Thailand’s government said on Tuesday that it had found 171 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.
Of those, 158 were local infections and 13 were found in quarantine facilities, according to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
This brings the total number of infections since the pandemic began last year to 12,594. Of those, 9,356 people have recovered from the disease and 3,168 patients are being treated. There was no new recorded fatality, leaving the death toll at 70 people.
OF the 158 local infections, 125 were found through contact tracing in hot spots (red zones) while 33 were found in the general public.
The second wave of the outbreak, which began in mid-December, has led to 8,357 confirmed cases since December 15. Thailand is currently ranked the 128th country worldwide in terms of Covid-19 cases.
“While we are doing better with numbers and are seeing encouraging signs, I urge the government sector, private sector, and the public to cooperate and work on this together,” said government spokesman Dr Thaweesin Visanayothin. “This is how we can fight the virus, and keep our country safe.”
Clusters and provinces
The second wave of the outbreak has reached 61 out of 77 provinces in Thailand so far. Currently, the virus has not spread to any of the 16 provinces considered safe and within the “white” zones.
Of the 77 provinces, there are currently four that are treating over 100 active patients, 10 treating less than 100 active patients, 32 treating less than 10 active patients, and 31 without any active patients. Of the 61 provinces with a history of contracting the virus, 31 have now been cleared as “yellow”, which is considered as provinces without any active cases in the past 14 days.
Cases of concern
When asked by reporters about the current situation, Dr Thaweesin said there are now three main areas of concern.
The first concern is Samut Sakhon, which continues to be the hardest-hit province since the second wave of outbreak began, he said.
The government is still trying to actively search for infected patients in more than 10,000 factories within the province through contact tracing, said the government spokesman. However, there still remain obstacles to testing and reaching all the workers, migrant and local, within those areas due to the number of factories and time constraints.
“We want to study and look at similar cases in our neighbouring countries like Singapore, who took three months to manage the outbreak,” said Dr Thaweesin. “However, it may be three months too long and we do not want the lockdown to last that long. This is why we need to try to find all the infected patients who are waiting for treatment.”
The second concern is Bangkok, where active case finding is still considered a priority.
“We are finding most cases in the west of Bangkok, why? We noticed that the infections stem from entertainment venues and services,” said Dr Thaweesin, referring to the area’s massage parlours. He also said infections are found along the coast of Bang Khun Thian district, to the west of the city.
The third area of concern is the southern region of the country. Neighbouring Malaysia said more than 3,000 cases were discovered on Monday.
“When we look at our neighbouring country Malaysia and its infection rates, we can learn from them and apply that to our southern region,” said the government spokesman. “What we must do is try to seal and secure our borders so that the infection will not spread. We do not want a lockdown, so please take care of those respective areas and be responsible.”