BANGKOK — Two men have died due to the coronavirus in Thailand while 54 more people are infected, raising the total tally of confirmed cases to 2,423 as of Thursday.
A 74-year-old Frenchman without preexisting conditions and an 82-year-old Thai man in Samut Prakan were the 31st and 32nd people to die due to the coronavirus in Thailand, health officials announced Thursday.
“We are still not satisfied with these numbers. We have to keep being vigilant with both personal and social restrictions. We cannot even blink,” Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman of the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration said.
Of the 54 new cases, most are located in Bangkok and are from contact with those who already have COVID-19. Five were linked to a group of 42 infected male Thai Muslims who returned from a pilgrimage to Indonesia, announced Wednesday.
“As you can see there are both Thai and foreign victims, usually older people,” Taweesin said. “And the forty-plus group is adding five. This group of under 100 could be a problem.”
The total number of infected so far is 2,423 across 67 provinces, with the highest ratio of infected per 100,000 in Phuket, followed by Bangkok. Of all the COVID-19 cases, 80 are medical staff, 50 of them caught in the hospital. An entire hospital in Phuket had to be quarantined due to a foreign patient being infected, Taweesin said.
Taweesin also relayed a message from the Ministry of Culture asking all Songkran celebrations to be cancelled, refrain from travelling to one’s hometown, and refrain from the Rod Naam Dum Hua ritual of honoring elders by pouring water into their hands.
“Rod naam is so close, no more than a meter,” Taweesin said. “The Ministry of Health totally agrees with this measure.”
A total of 1,204 people were arrested for breaking curfew, an increase from Tuesday’s 1,023.
Related stories:
Surge in COVID-19 Infections Linked to Southern Muslim Pilgrimage