Thailand records one new COVID-19 case on Saturday
FILE PHOTO: People shop for face masks inside the Sampheng wholesale market as Thai government eases isolation measures, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Bangkok, Thailand, June 10, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
The Thai Ministry of Public Health today reported one new COVID-19 case, but said that it had to keep a close watch on Thais returning from abroad, including 499 scheduled to arrive in today (Saturday) from Germany, Brunei, South Korea and the United States.
Today’s new infection is a returnee from Bahrain, who entered state quarantine in Chon Buri province and tested positive for COVID-19.
Cumulative infections to date in Thailand are 3,147 with 3,018 recoveries (95.90%). The total death toll remains 58 (1.84%) and 71 are still at hospital.
The Ministry reported that, since most of the new cases are among those returning from abroad, who are asymptomatic and look healthy, it has to test all of them twice, to make sure that they are not infected and will not transmit the disease when they are discharged from state quarantine.
Additionally, the Ministry has conducted tests on 11,027 foreign migrant workers between May and June 15th and did not detect a single infection.
Despite the fact that there has not been a case of local transmission for more than three weeks, the Ministry stressed the need for the public to continue to wear face masks, observe social distancing, avoid congested areas and regularly cleanse their hands with alcohol-based sanitizers.
Regarding the COVID-19 situation in the ASEAN region, Indonesia recorded the highest number of new infections on June 18th, at 1,331, followed by 561 cases in the Philippines and 257 cases in Singapore.
According to the World Health Organization, the world is entering a new phase of infections. Globally, there are more than 8.7 million infections and 462,681 fatalities.
