Songkran to be cancelled if daily Covid numbers hit 30,000 – DDC

Thailand’s famous water festival Songkran might be cancelled for another year if the daily Covid-19 cases reach 30,000 cases per day, the Department of Disease Control says. The massive water gun fight, celebrating the Thai New Year, was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to coronavirus concerns.

The DDC warns that Songkran, which is April 13 to 15 this year, will be cancelled again if the Covid-19 situation isn’t under control. With the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in Thailand, health officials expect the numbers to increase and peak around the end of February to early March.

The cases are expected to increase to the peak around the end of February to the beginning of March. Officials estimate that cases will peak at 30,000 daily cases and it’s unclear how long cases will remain at that level, the Director of Epidemiological Department, Chakkarat Pittayawong-anont, said in an interview with Thai media.

Chakkarat urged the population, especially those in a risk group, to get a booster dose and to avoid group gatherings in family, school, and workplace. He also told residents not to panic as most of the cases are those with mild to no symptoms.

He added that Asia, including Thailand, are now on the uptrend while European countries and other parts of the world are on a downtrend trend. Cases in Thailand are increasing because businesses are reopening. While bars and nightclubs are still closed, he says those in Thailand are nearly back to living a normal life.

SOURCE: Khaosod