Thailand’s government said on Monday that it had discovered 382 new coronavirus cases with the overwhelming majority of new cases found in the migrant worker population in Samut Sakhon
Of the 382 new cases, 14 were local transmission cases in the general public, 8 were in state quarantine and 360 were found in the migrant worker population.
The government said it was still waiting on some 2,000 tests in the migrant population and it plans to test some 10,000 individuals. The government said of the initial cluster, about 40 per cent of those tested showed positive results. Within the wider Samut Sakhon area, about six per cent of those tested were showing positive results.
The government said that it will continue quarantine the migrant worker dormitories in Samut Sakhon.
The government said it would allow the infections within the dormitories ‘to take its course’ and that it would adopt the ‘Singapore model.’
The government added that it was setting up field hospitals to treat those infected but said that the majority of those that tested positive were asymptomatic.
“We are asking our brothers and sisters from Myanmar to not leave the area, we will take care of you and make sure you return to full health,” said government spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin.
Taweesin added that the areas around the dormitories will be sealed by authorities and this was an accepted international practice as shown in Singapore.
Taweesin also asked Thais to be extra-vigilant and continue to use the government’s contact tracing application to limit potential widespread outbreak in the general population.
Local cases
Of the 14 local cases found in the past 24 hours, only two can be traced back to the outbreak at the Central Shrimp Market (Talad Klang Kung) in Samut Sakhon.
The remaining 12 cases are still under investigation in regards to the origin of their infection, Taweesin said.
The cases, with their source of infection still unknown, includes the case in Ayutthaya that was reported on Sunday morning.
The female patient was working at a beauty salon in Mae Ai, Chiang Mai, before retuning back to the province on December 17. She then tested positive for the virus on December 19.
Other cases were found in Samut Sakhon (6) Samut Prakarn (2) and Bangkok (2).
Another local case was also found in Mae Sot, Chiang Mai. The patient is a 42-year-old woman from Myanmar who works at a department store in the district. The source of her infection is still under investigation.
Migrant workers
The number of migrant workers who were found to be infected with the coronavirus have increased from 516 on Sunday to a total of 876 confirmed cases as of Monday.
Taweesin said the ministry of health expects the number to continue to rise as there are thousands of migrant workers living in these dormitories.
“We are still waiting for the results of at least another 2,600 samples,” he said.
Taweesin said most of the migrant workers who tested positive for the virus are still young, healthy, and asymptomatic, so the government will continue to contain them within the dormitories.
“The process of allowing the infection to go from one group to another within the dormitories could take weeks or a month,” he said.
He asked for the migrant workers not to leave the area, later adding that anyone who falls ill within the dormitories will be sent to a field hospital being set up near the dormitories. Food and beverage will be provided.
The ministry is also testing more than ten thousand other individuals between December 21 and 23, concentrating on markets that are in Talad Klang Kung’s supply chain including the ones in Suphan Buri, Samut Songkhram, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi and Phetchaburi.
State quarantine and ASQ
The government said it had discovered eight cases of coronavirus in state and alternate state quarantine (ASQ) in the last 24 hours.
The patients came from the United States (3), the United Kingdom (1), the United Arab Emirates (1), Ukraine (1), Kuwait (1) and Sudan (1).
The new discoveries, including local transmitted cases (14), migrant workers in Samut Sakhon (360) and quarantines (8), brings the total number of cases up to 5,289 as of Monday. Of that, 3,385 were locally transmitted.
There are no new fatalities leaving the death toll at 60.
Twelve people have recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of discharged patients to 4,053.
Currently, 1,176 people remain in hospital.