This year’s COVID-19 infections in Thailand, diagnosed by means of rapid antigen tests, reached 1,015,583 yesterday (Saturday), according to COVID-19 Information Centre today.
22,476 new COVID-19 positive antigen tests were recorded yesterday and 25,821 cases today. The death toll in the past twenty four hours is 84 and 251,936 people are still being treated, with 1,672 cases of lung inflammation among them.
The hospital bed occupancy rate is 27.6% and 24,066 patients have recovered today. This year’s COVID-19 death toll is now 3,101.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, offered advice on how to dispose of used test kits properly, noting that they are regarded as contaminated waste, or a bio-hazard, whether they positive or negative.
He pointed out that several hundreds of thousands of rapid antigen test kits are being used each day and they need to be properly disinfected before they are placed into red disposal bags.
Since most people do not have red bags and do not separate bio-hazard waste from normal household rubbish, he said there is a possibility that the virus could spread into the environment, such into as water ways, though improper disposal.
He suggested formaldehyde or concentrated chlorine be dripped into the bag, contacting the used test kits, before the bag is discarded.
