Friday Covid Update: 6,087 new cases and 61 deaths; provincial totals

An uptick of 6,087 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 61 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 270,921 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 2,141 fatalities. The recent and most severe wave of infections has accounted for the majority of Thailand’s total case count with 242,058 cases reported since April 1.

Thailand now has 54,440 active Covid-19 cases. Of the patients receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus, 2,002 are in critical condition including 579 of them on ventilators to treat serious respiratory symptoms. In Bangkok, the epicentre in the latest wave, hospitals are now short on beds in intensive care units. More than 100 doctors from across Thailand are being sent to the capital to treat patients and help manage what a health official calls a “crisis.”

With Bangkok still the hotspot of local transmissions, and an increase in the number of cases involving the rapid-spreading Delta variant, a CCSA spokesperson says people should avoid travelling from the capital during this time.

“The CCSA has asked the public to refrain from interprovincial travel and to limit travel only for essential purposes.”

In Bangkok, 2,267 new Covid-19 cases were recorded today and more than 100 clusters of infections being monitored by health officials. Cases remain high in provinces surrounding the capital with 522 new cases in Samut Prakan, 327 in Nonthaburi, 289 in Samut Sakhon, and 284 in Pathum Thani.

In Chon Buri, 222 new cases were reported today. Infection rates are still high in Thailand’s Deep South region near the Malaysian border with 201 new cases in Yala, 169 in Pattani, 167 in Songkhla, and 124 in Narathiwat.

Vaccine updates…

10.2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the Thai government’s campaign since February 28. So far, 2.8 million in Thailand have received their second dose of the vaccine.

In Bangkok, 8.8% of the population have received a Covid-19 vaccine. A CCSA spokesperson says those at risk of a severe infection will be given priority in the rollout of vaccines in the capital.