Concerned Thais are taking increasingly bizarre steps to protect themselves from the coronavirus - even using toothpicks to press lift buttons.

Pictures show that many offices and apartment blocks are leaving cotton buds or toothpicks inside elevators so residents don't have to touch the buttons with their fingers.

Others have even covered the controls in cling film to stop germs from gathering on the metal surface.

While some office workers have even connected safety pins to lighters which they use to touch the buttons then burn off any germs immediately after.

Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, whose apartment is using toothpicks stuck into a board of polystyrene, said: ''This is advanced. Whoever had the idea should be congratulated.''

Thailand has 177 declared cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus and one death. Yesterday (March 16) saw the biggest jump in cases yet, with 30 recorded.

Internationally, there have been more than 183,325 cases and 7,177 deaths caused by the pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, last year.

Concerned Thais are taking increasingly bizarre steps to protect themselves from the coronavirus - even using toothpicks to press lift buttons.

Pictures show that many offices and apartment blocks are leaving cotton buds or toothpicks inside elevators so residents don't have to touch the buttons with their fingers.

Others have even covered the controls in cling film to stop germs from gathering on the metal surface.

While some office workers have even connected safety pins to lighters which they use to touch the buttons then burn off any germs immediately after.

Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit, whose apartment is using toothpicks stuck into a board of polystyrene, said: ''This is advanced. Whoever had the idea should be congratulated.''

Thailand has 177 declared cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus and one death. Yesterday (March 16) saw the biggest jump in cases yet, with 30 recorded.

Internationally, there have been more than 183,325 cases and 7,177 deaths caused by the pandemic, which began in Wuhan, China, last year.