Tuesday Covid Update: 5,420 new cases; provincial totals

Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 5,420 new cases and 57 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 294,653 and the Covid death toll to 2,333. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 265,790 of the total confirmed cases.

Thailand now has 65,297 active Covid-19 cases. Of those receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus, 2,350 patients are in critical condition, including 643 on ventilators to treat severe respiratory symptoms.

Bangkok remains the epicentre in the latest wave with 1,492 new Covid-19 infections. Infections involving the more transmissible Delta variant are on the rise, but the Alpha variant is still the most prevalent strain of Covid-19 in Bangkok, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the daily CCSA report in English.

“The Delta variant has already been found in 47 other provinces and the spread of the Delta variant is faster than expected.”

Cases are high in provinces surrounding the capital including 398 new cases in Samut Sakhon, 318 in Samut Prakan, 242 in Nonthaburi, 208 in Pathum Thani, and 206 in Nakhon Pathom. 266 new cases were also reported in Chon Buri.

Infections are also still high in Thailand’s Deep South region near the Malaysian border with 262 new cases reported in Pattani, 135 in Yala, and 132 in Songkhla.

Out of the new cases confirmed today, 37 were found in correctional facilities. The current wave spread to Thailand’s overcrowded prisons infecting more than 30,000 inmates.

Many of the new cases in other provinces involve people who travelled back to their home from Bangkok, Natapanu says. The CCSA has been urging people, particularly in high-risk areas, to avoid interprovincial travel.

Many of the recent Covid-related deaths involve people who are over 60 years old. Natapanu says the trend and rise in deaths prompted officials to now focus on accelerating vaccinations for the elderly and those with certain underlying health conditions that put them at risk of a severe infection if they contract Covid-19.

Provincial totals from the Thai government’s news bureau…