Health Ministry expects COVID-19 cases to increase over next two weeks

[webfact]

Health Ministry expects COVID-19 cases to increase over next two weeks

 

   

BANGKOK (NNT) - Health authorities are now expecting the number of cases in the current wave of COVID-19 infections will continue to increase over the next two weeks, asking people visiting high-risk areas to monitor their symptoms for 14 days.

 

Dr Sophon Iamsirithavorn, Director of the Division of Communicable Diseases at the Department of Communicable Diseases has warned that the number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand is expected to continue growing in provinces that have already reported a number of confirmed cases in this wave of the outbreak.

 

The new wave of COVID-19 in Thailand started with the discovery of a COVID-19 cluster in the migrant worker community in Samut Sakhon linked to a wholesale shrimp market.

 

The situation has since escalated with cases now reported in 56 provinces of Thailand, with new cases linked to gambling dens in some provinces, as well as nightclubs and restaurants in the Pinklao district of western Bangkok.

 

Dr Sophon said tougher disease control measures and social measures are needed to help contain the spread, with the goal now being to minimize fatalities from COVID-19 as much as possible, while ensuring the healthcare system has enough capacity to treat the general public.

 

Health officials are currently urging members of the public who have visited at-risk areas to monitor their symptoms for 14 days, and to seek medical attention at a nearby healthcare facility should they exhibit any symptoms. They are reminded to be cautious of the possibility that if infected, they could spread the virus to children and elders in their family.

 

The Thai government has set a target to vaccinate half the population against COVID-9. Dr Sophon said that the health authorities must first ensure the safety of each vaccine along with its efficacy, as some vaccines may have undesirable side effects that could even lead to death in some cases.

 

Thailand has made an advance purchase of vaccine to combat COVID-19 from AstraZeneca, with Siam Bioscience being the local manufacturing partner. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use in the UK, but is still pending approval from Thailand’s Food and Drugs Administration.

 

The government earlier revealed it will also be procuring additional dosages of vaccines for Thailand, with the first batch of vaccines from China’s Sinovac expected to arrive as early as late-February.

 

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2021-01-08

 

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[YetAnother]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

with the first batch of vaccines from China’s Sinovac expected to arrive as early as late-February.

Chinese vaccine ? Thanks but no

[Thaiophil]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

The Thai government has set a target to vaccinate half the population

By when?  Half is a strange figure. 60-70% needed for herd immunity

[ThailandRyan]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Health authorities are now expecting the number of cases in the current wave of COVID-19 infections will continue to increase over the next two weeks, asking people visiting high-risk areas to monitor their symptoms for 14 days.

Well no <deleted> Sherlock, you think that after you let people roam freely and are still allowing travel to occur that the cases would not increase, really smart to think the cases would increase.  I only wish that they had taken this as serious as they had the first time around.  I fear that they did not because they were concerned about the economy, which is going into a free fall shortly.  Many new field hospitals going up in the provinces to deal with the influx of cases or quarantine of those possibly in contact with a case.

[Sheryl]

4 minutes ago, Thaiophil said:

By when?  Half is a strange figure. 60-70% needed for herd immunity

 

Actually it is not yet known what level would confer herd immunity for COVUD and could well be much higher like 80%, as is true of measles.

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, Thaiophil said:

By when?  Half is a strange figure. 60-70% needed for herd immunity

Not so sure of herd immunity at all, and now with the new strain, lots of new research, but it does not look good as to whether or not the vaccine will work on it.  They are testing and checking however.

COVID-19 vaccine's effect on South African strain still unknown (nypost.com)

[BangkokReady]

Please don't follow the UK model.

 

Lockdown, travel ban, curfew, alcohol ban.  That is what worked before.  Asking people to be careful and responsible does not work.

[skorp13]

We've just been told a decrease over the last four days and now told to expect an increase over the next two weeks. WT???

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, skorp13 said:

We've just been told a decrease over the last four days and now told to expect an increase over the next two weeks. WT???

 

They knew this would happen since they decided not to cancel the mass movement of people at New Year.

 

It was a choice, not something that just happened.

[KannikaP]

3 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Please don't follow the UK model.

 

Lockdown, travel ban, curfew, alcohol ban.  That is what worked before.  Asking people to be careful and responsible does not work.

Yeh but , travellers will not be able to enter UK without a 72 hour negative test, and still do 10 days isolation, starting from this week.

When did Covid start?

[Burma Bill]

3 hours ago, skorp13 said:

We've just been told a decrease over the last four days and now told to expect an increase over the next two weeks. WT???

Thanks, and my thoughts as well - they are "bonkers" in Bangkok (Mental Health issues??)

[Percy P]

6 hours ago, YetAnother said:

Chinese vaccine ? Thanks but no

Whats the problem you have with it tuen..People who can't swim will cling to straws.

[Virt]

6 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Not so sure of herd immunity at all, and now with the new strain, lots of new research, but it does not look good as to whether or not the vaccine will work on it.  They are testing and checking however.

COVID-19 vaccine's effect on South African strain still unknown (nypost.com)

Seems like pfizers works against the strains from UK and South Africa and that's good news, because then the virus has to change quite drastically before the vaccines will not work anymore

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-pfizer-vaccine/pfizer-biontech-vaccine-appears-effective-against-mutation-in-new-coronavirus-variants-study-idUSL1N2JI2LZ

[unblocktheplanet]

Govt effed us all big-time this round. When something worked first time, umm, do it again! Completely asinine to think a few short-term baht from domestic travel over new year could compensate for this. For those who are worried about 'the economy', first we lost foreign tourists, now we've lost the domestic market. Good work, Too!

[ThailandRyan]

32 minutes ago, Virt said:

Seems like pfizers works against the strains from UK and South Africa and that's good news, because then the virus has to change quite drastically before the vaccines will not work anymore

 

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-pfizer-vaccine/pfizer-biontech-vaccine-appears-effective-against-mutation-in-new-coronavirus-variants-study-idUSL1N2JI2LZ

Appearing effective and being effective are not the same thing.  I could appear to be a handsome man but lipstick on a pig does not make it so. I hope it is effective.

[NoshowJones]

18 hours ago, skorp13 said:

We've just been told a decrease over the last four days and now told to expect an increase over the next two weeks. WT???

Another case of a soldier "government" who do not have any organization among them. If they could organize the country the way they organize their parade ground and barracks activities, at least the left hand would know what the right hand is doing, even though their Military Academy educations would still not be enough to help them to try and run a country.

[Bender Rodriguez]

I hope all the HISO's steal the place of the intended people to be vaccinated

 

maybe this country could be free & equal after that ????