Thailand reported three additional cases of the new coronavirus on Thursday, bringing total cases to 3,037. No additional deaths were recorded, leaving the accumulated toll at 56.

The new cases were an elderly Thai man, a German expatriate with a Thai wife and a woman who recently returned from the Philippines. 

Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said the Thai man, aged 72, had diabetes and lung cancer. He visited a public hospital four days ago and then went to a barber shop.

On Monday he suffered from a fever, cough and an excess of phlegm. He went to a private hospital and then returned to the public hospital he visited previously. On Wednesday he tested positive for Covid-19.

"The risk factors for the elderly man with chronic diseases were visits to a hospital and a barber," Dr Taweesilp said.

A second new case is a German man, aged 42, who showed no symptoms and apparently had no underlying health conditions. He lives in Bangkok and visited his Thai wife's house in Chaiyaphum province on April 30-May 16.

On May 8 a relative in Chaiyaphum developed a fever but did not seek a test. The German then visited a shopping centre in Chaiyaphum. Before resuming work in Bangkok on Monday, he underwent a check-up and tested positive for Covid-19. He is being treated at a private hospital.

"His infection possibly happened in Chaiyaphum after the business lockdown was relaxed," Dr Taweesilp said.

The other new case is a 25-year-old Thai woman who was quarantined after returning from a language course in the Philippines on May 13. Although asymptomatic, she tested positive for the disease on Tuesday, becoming the first Covid-19 patient among returnees from the Philippines, Dr Taweesilp said.

"Thailand has passed through its first wave of the Covid-19 outbreak and since the government imposed the night-time curfew and a business lockdown, the number of daily new cases has been declining," he said.

The recent low numbers resulted from people's cooperation with disease control measures after the government started to ease restrictions on businesses and other activities, he added.

Of the accumulated 3,037 cases, 2,897 have recovered -- including eight who were discharged from hospitals over the past 24 hours. The death toll remained unchanged at 56, with 84 patients remaining at hospitals.

Global Covid-19 cases stood at 5.08 million with 329,731 deaths and 99,172 new cases over the past 24 hours, Dr Taweesilp said. The United States had the most cases at 1.59 million and the most deaths at 94,994. 

 

 

 

 

 

Bangkok Post