Thailand Ministry of Health reports 18,066 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 27 deaths since yesterday. The ministry also announced an additional 12,511 recovered patients.
Nakhon Si Thammarat has become a new hotspot logging in nearly 1500 COVID cases. The Provincial Public Health reported 1,436 total cases. 750 cases were detected through the RT-PCR tests and 686 were detected from ATK test kits.
The asymptomatic cases were advised to undergo home isolation. Those who have mild to severe symptoms, there were asked to take hospital treatments. Muang, Thung Song, Tha Sala, Bang Khan, Ron Phibun, Chulabhorn and Sichon were among the hotspots.
Chief of the Provincial Health Office Dr. Charasphong Sukkree said that 80% of the cases were identified as the Omicron variant. Most of the cases were obtained through contact with family members who were infected.
“Before that, we were more concerned about it spreading within gambling circles, at ordination ceremonies, funerals, and marriage ceremonies,” he said.
“But from this January, Omicron has been prevalent and it’s hard to trace the origin, especially as many cases are asymptomatic. When people contract the virus, it spreads quickly among their family members.”
320 schools located in the province previously resumed onsite learning. However, due to the increasing number of cases, some had to close once again.
In Nakhon Sawan, Sangsawan school decided to cancel onsite learning after 38 students tested positive. The closure was to allow about 60 staff members to quarantine themselves.