre at Wat Wang Wiwekaram. Infected people are kept there pendng confirmation by other tests.
Only people who must leave the village for medical treatment of other essential reasons, and local officials are allowed across the 36-year-old bridge.
Suppliers must unload deliveries at a checkpoint near the bridge. Workers then disinfect the goods before taking them to the village.
Shade netting blocks entry to Saphan Mon. (Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)
