COVID-19: Thailand Records 30 New Cases, Two More Deaths

By Linda Khoo BANGKOK, April 15 (Bernama) – Thailand has reported 30 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths, raising the cumulative numbers to 2,643 cases and 43 fatalities. Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Thaweesilp Wissanuyothin said the latest fatalities were a 65-year-old Thai woman who was a street vendor in Chiang Mai and a 60-year-old Thai man from Ayuthaya who returned from Indonesia after a religious gathering there was cancelled at the eleventh hour. “In April, about 23 per cent of the confirmed cases were infected by family members. Therefore, it is important to continue social distancing and wear masks at home. “As we have seen a decrease in the number of new cases in the kingdom, we must not be complacent. We must maintain the measures and practices – social distancing, wear masks and wash hands to ensure the number of new cases continues to drop,” he said at a COVID-19 daily briefing here today. To date, Thailand has recorded 2,643 cases in 68 provinces and 1,497 patients have recovered and returned home. Thaweesilp said Bangkok reported the highest number of cases with 1,328, followed by Phuket (190), Nonthaburi (149), Samut Prahkan (108), Yala (93) and Pattani (85). He said Phuket has the highest morbidity rate at 45.96 per 100,000 population, followed by Bangkok at 23.42; Yala, 17.41; Nonthaburi, 11.86; and Pattani, 11.78. Meanwhile, Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan o-cha said the government would evaluate the COVID-19 situation in the kingdom before deciding whether to relax orders and measures under an emergency decree. “Please give us some time to evaluate the situation,” he said after chairing the weekly cabinet meeting at Government House today. Prayuth added that the government may relax some measures in stages. “I know many of you are suffering (due to COVID-19 outbreak) but public health is the government’s top priority,” he added. -- BERNAMA