Bangkok - Thailand's cabinet Thursday passed a resolution to close down all private tutorial classes nationwide in a bid to stem the spread of the H1N1 virus which has already claimed 13 lives in the country. Special tutorials, which are popular among the offspring of the upper and middle classes, will be closed down between July 13-28, the cabinet resolved.
Regular schools will remain open, unless they suffer an outbreak of the virus, also known as Swine Flu.
The government has also requested online computer game shops to shut down during the same period, although no resolution was passed on the shops. School-age children are deemed vulnerable to the new virus, which is easily spread people-to-people.
Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva acknowledged that the government had been unable to stop the rapid spread of H1N1 which claimed its 13th human victim Thursday.
"I admit we have not been able to control the spread of this virus," Abhisit told reporters before a cabinet meeting.
Thailand has recorded 13 H1N1-related deaths and 2,725 infections, with 211 new cases reported Thursday.
"The real number is likely to be much higher, between 10,000 to 100,000 cases," Abhisit said.
