By Linda Khoo Hui Li
BANGKOK, Dec 30 (NNN-Bernama) — Thailand’ s Public Health authorities warned there could be a spike in COVID-19 cases after classifying the country’s first Omicron cluster in the northeast province of Kalasin as “super-spreader” event.
The cluster was linked to a Thai couple, both aged 47 years old, who returned from Belgium and entered the kingdom via the quarantine-free “Test & Go” programme. The couple visited bars, concerts and markets.
To date, Thailand has reported 740 cases of the highly transmissible Omicron variant in 33 provinces in the kingdom including more than 200 cases from Kalasin cluster.
Director-General of the Medical Science Department Dr Supakit Sirilak said the Omicron cases comprised of 489 imported cases and 251 local transmissions.
“To date, we conducted 8,000 COVID-19 tests and found 740 Omicron cases,” he said at a press conference here Wednesday.
Meanwhile, public health ministry permanent secretary Dr Kiatiphum Wongrajit said in the worst case scenario, with little preventive measures such as testing and vaccinations, daily COVID-19 cases in the kingdom could peak to 30,000 with more than 170 deaths.
However, he said COVID-19 cases could hit 10,000 with fewer daily deaths if people comply with the measures in preventing the spread of COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin said government employees will work from home after New Year in bid to contain the outbreak.
He also urged the private sector to follow suit.
Over the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 2,575 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths, bringing the total infections in the kingdom to 2,217,287 and 21,647 fatalities.
— NNN-BERNAMA