The Public Health Ministry on Thursday reported 111 new local cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), raising the total to 1,045, while deaths remained unchanged at four.

Dr Anupong Suchariyakul, a specialist at the Disease Control Department, said of the accumulative 1,045 patients, 953 were at hospitals, including four severely ill people, while 88 people had recovered and were already discharged from hospitals.

Dr Anupong stressed that the local outbreak soared due to transmission from visitors to entertainment places, boxing stadiums and religious ceremonies in Malaysia.

He encouraged these people to report for examination so that health officials can effectively control the disease.

“Their failure to join in self-isolation and pass examination has been transmiting the disease nationwide since March 16,” Dr Anupong said.

The 111 new local cases fell into three groups. The first group comprised 29 people in contact with previous patients and the venues of previous patients.

They included six people from boxing stadiums, three from entertainment places, 19 people in contact with previous patients, and one resident of Pattani province who earlier attended a religious ceremony in Malaysia.

The second group involved 19 people - five Thais and one foreigner who arrived from other countries, nine people who either lived or worked in crowded areas or in places frequented by foreigners, including hotel staff, and three medical officials who contracted the disease because patients concealed their infection-risk histories.

“So far nine medical officials have contracted the disease because patients concealed the facts,” Dr Anupong said.

The third group consisted of 63 patients whose infection cases were under investigation.

Dr Anupong said that 18 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals on Thursday.

He said that global cases amounted to 457,930 with 20,780 deaths and the outbreak was now dense in Europe.

Bangkok Post