Thailand recorded seven new COVID-19 cases on Monday, all among those in quarantine after returning from India and the United States, and the CCSA has decided to extend the state of emergency until the end of July.
Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Sukhum Kanchanapimai said six of the new patients had returned from India, with three of them asymptomatic and the rest suffering fevers and coughs. The seventh, a Thai woman returning from the United States, also has a fever and a cough.
He said that, for the past month, all the new infections are among returnees from abroad, with 14.6% of them diagnosed within 7 days of arrival in Thailand, while 9% tested positive for COVID-19 eleven days or longer after arrival.
Cumulative infections in Thailand to date are 3,169, with 3,053 recoveries and 58 deaths. 58 others are still being treated in hospital.
Dr. Sukhum said he is confident that new infections in Thailand will remain few and that there are more than 20,000 hospital beds available, which could cope with up to 500 new infections a day, if needed.
He also said that there are about 1.1 million N95 hygienic face masks, 510,000 sets of PPE, 31,000 anti-viral Favipiravir doses and 11,000 ventilators available across the country.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha gave 2.9 million baht today to 88 medical personnel, or their families, who fell sick or died during the performance of their duty in the fight to contain the pandemic.
Four front-line medical professionals died and their children were each given 100,000 baht in compensation, with the Prime Minister asking them to spend to money sparingly, noting that it had come from public donations.
The Prime Minister today also took delivery of medical supplies from China, via the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok. The supplies include 1.3 million face masks, including 70,000 N95 masks, 150,000 COVID-19 test kits, and 70,000 sets of PPE.
