Thailand reports 18,501 new COVID-19 cases, 20,606 recoveries, 229 more deaths

[webfact]

FILE PHOTO: A medical worker prepares a syringe with a dose of China's Sinovac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Central Vaccination Center, inside the Bang Sue Grand Station, in Bangkok, Thailand, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

 

Thailand on Thursday (August 26) reported 18,501 new COVID-19 cases, 20,606 recoveries and 229 additional deaths over the past 24 hours.

 

● 20,606 recoveries

● 18,362 new infections 

● 139 prison / prison infections

 

Thursday’s cases bring the total number of COVID-19 infections in Thailand to 1,120,869 with 10,314 deaths.

 

(Total infections since April 1: 1,092,006)

 

The news comes as Thailand is on course to meet the target of administering 100 million Covid vaccine doses within 2021, even though only 28 million doses have been administered so far and AstraZeneca will only be able to send seven million doses per month between September and December, the government said on Wednesday.

 

A total of 28.2 million Covid vaccines were administered between February 28 and August 24, including 21.2 million first doses, 6.4 million second doses and 560,624 third-booster shots. 

 

Discover Cigna’s range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view

 

 

 

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[Bkk Brian]

PCR tests, total of 18,501 official new infections, with 139 of those from prison and 18,362 from community. 229 official covid deaths recorded.

 

For official numbers it's almost a copy and paste from yesterday's numbers, slight increase in cases and slight decrease in covid deaths. Complete flatline in official pcr testing numbers from yesterday.

 

Rapid tests positive cases, 2,339 bringing the unofficial total to 20,832 an increase from yesterday's numbers.

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

 

50,679 official pcr tests carried out yesterday.

 

Rolling 7 day average (up to 24th Aug) which includes prison cases and bar chart of community cases from daily official announcements.

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

[Bkk Brian]

#COVID19 on Thursday: 18,501 cases (139 from prison) 229 deaths 20,606 released from care 

High for cases: 23,418 on 13 Aug High for deaths: 312 on 18 Aug High for recoveries: 23,672 on 14 Aug

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1430693516980543489

 

[Bkk Brian]

Chonburi Public Health Office is reporting 973 new cases today and 15 more deaths. Most new cases are in Chonburi City (234), Bang Lamung/Pattaya (151), and Si Racha (251). There are now 18,228 patients in care

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1430686819985739783

 

[Bkk Brian]

UPDATE: 18,501 confirmed cases. 2,339 probable ATK cases. 7-day testing average is 50,679. Out of 186,934 patients, 25,654 in hospital, 77,994 in hospitel and 79,395 in home/community isolation. 5,174 in a serious condition (-15) and 1,090 on ventilators (-6)

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1430695256060620800

 

[dinsdale]

Must be close to 15,000 ATK positives in the last week. Official daily infection numbers does not indicate these are ever being included. Testing remains plateaued as do infection numbers.

Edited August 26, 2021 by dinsdale

[anchadian]

14 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

UPDATE: 18,501 confirmed cases. 2,339 probable ATK cases. 7-day testing average is 50,679. Out of 186,934 patients, 25,654 in hospital, 77,994 in hospitel and 79,395 in home/community isolation. 5,174 in a serious condition (-15) and 1,090 on ventilators (-6)

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1430695256060620800

 

Just a month ago, there were 86,045 #COVID19 patients in hospitals. Now there are only 25,654, which frees up beds for non-covid people who really need it. The majority of people (79,395) are doing self isolation either in their home or community. Looking good #Thailand

 

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1430697333843537920

 

[anchadian]

Phuket health authorities are reporting 189 new local cases , three cases from the Sandbox and no deaths. There are 1,225 patients in care. The #PhuketSandbox has had 73 cases since 1st July #COVID19 #โควิด19 #โควิดวันนี้ #Thailand

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1430687057710444546

 

[Bkk Brian]

2 minutes ago, anchadian said:

Phuket health authorities are reporting 189 new local cases , three cases from the Sandbox and no deaths. There are 1,225 patients in care. The #PhuketSandbox has had 73 cases since 1st July #COVID19 #โควิด19 #โควิดวันนี้ #Thailand

 

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1430687057710444546

 

Just to add to that, this is an all time high for official community cases in Phuket.  Separate to that there were also a further 19 positive rapid tests not included.

[Macrohistory]

Important information for those who say “it’s just the flu” and “we should open back up and let it rip”

 

CIDRAP -- Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy

 

COVID-19 patients at higher risk of blood clots after surgery, study shows

By Mary Van Beusekom | News Writer | CIDRAP News  | Aug 25, 2021

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), a dangerous complication of surgery, is 50% more likely to occur in current COVID-19 patients and nearly twice as likely in those with recent infection, according to an international study yesterday in Anaesthesia.

 

The researchers also found that this type of blood clot, the top cause of preventable death in hospitalized patients, poses a fivefold increased risk of death in the first 30 days after surgery relative to patients without VTE (pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis)...

 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/covid-19-patients-higher-risk-blood-clots-after-surgery-study-shows

[ThailandRyan]

Unfortunately, they will never add in the ATK positive tests, and will never tell how many folks that are in the Bubble and Seal locations have tested positive as well.  In my view they are trying very hard to whitewash the case numbers and see if they do not drop as far as the numbers of walk-ins and community cases they have tested for.  When they decide to only undertake the ATK tests and slowly move away from PCR tests unless folks are admitted to a hospital then the numbers will drop even more.  However, another true metric for cases is the numbers in the field hospitals and hospitels that daily keep intaking more folks for treatment.  I would like to know all of the field hospitals and hospitels, what the capacity they have at each one and how many are currently being treated.  They can not keep pushing this under the carpet.  If the numbers were truly waning then they would be trumpeting the closure of field hospitals and stating how magnificent of a job they have done at stopping this wave.  Of course this is my view only and if you take what some doctors in the rural communities are saying in relation to cases and such then you can see that only half truths are being spouted by this Government.  Just be clear and transparent Anutin, MOPH and Prayut.  Tell us how many are truly positive as one total and then tell us what the numbers need to be for you to take the risk to open up the country instead of hiding behind the false walls put up.  All people want to know is the true numbers, the locations of the spread and how they can do the best to stay safe and keep their families safe.  I am not just talking about Expats here, I am talking about all people residing in Thailand.  Sure there are many who do not care and just want to open up no matter the number of cases, but even then unless mass vaccinations have occurred then opening up is a mute point as the infections will spread unabated at that point.  Sure vaccinated tourists do not pose a problem to the residents of Thailand, rather it is the other way around.  At the end of the day we all need to be our own keeper and protect ourselves and families.  Stay safe folks and keep abreast of the ever changing landscape of cases so you can understand what's occurring around you.  As of yesterday Udon Thani's cases had gone from below 100 two days ago to over 200, effectively doubling in two days time.  Lets see what todays provincial numbers show.

Edited August 26, 2021 by ThailandRyan

[anchadian]

Southeast Asia continued to see an upsurge in new cases and related deaths, collated data showed. #Asean #COVID19 #TheNationThailand

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40005283

[Scrotobike]

Here is the Sisaket graph (up to reported 25th)

https://twitter.com/NBTWORLDNews/status/1430416185896562702/photo/2

 

[Danderman123]

Some people here are posting that the official numbers underestimate the number of infections, which is true. There isn’t enough testing ™️ .

 

but, the real question is if the number of infections is increasing or decreasing, on a daily basis.

 

My sense is, based on anecdotal evidence, that the epidemic is decreasing in intensity. 
 

What do you think?

[Macrohistory]

4 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Some people here are posting that the official numbers underestimate the number of infections, which is true. There isn’t enough testing ™️ .

 

but, the real question is if the number of infections is increasing or decreasing, on a daily basis.

 

My sense is, based on anecdotal evidence, that the epidemic is decreasing in intensity. 
 

What do you think?

 

I think it's decreasing but will soon increase again as they prematurely relax the restrictions.

 

[dinsdale]

8 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Some people here are posting that the official numbers underestimate the number of infections, which is true. There isn’t enough testing ™️ .

 

but, the real question is if the number of infections is increasing or decreasing, on a daily basis.

 

My sense is, based on anecdotal evidence, that the epidemic is decreasing in intensity. 
 

What do you think?

Impossible to tell without at the very least a 50% increase in testing plus home test kits are being being used so we don't really know about positives. It's only walkins and known clusters. Walkins have been around the same number for a while. Walkins have declined by 9 from yesterday so this isn't significant.

[DaveSamutP]

The Thai authorities are almost certainly keeping the reported numbers artificially low.

 

I suspect they've reached a breaking point with the economy and need to open up the country at any cost.

 

The psuedo proof of this will be when far too many misguided tourists show up, contract the virus here and it gets picked up on their return to other countries.

 

The same thing happened year ago.

[Olmate]

What is the current CCDR for Thailand and how is it ranked compared to our near neighbours? 

[cormanr7]

1 hour ago, dinsdale said:

Must be close to 15,000 ATK positives in the last week. Official daily infection numbers does not indicate these are ever being included. Testing remains plateaued as do infection numbers.

That depends, it is possible that those that tested positive by an antigen test are subsequently tested by PCR. 

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by cormanr7
add word

[Kadilo]

Vaccinations continue at a pace with over 9% of the population now fully jabbed and 31% receiving the first jab. 
 

Confirmed by the government to be on course to meet the 100 million administered by end of the year and  at current rates could have 70% fully vaxed  early January. 

https://covidvax.live/en/location/tha

 

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

29 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

Some people here are posting that the official numbers underestimate the number of infections, which is true. There isn’t enough testing ™️ .

 

but, the real question is if the number of infections is increasing or decreasing, on a daily basis.

 

My sense is, based on anecdotal evidence, that the epidemic is decreasing in intensity. 
 

What do you think?

Good question, if the official numbers of those in ICU and on ventilators can be taken as fairly accurate then it does seem to be decreasing in intensity. I'm holding off on an official trend yet for another few days as I really don't like flatline numbers when there is also flatline testing.

 

Of course its clear in a minority of Provinces this is not the case such as Phuket and it is increasing there.

[Bkk Brian]

As of 23rd Aug:

https://covidtracker-th.netlify.app/

[ThailandRyan]

20 minutes ago, cormanr7 said:

That depends, it is possible that those that tested positive by an antigen test are subsequently tested by PCR. 

 

Not all are retested using the PCR test unless they need to be admitted to a hospital or facility. Until then they self isolate at home taking the meds the government has given them.

[Bkk Brian]

Interesting study from Bahrain. Astrazeneca (Coveshield) the best performer, Sinopharm the worst for breakthrough infections.

 

"Breakthrough infections in Bahrain among over 1 million vaccinees, including Delta wave, comparison of 4 different vaccines and outcomes among unvaccinated  https://researchsquare.com/article/rs-828021/v1 particular vulnerability of Sinopharm noted@DrSidMukherjee and colleagues"

https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1430532842212053001

Study: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-828021/v1

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

UPDATE: 18,501 confirmed cases. 2,339 probable ATK cases. 7-day testing average is 50,679.

 

Does the brown 'microscope' testing box (50,679) include any ATK tests?

 

And how many ATK tests were done to yield 2,339 potentially positives? (I assume that 64,098 is the total number of ATK tests to date, but I guess it could be for one day?)

[dinsdale]

52 minutes ago, cormanr7 said:

That depends, it is possible that those that tested positive by an antigen test are subsequently tested by PCR. 

 

Even allowing for a % of false positives these numbers don't seem to make daily infection numbers example being the 7000 previously recorded in a single day. False negatives are also of concern.

Edited August 26, 2021 by dinsdale

[Bkk Brian]

11 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Does the brown 'microscope' testing box (50,679) include any ATK tests?

 

And how many ATK tests were done to yield 2,339 potentially positives? (I assume that 64,098 is the total number of ATK tests to date, but I guess it could be for one day?)

The microscope box is for daily PCR tests only. The 64,098 figure is the total antigen rapid tests "daily" figure but the caveat for that is that this also includes those sold in pharmacies etc. To get a sense of positivity rate for rapid tests then they are contained in the daily publications sometimes, here's one as an example showing 23.53%.

https://media.thaigov.go.th/uploads/public_img/source/230864.pdf

 

[Walker88]

The famous Yogi Berra quip about predictions (Predictions are difficult, especially about the future) might not always hold true.

 

Given the fact it looks as if boosters---at least one and perhaps yearly---will be necessary, Covid and Thailand are unlikely to have begun their final breakup.

 

As it is, vaccine supplies on order to Thailand leave a gap from mid October until December, so a good portion of the population will remain un-vaxxed. Second, many of the vaxxes in Thailand are Sinovac, which research shows (another poster above put a very recent study) is the worst against Delta and breakthrough infections. Third, if boosters are necessary, Thailand will be standing in line again, as countries with lots of doses will take care of their own people before donating/selling to Thailand.

 

Thus, I suspect even if there is a relaxation of Covid closure measures, they will be back again by year end, and likely next year, too, as the vaxxed Thais begin to lose their immunity as the effects of administered vaxxes wane, and boosters are not yet available.

[Scrotobike]

2 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

Some people here are posting that the official numbers underestimate the number of infections, which is true. There isn’t enough testing ™️ .

 

but, the real question is if the number of infections is increasing or decreasing, on a daily basis.

 

My sense is, based on anecdotal evidence, that the epidemic is decreasing in intensity. 
 

What do you think?

Whilst in Thailand I have found it best not to think too hard about what the General (and his friends) say or the numbers they produce. I cannot think around the corkscrew.

[Scrotobike]

48 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

The famous Yogi Berra quip about predictions (Predictions are difficult, especially about the future) might not always hold true.

 

Given the fact it looks as if boosters---at least one and perhaps yearly---will be necessary, Covid and Thailand are unlikely to have begun their final breakup.

 

As it is, vaccine supplies on order to Thailand leave a gap from mid October until December, so a good portion of the population will remain un-vaxxed. Second, many of the vaxxes in Thailand are Sinovac, which research shows (another poster above put a very recent study) is the worst against Delta and breakthrough infections. Third, if boosters are necessary, Thailand will be standing in line again, as countries with lots of doses will take care of their own people before donating/selling to Thailand.

 

Thus, I suspect even if there is a relaxation of Covid closure measures, they will be back again by year end, and likely next year, too, as the vaxxed Thais begin to lose their immunity as the effects of administered vaxxes wane, and boosters are not yet available.

I suppose there is some good news in this as once all are vaccinated 2x (2022??) then the AZ manufacturing plant should be able to deliver enough boosters each year (6m per month is 72m per year). Assuming the AZ vaccine will be upgraded to cope with the Omega(3)IIIa (subsection 3b) version which will be the new variant of note.