Thailand’s accumulated COVID-19 cases reached 3,000 today, with 8 new confirmed cases being reported, up 6 from yesterday.

CCSA spokesman Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin told a news briefing today that five of the new infections are female illegal immigrants, aged between 19 and 30, who are being held at a detention centre in Sadao district of the southern province of Songkhla. Three others are male residents of the southern border province of Yala, who were in close contact with Thais returning from Malaysia.

The country’s death toll remains 55. Twelve more people have recovered, bringing the total to 2,784.

Of the eight new cases, Dr. Taweesin said that all the new cases are related to foreign contacts and illegal foreign immigrants, as he praised the tight lockdown measures along Thai borders, the mandatory quarantining of all Thais returning from abroad and the Active Case Finding campaign.

Regarding the proposal to remove China and South Korea from Thailand’s list of high-risk countries, the CCSA spokesman said that the issue has not yet been concluded, because it has to be considered by the National Communicable Disease Committee.

He allayed concerns that foreign tourists, particularly Chinese, might return to Thailand in the foreseeable future, saying that several lockdown measures are still in place, such as the ban on inbound flights, the requirement for arrivals to have Fit to Fly certificates from a doctor and the mandatory 14-day state or local quarantine for all arrivals.

In the long run, however, he said that, if foreign tourists are allowed to return to Thailand, the Thai government must ensure the safety of Thai people as priority and that foreign tourists are monitored and taken care of, citing the case of the first COVID-19 case in Thailand, who was an elderly woman from the Chinese city of Wuhan.

According to the CCSA, there are now 43 provinces which have not reported a single new case for the past 28 days.

He explained that any individual who develops a cough, runny nose, sore throat, breathing difficulties or loss of smell and taste can now ask for a free test. Additionally, a doctor can decide to have someone sent for a free test if he/she suspects that person may have been infected.