Thailand reports another record high new COVID-19 cases

[Jonathan Fairfield]

FILE PHOTO: A man undergoes a free coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a rapid antigen mass testing station as the spread of COVID-19 continues, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 15, 2021. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

 

Thailand on Sunday reported another high in new daily COVID-19 cases, which surpassed 10,000 for the second successive day.

 

The country reported 11,397 new cases on Sunday, with 101 deaths, bringing the total number of infections to 403,386 cases and fatalities to 3,341 since the pandemic started.

 

The news comes Thailand announced a nationwide ban on public gatherings late on Friday, with violators warned they face a maximum penalty of a two-year jail term or a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.

 

Officials also said that further restrictive measures may be introduced early next week.

 

"From the current situation we predict that if we don't introduce more measures there will be more infections and deaths in large numbers for the next three to four months," Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said, advising people to stay at home as much as possible and avoid travel between provinces.

 

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said the government is considering more restrictions as the country battles its worst coronavirus outbreak yet, fuelled by the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta COVID-19 variants.

 

"There is a need to expand measures to limit people's movement as much as possible and closing more facilities, leaving only the essentials," Prayuth said on his official Facebook page on Friday.

 

Meanwhile, on Saturday, the PM also ordered the armed forces and police to join teams from City Hall to help carry out door to door COVID-19 testing for people located in the areas of Bangkok worst affected by the virus.

 

 

 

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[TallGuyJohninBKK]

A day after setting new pandemic records of more than 10,000 daily COVID cases and more than 100 deaths, Thailand on Sunday reported an even higher daily new case count of 11,397 along with 101 new deaths. Sunday thus marked the country’s third consecutive day of record-high daily COVID case totals.

 

In the past four days, the daily new COVID case totals in Thailand have gone from 9,186 to 9,692 to 10,082 yesterday and finally 11,397 today. Sunday’s update brought Thailand’s cumulative COVID case count since the start of the pandemic to 403,386, passing the 400,000 mark for the first time.

 

Sunday’s update also came as the government mulled imposing tougher COVID restrictions in Bangkok and other hard-hit provinces. A government spokeswoman said the existing measures begun last Monday, including an overnight curfew and curbs on interprovincial travel, weren’t having enough of an impact and also often weren’t gaining enough public compliance.

 

The 101 new COVID deaths reported Sunday marked a decline from the record 141 reported on Saturday, but still was Thailand’s second highest daily death toll of the pandemic. Total COVID deaths in the country now have reached 3,341, with COVID hospitalizations also setting new record highs each day.

 

The new COVID cases reported Sunday included 11,079 among the general public, also a new daily record, and 318 cases from the nation’s prisons. Overall, Thailand's current level of daily COVID cases has almost doubled from the 6,000 range daily case counts of two weeks ago.

 

Health experts said the rising COVID cases and death tolls in Thailand have been spurred by the highly contagious Delta (India) variant of the coronavirus that’s becoming prevalent in the country. The pandemic has led to increased poverty, rising unemployment and simmering protests against the government.

 

Lately, news reports have begun showing COVID cases camped outside near hospitals unable to find beds, long queues of people seeking tests at COVID testing centers but ultimately being turned away for lack of capacity, and an aid group calling on residents to hang flags outside their homes if they need food or medical aid.

 

A COVID outbreak that once was centered mainly in Bangkok and several surrounding provinces recently has spread nationwide, with all 77 of Thailand's provinces often reporting new cases on a daily basis.

 

On Saturday, new case clusters were reported at a frozen seafood factory in Samut Sakhon, a metal parts factory in Chonburi, a furniture factory and a worker’s housing facility in Nonthaburi, an incense factory in Nakhon Pathom, a television screen factory in Prachinburi, at the Chao Prom market and a lathe factory in Ayutthaya, a cement factory in Saraburi and a fruit cannery in Kanchanaburi.

 

Thailand on Sunday once again reported new record-high levels of active COVID cases hospitalized (116,135) and the share of those in critical condition (3,464). The share of critical patients on ventilators rose from 839 to 846, one case below Friday's record 847 total, mainly because of the recent spike in new deaths.

 

Total COVID hospitalizations have almost doubled in the past two weeks, and the share of those in critical condition has doubled in the past three weeks. As of Sunday, Thailand's tally of critical condition COVID patients had risen for 29 days in a row.

 

On Friday, Ramathibodi Hospital, one of the main and largest government hospitals in Bangkok, announced the suspension of all elective surgery appointments and some ward services until further notice, saying COVID cases have pushed the hospital to the brink.

 

The hospital cited a soaring number of COVID infections among the medical staff that had now reached about 300, the demands of caring for about 1,000 hospitalized COVID patients, 350 more in home isolation and 200 other COVID patients waiting to be admitted for treatment.

 

[anchadian]

NEW HIGH: Chonburi Public Health Office has just announced they have 660 new cases and two more deaths. Most new cases are in Chonburi City (93), Bang Lamung/Pattaya (167), and Si Racha (217). The total cases so far is now 15,375 with 6,308 remaining in care #Thailand

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1416551340600266752

 

[Fex Bluse]

Has the media been instructed not to headline any numbers above 10,000?

 

2 days in a row. No number in headline. So odd. 

[anchadian]

NEW HIGH - #COVID19 Update on Sunday: 11,397 cases & 101 deaths (318 cases from prisons). Full details at 12:30pm #Thailand

 

14 July: 9,317 - 87 dead

15 July: 9,186 - 98 dead

16 July: 9,692 - 67 dead

17 July: 10,082 - 141 dead

18 July: 11,397 - 101 dead <— TODAY

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1416562012008583168

 

[ThailandRyan]

The more stringent restrictions I fear will be in play very soon.  With the new testing in the Capitol ordered by the PM with teams going from neighborhood to neighborhood it will soon be over 20K is my view.  The deaths as unfortunate as they may be are not just being located in the hospitals but within residences as well.  All we can hope for is that more vaccines make there way here and they vaccinate folks en-mass, however doing that takes time and now Thailand is way behind the curve on this.  That's my view, and no its not fear mongering or scare mongering, it is based upon reality and the current statistics, no matter how far out of sync they may be.  Stay safe folk.

[Bkk Brian]

Paving the way for far stricter lockdown measures as the numbers punched above 11K. Not a welcome sight to keep setting new highs.

 

11,397 positive cases today with 318 of those from prisons, 101 deaths

 

Rolling 7 day average (up to 16th July only) which includes prison cases and bar chart of community cases.

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

Edited July 18, 2021 by Bkk Brian

[Bkk Brian]

1 minute ago, ThailandRyan said:

The more stringent restrictions I fear will be in play very soon.  With the new testing in the Capitol ordered by the PM with teams going from neighborhood to neighborhood it will soon be over 20K is my view.  The deaths as unfortunate as they may be are not just being located in the hospitals but within residences as well.  All we can hope for is that more vaccines make there way here and they vaccinate folks en-mass, however doing that takes time and now Thailand is way behind the curve on this.  That's my view, and no its not fear mongering or scare mongering, it is based upon reality and the current statistics, no matter how far out of sync they may be.  Stay safe folk.

Apart from those deaths at home its also the worrying number of deaths in such a short space of time after being confirmed positive, daily this number seems to be increasing and says to me that people are just not getting testing quickly enough having to wait too long until they are already very sick

[brewsterbudgen]

2 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Paving the way for a far stricter lockdown measures as the numbers punched above 11K. Not a welcome sight to keep setting new highs.

 

11,397 positive cases today with 318 of those from prisons, 101 deaths

 

Rolling 7 day average (up to 16th July only) which includes prison cases and bar chart of community cases.

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus/country/thailand

Is it correct that numbers in Bangkok are declining? Presumably the rates per province will be published later.

[Danderman123]

3 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

The more stringent restrictions I fear will be in play very soon.  With the new testing in the Capitol ordered by the PM with teams going from neighborhood to neighborhood it will soon be over 20K is my view.  The deaths as unfortunate as they may be are not just being located in the hospitals but within residences as well.  All we can hope for is that more vaccines make there way here and they vaccinate folks en-mass, however doing that takes time and now Thailand is way behind the curve on this.  That's my view, and no its not fear mongering or scare mongering, it is based upon reality and the current statistics, no matter how far out of sync they may be.  Stay safe folk.

It’s not clear that new testing means expanded testing. It is possible that the new testing will simply redirect testing from other areas.

 

I suspect that any expanded testing, as opposed to redirected testing, would be accompanied by news stories about acquisition of new testing equipment. 

[internationalism]

the new record will be every day, by some 1k more positives, for the next 3-4 months.

what really counts are deaths

.

wait, where is signed moderna contract and why government contracted only 3mln doses of AZ per month?

[Swimfan]

Nothing other than putting brakes on movement will stop the train now. 
Its evident the virus is spreading faster by the day. 

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, brewsterbudgen said:

Is it correct that numbers in Bangkok are declining? Presumably the rates per province will be published later.

You can discover that yourself later when those numbers are published but considering they've stopped testing in construction camps where over 30,000 migrants are locked up then I'd say thats a good bet

[Danderman123]

5 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Is it correct that numbers in Bangkok are declining? Presumably the rates per province will be published later.

With Bangkok hospitals effectively filled, and caps on testing, it’s not surprising. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

8 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Is it correct that numbers in Bangkok are declining? Presumably the rates per province will be published later.

 

we don't have province updates for today until after noon... But Saturday's BKK number was down about 30% from the all-time high of about a week prior. It's not just a BKK region problem anymore.

 

why the BKK case numbers are down is a matter of speculation. Apart from testing issues, sick people eventually end up getting reported somewhere, though that doesn't account for those who are asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms.

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[wasabi]

Their measures to control Covid are outdated and whack-a-mole in nature. It's beyond the point you can track & trace or isolate the problem when it has become systemic invading all locations and walks of life.  They can either get an effective vaccine & vaccination program going or do numerous China style lockdowns. Anything less and it will grow and grow. I'm starting to wonder if natural herd immunity is even possible since the virus might be lab generated in origin and mutates so fast. The same person can be reinfected with a new strain if depending only on the natural immune system. Given the profound incompetence and hubris of those in command something drastic is needed to turn the tide.

Edited July 18, 2021 by wasabi

[cyril sneer]

26 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Has the media been instructed not to headline any numbers above 10,000?

 

2 days in a row. No number in headline. So odd. 

Maybe a new tactic to make people click the article rather than just see the number 

[rabas]

10 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

It’s not clear that new testing means expanded testing. It is possible that the new testing will simply redirect testing from other areas.

 

I suspect that any expanded testing, as opposed to redirected testing, would be accompanied by news stories about acquisition of new testing equipment. 

Expanding, and redirecting are not either or.  Some new testing is using strip kits, which requires no equipment. That is why they are introducing it.

[Fex Bluse]

Just now, cyril sneer said:

Maybe a new tactic to make people click the article rather than just see the number 

I reckon the number would be far more likely to get clicks. FAR more. 

[law ling]

A lot of agony in store for sure.

 

Such a shame:

1. they didn't join COVAX and

2. they didn't order adequate vaxes (and still haven't)

 

The plan here seems to be: politicans are double-vaxed and the rest of you: endure it, and see you at the other end, if you make it.

[no deal]

my wife and my son where teste 3 days ago we still waiting for the result!

[dinsdale]

14 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

we don't have province updates for today until after noon... But Saturday's BKK number was down about 30% from the all-time high of about a week prior. It's not just a BKK region problem anymore.

 

why the BKK case numbers are down is a matter of speculation. Apart from testing issues, sick people eventually end up getting reported somewhere, though that doesn't account for those who are asymptomatic or only have mild symptoms.

 

 

 

It also doesn't account for those locked in the C19 prisons.

[ThailandRyan]

4 minutes ago, no deal said:

my wife and my son where teste 3 days ago we still waiting for the result!

it took just about 72 hours for the test results for my GF and I to be returned, thankfully negative, but the waiting is not right as it creates stress in istelf.

[Bkk Brian]

Just now, ThailandRyan said:

it took just about 72 hours for the test results for my GF and I to be returned, thankfully negative, but the waiting is not right as it creates stress in istelf.

It displays just how stressed the system is when you have to wait that long. Labs are just not able to keep up.

[Danderman123]

7 minutes ago, no deal said:

my wife and my son where teste 3 days ago we still waiting for the result!

Last year, my neighbor was tested for Covid in the USA, and didn’t get a result for many days.

 

Generally, if you don’t get a timely result, it’s because the lab is too busy notifying positive cases.

[ThailandRyan]

11 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Last year, my neighbor was tested for Covid in the USA, and didn’t get a result for many days.

 

Generally, if you don’t get a timely result, it’s because the lab is too busy notifying positive cases.

What does testing from a year ago and in the US have to do with today and here in Thailand.  A year ago they were just getting started and overloaded elsewhere, since then the labs have increased personnel and the testing process has not changed unless you pay extra for faster results much like the brown envelope issue.  

Edited July 18, 2021 by onthedarkside
personal comment removed

[Pravda]

13 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Mask wearing will be ongoing for the next 5 years, minimum. 

This is why after 8 years I decided to move and bring my wife with me. No way Thailand will be able to cope with this and economy will be ruined. There will be occasion rays of hope with opening up the country, but all I see is devastation. First world countries are better equipped to deal with this stuff. 

[wensiensheng]

42 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Is it correct that numbers in Bangkok are declining? Presumably the rates per province will be published later.

I think they are, but that may change when the door to door squad swing into action.

[flexomike]

56 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

Has the media been instructed not to headline any numbers above 10,000?

 

2 days in a row. No number in headline. So odd. 

Bangkok Post has listed the numbers

[onthedarkside]

A post making unsourced and unsubstantiated COVID claims regarding China has been removed, along with several ensuing replies. 

 

If you intend to post such claims, you need to support them with a credible and current news source, including a weblink to that source.

 

And, the post needs to be on-topic/pertinent to the subject of the thread, which probably was not the case here.