COVID-19: Infections in Thailand surpass 10,000 mark

By Linda Khoo Hui Li

BANGKOK, Jan 9  -- The number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand has crossed the 10,000 mark, with 212 new cases reported today.

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman, Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said of the 212 new cases 193 were local transmissions and 19 were imported cases while zero deaths were reported over the last 24 hours, bringing the tally in the kingdom to 10,053 cases and 67 deaths.

“Since mid-December, the latest outbreak in Thailand has spread to 58 provinces,” he said at his COVID-19 daily briefing here today.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry said that the current outbreak is likely to slow down by end of January.

Disease Control Department director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong said 20 provinces in the kingdom had not reported new cases in seven days.

 “If we can continue our efforts to limit the outbreak from spreading, we will see an obvious decrease in the number of new daily cases by the end of this month.

“Under the current situation, we can say that we have done well to control the outbreak," he said.

Thailand, the first country outside China to detect COVID-19 cases in January last year,  managed to keep infections relatively low until mid-December.

The latest outbreak at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon saw the number of COVID-19 cases soar by 5,604 cases in about three weeks.

-- BERNAMA