Thai villages isolated over variant find amid vaccine worry

Thailand placed barbed wire and checkpoints in several southern villages along the Malaysian border Monday after identifying a cluster of infections with a coronavirus variant that's believed to spread faster. The lockdown came as Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha sought to assure people that his government could manage a recent surge as it is set to start a national vaccination campaign next month. “Please understand that we can manage this,” Prayuth said as he received the second dose of his coronavirus vaccine.