A 38 year old woman from Thailand’s northeastern Chaiyaphum province in the Issan region appears to have contracted the Covid-19 coronavirus for a second time, after she was ‘cured’ of the virus in Bangkok in the middle of March.

The woman, who in March had only recently returned from overseas, was found to be infected with the virus and was admitted to Phyathai 2 Hospital in Bangkok. She apparently made a full recovery and was discharged, and soon returned to her hometown.

But somewhere around April 3-5, she became sick again and went for a test. The result showed that her throat was infected with Covid-19.

A similar case involved a 42 year old construction worker who returned from Qatar on April 2.

Both cases are now under treatment in local hospitals, and authorities are trying to trace people who might have been in close contact with them. Doctors in New York now believe its possible for the virus to lie dormant in patients who’ve been treated

A report yesterday showed that Chaiyaphum currently has 109 Covid-19 patients. 8 were new cases. The local government has asked its residents to strictly follow curfew directives to limit the spread of the virus.

Testing remains the core of identifying patients with Covid-19 but there have been cases of false positives that may lead to apparent re-infections.

SOURCE: The Nation

Thailand has issued an order banning the movement of all horses nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of African Horse Sickness , which has already killed more than 200 horses in the kingdom. The Ministry of Agriculture announced the order yesterday, effective for 90 days.

The disease has already killed nearly 200 horses in the country.

A spokesman for the the ministry says the AHS deaths have been reported in 4 provinces including Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chon Buri and Phetchaburi since the outbreak began on March 26.

The ministry’s Livestock Department and the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department told reporters that they’re still investigating the source of the virus.

Horse farm owners are calling on livestock officials to trace the origin of AHS and list it on the Animal Disease Act to pave the way for strict enforcement of animal health regulations. Some farm owners have told the department they suspect zebras imported from Africa are the most likely cause

Many farms have also reportedly threatened a lawsuit against the livestock department for failing to prevent the disease. Officials say they are in the midst of consulting experts for the use of a vaccine to prevent the disease.

SOURCE: Khaosod English | xinhuanet.com

In a joint effort with locals, government, the private sector and Former Deputy prime minister Suwat Liptapanlop, Nakhon Ratchasima has officially announced the opening of a “War Room”. The purpose of the situation room is to combat the deadly disease and to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus locally in the province.

The centre is also producing free cloth face masks to distribute across the northeastern province.

The centre handed personal protective clothing, spraying agent and disinfectant to the head of the mobile disinfection volunteers, while medical face masks and alcohol hand sanitiser were given to community leaders.

The centre is operating without government budget and aims to produce 1,000 sets of masks and alcohol sanitisers per day for distribution to the public.

Suwat, a former deputy PM in Thaksin Shinawatra’s government, is now the head of the Chart Pattana party, which helped launch the centre.

SOURCE: The Nation