Doing it alone: Surin province to declare Covid-19 endemic from April 1

The authorities in the north-eastern province of Surin say they will declare Covid-19 endemic from April 1, adding that they will become the first province in Thailand to do so. With the central government seemingly taking its time over lifting restrictions and moving to a “living with Covid” approach, Surin is going it alone.

According to a Nation Thailand report, the Surin Information Office confirmed the move on its Facebook page over the weekend, encouraging all residents to get their booster vaccine if they haven’t already done so. The provincial administration says Surin has met all the criteria for declaring the virus endemic, which it lists as follows:

• All villages are observing the Covid-19 “blue zone” measures
• The Covid-19 death rate is not higher than 0.5%
• No more than 3% of Covid patients require hospitalisation
• At least 70% of the population have received 2 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine
• All residents in the province adhere to disease prevention measures, including social distancing, regular hand-washing, mask-wearing, testing in the event of developing symptoms, and use of the Thai Chana app.

In the period between December 24 and March 26, the province reported a total of 16,354 infections and 29 deaths.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand