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Medical experts in Thailand say this week that they’re still uncertain how a UK variant of the coronavirus entered the country even as contingency plans are put into place to contain its spread.
Dr Yong Poovorawan, the chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, said on Wednesday that 24 coronavirus cases related to the latest outbreak cluster were confirmed to be a variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom.
The government has so far said it is unsure how the virus entered Thailand as all arrivals to the country are quarantined for fourteen days.
“For the question of where it came from, there is still no answer,” said Dr Thaweesin Visanuyothin, the government’s covid centre spokesman.
Thaweesin said the Department of Disease Control (DDC)’s investigation team has yet to find the cause and that the variant has been discovered inside quarantine facilities before.
However, this is the first time the variant has been found outside of quarantine facilities and the CDC will have to trace the virus to its origins.
Harder to contain
The Ministry of Public Health said on Thursday that the latest outbreak will be harder to contain than previous clusters due to the new variants and the population it is spreading in.
So far the outbreak stemming from Bangkok’s entertainment venues has led to 504 confirmed cases in 20 provinces between March 22 and April 7.
The government said that due to the rapid spread of the virus, it could take up to two months before the cluster is contained.
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said on Thursday that if situation cannot be resolved in two months GDP growth for the year would be revised down to 2.0 per cent from the current projection of the UTCC of 2.8 per cent.