KHON KAEN: The northeastern province has set up three more field hospitals to cope with a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant and has banned sales of alcoholic drinks in all districts.

Provincial governor Somsak Jangtrakul said on Saturday that the field hospitals are located at the 3rd Cavalry Division, Buddha Monthon Isan and College of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The province has 3,892 beds for Covid-19 patients, 2,369 of which are occupied.

"Given the current situation, the provincial communicable disease committee has decided to impose a ban on alcohol sales in eateries throughout the province from Jan 7-17, and blue zone areas are included," Mr Somsak said.

Education institutions will continue with online learning until further notice, while activities and festivities, such as Khon Kaen International Silk Festival, planned to take place by the end of this month, will have to be postponed until the situation improves, he said.