Thai athletes to join World University Games 2015 in SKorea

BANGKOK, June 25 (TNA) - Thai athletes will participate in the World University Games 2015 in South Korea next month, as earlier scheduled. The Thai Ministry of Public Health's Department of Disease control said on Thursday that Thai athletes can join the upcoming World University Games in South Korea's Gwanju City despite current outbreaks of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the East Asian nation. The department will, however, issue guidances to the Thai youngsters on how to protect themselves from the deadly virus during their stay in South Korea from July 3-14. The department's deputy director-general, Dr. Opas Karnkavinpong, told reporters that medical teams will offer pre and post travel health checks for the Thai athletes to ensure they stay healthy, noting that Gwanju has been free from the deadly virus so far. Dr. Opas confirmed that a 75-year-old Omani visitor, the first MERS-CoV patient in Thailand, has been steadily recovering. However, Dr. Opas insisted, Thai health authorities will continue monitoring people in vulnerable groups, including international healthcare visitors and those arriving in Thailand from the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage in the Middle East, by requiring them to have health certificates issued by doctors. (TNA)