62 people in Thailand have been found to have contracted the Indian variant, or B.1.617, of COVID-19, according to the Department of Medical Sciences.

36 Indian variant cases were found among construction workers in Bangkok’s Laksi district last week. Further testing in other parts of the capital found a further 26 Indian variant cases, said Dr. Supakit Sirilak, the department’s director-general yesterday (Tuesday).

All 62 cases were diagnosed using nasal swab tests, he said, adding that the transmissibility and severity of Indian variant infections are not expected to vary much from the UK strain, or B.1.1.7, which has been found in many infections in the current wave in Thailand.

Thailand first detected the Indian variant on May 10^th in a Thai woman and her 4-year-old son arriving from Pakistan.

11 cases of the South African variant have been found in the country’s southern province of Narathiwat.