The daily rate of new COVID-19 infections in Thailand has dropped from Saturday’s 490 to 237 today, including 202 cases in Samut Sakhon, the country’s current infection hotspot.

CCSA assistant spokesperson Dr. Pannapha Yongtrakul said that, of the new cases today, 225 are locally-acquired and the other 12 are among arrivals from abroad in state quarantine.

Of the 202 cases in Samut Sakhon, 107 were found through proactive screening in factories and communities and 95 others are among those under observation.

14 new infections were also recorded in Bangkok, 3 in Tak province and 1 in Samut Songkhram.

Cumulative infections in Thailand, to date, are 23,371, with 16,942 recoveries and 79 deaths. 6,350 others are still being treated in hospitals or are under observation in isolation.

Dr. Pannapha said that the CCSA will continue to screen as many as 10,000 people a day, instead of the previous plan to reduce the number to between 2,000-3,000, because the number of new infections has not fallen substantially.

She added that, if the new infection rate drops steadily, to a satisfactory level, the CCSA may consider easing the restrictions in Samut Sakhon and Bangkok.