Thailand’s Covid-19 alert decreases to Level 3

Today, the Ministry of Public Health announced that Thailand’s Covid-19 alert level has decreased from Level 4 to Level 3 nationwide. Whether Thailand is ready to declare Covid-19 as endemic will depend on vaccination rates, according to the ministry.

Director-General of the Disease Control Department Opas Kankawinpong said Level 3 means Thai residents still can’t go to bars and entertainment venues, or any places which are crowded or have bad ventilation systems. People in high-risk groups, such as the elderly or those with congenital diseases, should avoid group gatherings, he said. He advises that high-risk groups and the unvaccinated should avoid travelling across provinces, and advises that everyone refrain from travelling abroad at this time.

Opas said more than 90% of coronavirus deaths are among elderly people. He said that some have underlying health conditions, while others didn’t get a booster vaccine.

Thailand is coming out of the pandemic and edging closer towards declaring Covid-19 as endemic, with 54 provinces in an “improved” situation and 23 provinces in a “stable” situation.

Director-General of the Department of Medical Sciences Supakit Sirilak said no hybrid strains of coronavirus had been confirmed in Thailand yet, but authorities would closely keep an eye out for them. He said that all new Covid-19 cases are infected with Omicron, mostly with the BA.2 variant, which spread 1.4 times faster than the former variants. The variants under close international monitoring are BA.4, BA.5, BA.2.12.1.

SOURCE: Thai News Agency