New Covid cases steady at 14,437 Thursday, 127 more deaths
A child shows a V sign during his Covid-19 vaccination at the Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
The country registered 127 more Covid-19 fatalities and 14,437 new cases during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced on Thursday morning.
This compared with the 125 coronavirus-related fatalities and 14,887 new cases reported on Wednesday morning.
The new case numbers did not include 11,396 positive results from antigen tests over the previous 24 hours, which would raise the total to 25,833.
As of Wednesday, a total of 158,768 people were receiving Covid-19 treatment (down from 162,967 on the previous day), including 40,193 in hospitals (down from 41,811). Among the remainder 22,457 were in field hospitals/hospitel facilities (down from 24,335) and 95,586 in home/community isolation (down from 96,238).
Of those in hospital, 1,827 were seriously ill patients with lung inflammation (up from 1,822) including 850 dependent on ventilators (unchanged).
Of the seriously ill patients, Bangkok had the most cases at 160, followed by 87 in Nakhon Ratchasima, 77 in Khon Kaen, 71 in Kanchanaburi and 59 in Samut Prakan.
The 24-hour period also saw 18,509 patients discharged from hospitals after recovering.
– Still a pandemic –
“The bed occupancy rate among yellow and red-coded patients drops from 30% in past weeks to 24.1%,” said Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesperson Sumanee Wacharasin.
According to the CCSA, the 127 people who died were aged from 12 to 104.
Bangkok logged 11 new deaths and there were five fatalities in adjacent provinces – two each in Nakhon Pathom and Nonthaburi and one in Samut Prakan.
Other central plains provinces further from the capital had 39 deaths – nine in Chon Buri, four each in Prachin Buri and Suphan Buri, three each in Ratchaburi, Phetchaburi and Nakhon Sawan, two each in Lop Buri, Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya and Saraburi and one each in Uthai Thani, Sing Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Rayong and Trat.
The North reported 12 deaths – three in Chiang Rai, two each in Chiang Mai, Phichit, Sukhothai and Phayao and one in Kamphaeng Phet.
The Northeast saw 51 new fatalities – 10 in Sakon Nakhon, eight in Roi Et, seven in Udon Thani, six in Maha Sarakham, four in Si Sa Ket, three each in Kalasin and Nong Khai, two each in Loei, Nong Bua Lam Phu and Khon Kaen and one each in Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram, Nakhon Phanom and Amnat Charoen.
The South had nine deaths – two each in Surat Thani, Songkhla and Nakhon Si Thammarat and one each in Ranong, Satun and Pattani.
“To declare Covid-19 an endemic disease, the fatality rate must be less than 0.1%. Now it is at 0.33%,” Dr Sumanee said.
Screenshot from https://epidemic-stats.com/coronavirus/thailand
The 14,437 new infections announced Thursday comprised 14,336 in the general population, 24 among prison inmates and 77 in arrivals from other countries.
“New cases in the country are declining, contrary to our earlier expectation they would rise after the Songkran festival,” Dr Sumanee said.
Of the new infections in the general population, 14,229 were confirmed at hospitals and 107 via mass testing.
Bangkok continued to lead the most daily cases at 3,056, followed by 499 each in Khon Kaen and Chon Buri, 454 in Samut Prakan, 421 in Si Sa Ket, 409 in Buri Ram, 389 in Roi Et, 299 in Ubon Ratchathani, 298 in Nakhon Si Thammarat and 297 in Nakhon Pathom.
The 77 imported cases came from 20 countries. They included 18 from Laos, 11 from the United Kingdom, seven each from Australia and Cambodia, six from France and five from Singapore.
Since the pandemic started in early 2020, there have been 4,224,008 Covid-19 cases, including 2,000,573 this year, with 4,036,969 complete recoveries to date.
The accumulated death toll stood at 28,271 since the beginning of the pandemic, including 6,573 so far this year.
Global Covid-19 cases rose by 657,233 in 24 hours to 511.54 million. The worldwide death toll went up by 2,655 to 6.25 million.
The United States had the most cases at 82.88 million, up 57,738, and the most deaths at 1.02 million, up 311.
In the CCSA briefing on Thursday, Dr Sumanee also reiterated the centre’s recent resolutions to ease Covid-19 controls in the country and restrictions on arrivals which will take effect this Sunday.
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