Thailand today recorded five new COVID-19 cases, all among those in quarantine after returning from abroad, as the CCSA decides to stop counting the days that Thailand is free from local infections, to focus on the capabilities of medical services to cope with new infections.

From Thailand recording 188 infections in a single day, the highest so far, CCSA spokesman Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin said that Thailand’s medical infrastructure can cope with an average of between 30-50 new infections a day.

He said that the Ministry of Public Health has been instructed, by the CCSA’s subcommittee, to produce handouts, for distribution to all public sector units, outlining the issues to be considered, before they decide to impose lockdown restrictions in each province. The move is to prevent a repeat of them banning entry by people from other provinces, purportedly to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Citing Japan, Dr. Taweesin said that, in the first round of the virus outbreak, Japanese officials closed schools, restricted travel from high-risk areas and told people to stay home. In the second wave of the outbreak, however, Japanese officials did not close many business or other activities, but declared a state of emergency in the affected areas and advised people to observe social distancing and change their behavior.

He noted that a disease could be contained through the closure of specific business or activities, instead of the general closure of a town or the whole country, in order to allow the economy to function. He cited the case of Rayong, where only a few malls and hotels were temporarily closed after it was discovered that a member of an Egyptian military mission was infected with COVID-19.

Regarding that incident, the CCSA spokesman said that, altogether, 6,780 people have been given swab tests and all were cleared of the virus, while 364 people in Bangkok have also been declared safe.

As only two places in Rayong were considered to be at high risk, he said that there was no need to close the entire province, adding that, in the future, to close down a province should require the consent of all parties concerned.

Of the five new infections recorded today, three returned from Egypt on July 8^th and have since been isolated at state quarantine in Chon Buri province.  All asymptomatic, they tested positive on July 19^th.

The fourth is a Thai student returning from Japan on July 7^th, who was admitted to hospital after he developed a fever.  The first test cleared him of the virus, but a second test, conducted on July 18^th, confirmed his infection.

The fifth case is a returnee from Sudan.

Cumulative infections in Thailand, to date, are 3,255 with 3,105 recoveries and 92 others still in hospital.  The country’s death toll remains 58.