Thailand’s first Omicron variant Covid-19 death in Hat Yai

An official from the Ministry of Public Health announced that today Thailand had its first reported death from the Omicron variant of Covid-19. The death recorded in Songkhla province in the south of Thailand was an 86 year old woman from Hat Yai. She had Alzheimer’s and was bedridden.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Health said the elderly woman had received 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine at Na Mom Hospital in Hat Yai where she lived. The woman contracted the Omicron infection from her grandson who had travelled from Phuket.

The Omicron variant has been spreading quickly through Thailand as it is much more contagious than other strains, but is also said to be weaker and less deadly than the Delta variant it has largely replaced. Following the first local Omicron transmission, officials decided to close registration for the Test & Go programme that allowed international travellers to enter without quarantine, putting the brakes on Thailand’s attempt at tourism recovery.

Now, the kingdom has confirmed over 10,000 Omicron variant infections, with many patients reported mild to no symptoms. Today, the government recorded a low of just 9 Covid-deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, Thai health officials have report that more than 2.3 million people have been infected and 22,000 people infected with Covid-19 have died.

Of the approximately 72 million people living in Thailand now, about two-thirds have had two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, but only around 15% have had a booster shot.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post