15 workers in Bangkok test positive for Covid variant first found in India

Workers at a construction camp in Bangkok tested positive for the Covid-19 variant first detected in India. The only other cases reported in Thailand involving the B.1.617 strain were a mother and her 4 year old son who both tested positive for the virus while in quarantine after travelling from Pakistan.

Many of the workers at the camp in the Laksi district tested positive for a common variant of the virus while 15 workers tested positive for the mutated strain, spokesperson Taweesilp Visanuyothin said during today’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration briefing.

“The 15 construction workers with the Indian variant of Covid-19 have been admitted to hospital and are receiving good treatment… Health workers and investigators were deployed to contain the disease. The Indian variant causes widespread infections.”

Bangkok remains the epicentre of infections, with 35 Covid-19 clusters in 23 districts. Many outbreaks are at worker camps and crowded communities. Areas under maximum control include worker camps in Laksi, Don Muang and Khlong Toey, as well as the Khlong Toey and Din Daeng slums. Workers are no longer allowed to moved between camps to prevent the spread of the virus.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post