All except one of the 19-member Thai karate team were found to be infected with COVID-19 after their return from the Asian Karate Championships (AKC) held in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan, which ended on December 22^nd.

According to Yanisa Torrattanawattana, the team’s coach, all 19 team members, including players, coach and other officials, were inoculated with two doses of vaccine before their departure for Kazakhstan.

She said, however, that players and officials of the other teams were also infected, due to lax safety measures at the stadium where the competitions were held.

The stadium was crowded and ventilation was poor. The training rooms for players were stuffy and there was no enforcement of social distancing, she said, adding that only one antigen test was administered throughout the entire competition.

All the infected players and officials are now isolated and are being treated at a hotel in Bangkok, but none have developed serious symptoms.

The Thai team won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal at the AKC.