BANGKOK (NNT) – The Public Health Ministry disclosed yesterday that Thailand had recorded its first case of the Delta Plus variant of COVID-19, however they are no yet particularly worried.
According to Chawetsan Namwat, Director of the Public Health Ministry’s Health Hazard and Disease Control Division, the Delta Plus variant, also known as AY.4.2, was found in a 49-year-old man in Ayutthaya’s Bang Sai area.
Chawetsan said this was the country’s first and only case of the Delta Plus variant, noting that the man had no history of travel to risk areas or abroad and that he has fully recovered from the virus. The director indicated that the patient’s samples had been sent for genetic sequencing at the Armed Forces Research Institute Medical Sciences.
Dr. Chawetsan, however, allayed public fears of the discovery, saying there is no cause for concern over its severity or over vaccine resistance, and that the situation is being closely monitored.
Dr. Chawetsan also stated that infections in southern provinces are still rising, now accounting for 23% of all new infections nationwide. While new COVID-19 infections in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces are declining as per the overall national trend.
Thai PBS reported that Dr. Chawetsan has cited an analytical study of infections since April 1st this year, noting that funerals have been a major cause of infections, as people tend to socialise, eat and drink together, sharing the same glasses, not wearing face masks or wearing them improperly, gambling or staying overnight with the funeral hosts.
On vaccinations, he said that, from February 28th to October 24th, 70,505,802 doses of vaccines have been administered in Thailand. 39,999,692 people have already received their first vaccine shot and 28,372,531 have received two. 2,133,579 have received third shots.
76.2% of the population in the 17 provinces to reopen have been vaccinated, with 100% in Bangkok, 82.7% in Phuket, 72.4% in Samut Prakan and over 50% in the rest of the country having been inoculated.
Author: Editorial Staff
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