Thai Muslim who attended KL mosque event is 5th COVID-19 death

A man from the Deep South became the fifth person to die of COVID-19 in Thailand as the country reported nearly 100 more cases today.

After Thailand hit a grim milestone of more than 1,000 confirmed cases yesterday, public health officials this morning reported 91 more new COVID-19 infections, as well as the death.

In a daily briefing on Friday morning, the Department of Disease Control said that the new cases and the death brought the total number of local confirmed cases to 1,136 cases, with five deaths since January.

The fifth death in Thailand was a man from Narathiwat province, in the country’s Deep South. He died at Su-Ngai Kolok Hospital, after recently returning from a religious gathering in Malaysia, according to Department of Disease Control. About 16,000 Muslims from around the region had attended the mosque gathering in Kuala Lumpur. Hundreds subsequently returned home to spread infections in several nations. Thailand has been monitoring 132 since their return, some of whom have tested positive.

The majority of Malaysia’s now 2,000+ known cases have been traced to the same event. 

Among the minority of other new patients whose cause of illness could be confirmed were five from the an army-owned boxing stadium that remained open despite a shutdown order, seven patrons of nightlife venues and 10 travelers: nine Thais who returned from abroad and one foreigner.

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3 Thai men die of COVID-19, 106 new cases announced