6 Covid-19 infections in Surat Thani from prison

Today, 6 people contracted Covid-19 infections in the Surat Thani province after an event that hosted prisoners from Narathiwat Central Prison. On April 1, 5 inmates and 3 staff members from the prison, located in the south of Thailand, travelled to Surat Thani. The supervisors stayed in the Diamond Plaza Hotel in Surat Thani City, while the 5 prisoners stayed in Surat Thani Central Prison. In the jail, they were reportedly in close proximity with 62 other inmates. On April 2, the staff and the prisoners attended an event at the Diamond Plaza Hotel. The large event was attended by approximately 1,000 people, who were all gathered together in the hotel’s large conference facilities.

Meanwhile, 2 confirmed cases of Covid-19 were identified at Narathiwat Central Prison. The infected people are believed to have been in contact with the prisoners that later visited Surat Thani. After testing the group who had travelled, doctors confirmed that all 5 inmates had the Coronavirus and 1 of the supervising staff was also infected.

Reports confirm that the event and Diamond Plaza Hotel did follow strict Covid-19 safety measures and the event was conducted with caution. Through contact tracing, authorities believe that 2,241 people may have been exposed to the Coronavirus. They were questioned for symptoms and 2,226 of them tested negative for the virus. Only these five inmates and one prison staff tested positive. Surat Thani province currently has 17 active cases of Covid-19 including the 6 identified today.

All of the people who attended the event at the hotel that day have been instructed to isolate, maintaining a self-quarantine for 2 weeks until April 16th. They are advised that if they encounter any symptoms like a cough, a runny nose, or sore throat, loss of smell, loss of taste, or other symptoms they should report immediately to a nearby hospital for Covid-19 testing. Questions or concerns can be addressed by calling 082-8000837.

Related: Controversy over testing protesters in prison in Bangkok.

SOURCE: Tiger News (Thai)