BANGKOK, April 13. /TASS/. A total of 28 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Thailand over the past 24 hours, with an overall number of such cases amounting to 2,579, the country’s Health Ministry said on Monday, adding that it was the lowest daily tally since March 13.

According to the ministry, two coronavirus patients have died during the day. The overall number of fatalities is 40. Seventy patients have been discharged from hospitals in the past day and the total number of recoveries reached 1,288.

The first coronavirus case in Thailand was confirmed on January 13. Shopping malls and marketplaces are closed in Bangkok and other cities, with only supermarkets and outlets offering food products and articles of prime necessity being open. The country’s authorities imposed an entry ban for foreigners that will stay in place for the period of the state of emergency in the country, from March 26 to April 30. A curfew has been in place since April 3. Violators face a punishment of up to two years behind bars or a fine of up to 1.2 US dollars.

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 1,800,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 114,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 428,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.