Thursday Covid Update: 4,108 new cases; provincial totals

Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 4,108 new Covid-19 cases today, a rise in the daily case count over the past few days. The uptick in cases is “quite alarming,” according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the daily CCSA report in English.

There are now 39,517 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. There are currently 1,562 Covid patients in critical condition, including 445 on ventilators. This week, active cases have been increasing. Natapanu notes the recent wave has been fluctuating and health officials hope it will resume on a downward trend.

“The number of cases seems to be on the rise as well as the number of cases with severe symptoms… This is particularly for the case of Bangkok and surrounding provinces.”

Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 232,647 Covid-19 cases including 203,784 reported in the latest and most severe wave of infections. The cases in the recent wave were first recorded on April 1 in Bangkok’s Thong Lor and Ekkamai nightlife districts. Infections are now primarily clustered in crowded places such as factories, construction camps, migrant dormitories and prisons.

In the latest wave of infections, more than 30,000 inmates at Thailand’s overcrowded prisons have tested positive for the virus. Today, the CCSA recorded 229 more cases at correctional facilities.

The CCSA also recorded 31 coronavirus-related fatalities, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 1,775. Most of the deaths have been in Bangkok.

67 provinces reported new Covid cases today with the majority of cases still in the central region surrounding Bangkok as well as the southern region near the Malaysian border. Natapanu says that cases in the northern and southern regions are primarily spread through social gatherings.

Bangkok remains the epicentre of infections with 1,359 new cases reported today. Cases remain high in provinces surrounding the capital including 297 new cases in Samut Prakan, 259 in Samut Sakhon, 170 in Nonthaburi, 157 in Pathum Thani, and 91 in Nakhon Pathom.

Cases are rising in Thailand’s Deep South region with 216 new cases reported today in Songkhla and 170 new cases in Yala.

Chon Buri has also reported an uptick in Covid-19 cases with 254 infections reported today. More than 7,000 people in the province have tested positive since April 1.

Vaccine updates…

8.4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Thailand since February 28. Natapanu says the government is still on track to reach its goal of 10 million doses administered by the end of the month.

Natapanu also reported that a “panel of experts” are evaluating reported deaths of those who had received the Covid-19 vaccine. He says 103 deaths have been reported. So far, the panel has found that 20 of the deaths are not related to the vaccine with 4 cases are “indeterminate.” The other cases are either awaiting investigation or still being evaluated.

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