By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, April 13 (NNN-Bernama) — Thailand reported nearly 1,000 new COVID-19 cases for the third consecutive day as the Songkran new year holiday in the kingdom began Tuesday.
To halt the spread of the third wave of infections, the government banned the ‘water fights’ – a part of the festivities – for the second year. Besides that, the Songkran celebration and activities were cancelled while authorities urged people to avoid unnecessary travel.
Health experts expressed concerns over the possibility of a spike in infections following the Songkran festival as many travelled to their home provinces amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Despite the warning, thousands were reported to have travelled, starting Friday, for the Songkran holidays.
Meanwhile, the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said the total of 965 new COVID-19 cases and zero deaths reported over the last 24 hours brought the tally in the kingdom to 34,575 and 97 fatalities.
Of the new cases, it said 956 were local transmissions, where 654 are those seeking treatment at hospitals and 302 through active case detection exercise.
It said a total of nine imported cases have been reported, including five from Malaysia.
“Chiang Mai tops the list with the highest number of cases with 251 and followed by Bangkok (194), Chon Buri (97) and Prachuap Khiri Khan (73),” it said in a statement.
Thailand recorded 967 COVID-19 cases on Sunday and 985 cases on Monday.
As the number of new COVID-19 cases continued to soar in the Thai capital, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) set up an additional 500-bed field hospital which is scheduled to open on April 19.
To date, BMA has established four field hospitals with 1,250 beds in Bangkok to accommodate the rising number of COVID-19 patients.
Besides that, the Defence Ministry has set up field hospitals that provide more than 5,000 beds in Bangkok and nearby provinces.
— NNN-BERNAMA