Thailand recorded 809 new COVID-19 cases today (Thursday), 13 of whom are imported cases, with no new fatalities. Most of the new cases are asymptomatic. This brings the national total to 22,058.

There are currently 7,181 people receiving treatment, 2,249 of whom are in the hospitals, including 8 patients in a critical condition. The remainder are in the field hospitals.

Samut Sakhon has seen 13,532 infections in the new outbreak, 11,003 were discovered through proactive screening. Of the 802 cases in Bangkok, 720 found in walk-in visitors to medical facilities.

The 13 imported cases, all of whom are in quarantine in several provinces, are from Israel, Malaysia, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the United States (2 cases), Russia, Ethiopia, Germany, Belgium, Spain and France.

The focus of the briefing today was the proactive screening being conducted in Bangkok, specifically in factories and their nearby communities in the districts next to Samut Sakhon. Those five district are Bang Khuntien, Pasi Charoen, Bang Plad, Bang Rak and Thonburi, with Bang Khuntien seeing the highest number of infections (151).

Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, the CCSA spokesperson, mentioned a study by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) on online-learning among secondary and undergraduate students. There were 72,626 participants in 77 provinces, over 80% of whom are in government schools.

The study found that the most commonly used tools for online learning are mobile phones (71.32%), followed by laptops (30.31%). The rest use desktops, tablets, printers and televisions, and 0.29% percent don’t own any tools.

The data shows that over 88% of learning hours in 28 Red Zone districts were online. The overall education system was 48.44% online, while about 30% of the schools use a mixed online/in-person system and about 21% were fully offline.

Dr. Taweesin said there is a chance that schools in various parts of the country might have to close temporarily, depending on the COVID-19 outbreak in each area. Online learning will be a tool to help the schools and he asked the public familiarize themselves with the system.

Dr. Taweesin reminded the public to maintain social distancing, wear masks and wash their hands regularly, especially during the Chinese New Year holidays. He said there is no ban on families gathering together, but everyone must reduce the risk of becoming infected, noting that the elderly might be better off using virtual meeting apps instead of meeting in-person.