Thai soldiers carrying machine guns patrol the border with Myanmar amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the neighbouring country.

Dozens of Burmese workers have been caught in recent weeks trying to enter Thailand illegally across the river’s and dense jungle in Chiang Rai in the north of the country.

Officials fear that they could bring in fresh cases of the coronavirus to Thailand, which has recorded just two local transmissions in more than 100 days.

Footage shows military personnel walking through the area to deter illegal entrants and catch any who have made it into the country.

Myanmar has recorded 4,467 cases of Covid-19 and 70 deaths.

Thailand closed its borders on March 22 and government chiefs are now torn between keeping them closed and stopping the spread of the virus, or re-opening to international visitors to stimulate the tourism-reliant economy, which accounted for up to 20 per cent of GBP in 2019.