Seem like COVID was suddenly everywhere all at once again after Songkran? That’s because it was, with new cases nearly doubling since the holiday break, according to City Hall.
Although the government has long stopped publishing daily updates, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said yesterday that there were roughly 700 new cases reported daily since Songkran, up from approximately 350 per day prior. As was the case during the pandemic, that is likely a significant undercount, with city health officials acknowledging that new daily infections were likely in the thousands.
Only five people died last week, according to the national government.
Bangkok emptied out during the holidays, with people heading home in packed buses, trains, and vans, not to mention the many festivals, from S2O to Rolling Loud. The weather was also likely to be a contributing factor. The intense and sustained heat wave forced people to stay indoors, concentrating more people in ventilated spaces.
Health Permanent Secretary Watanee Wattana said most new cases seemed to involve older versions of the virus rather than the newest kid on the genome, Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16. Thailand has only recorded 27 cases of XBB.1.16, she said, though it is expected to soon dominate. The new variant is believed to spread more quickly but mostly involve the same symptoms.
People who haven’t had their vaccine refreshed in the past six months are encouraged to do so by the end of May.
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