An advisor to Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Professor Dr. Udom Kachinthorn, said today (Friday) that the COVID-19 situation in Thailand has not yet improved, with  daily infections fluctuating between 5,000 and 7,000 for the past few weeks and infections may surge following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

He believes that new infections will not, however, increase substantially, as has been the case in the past, but stressed the need for vaccinations and compliance with basic safety measures, such as wearing face masks at all times while outdoors and maintaining social distancing.

Dr. Udom cited the situations in several European countries, where COVID-19 infections are rising rapidly, following the easing of restrictions and mass vaccinations, as he blamed the disease’s resurgence on complacency among their populations over such safety measures.

The CCSA advisor said he would prefer to see a new daily infection of 1,000-2,000 cases a day and daily fatalities below 20.

He also said that the World Health Organization has recently warned of a new growth in the pandemic and said that countries using the AstraZeneca vaccine tend to see fewer severe cases than countries which used Pfizer as the main vaccine.

Saying he would express concerns at the CCSA meeting today, the professor said that there may not be New Year countdown events if new infections increase.

He added that he agrees with the easing of lockdown restrictions, to allow the economy to recover, but warns that the easing must be appropriate.