BANGKOK — Eighteen more foreigners held at the immigration jail in Songkhla province were infected with coronavirus, the government said Monday.
Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration, said all of the new cases reported today are detainees at the immigration detention center in Songkhla’s Sadao district.
The facility had previously been turned into a field hospital after 42 of its inmates contracted the virus earlier.
He also denied earlier news reports that 40 people in Yala province tested positive for the virus. He said the reports were not yet confirmed since they have not been double-checked by another laboratory, though preliminary results reported this morning indicated that they are negatives.
“The results of these 40 samples are not officially confirmed at this moment,” Taweesin said. “No matter how they turn out, I assure you that we will not conceal it. The more you are informed, the more you can help end this crisis sooner.”
The spokesman said a total of 227,860 COVID-19 tests have been conducted as of May 1.
The total number of confirmed infections now stands at 2,987 cases.
No new fatalities were reported in today’s daily news briefing. As of Monday, 193 infected patients are being treated at hospitals, while 2,740 patients have recovered, Taweesin said.
