Thailand's spring COVID surge has showed signs of easing for the first time since the beginning of April, as the Thai Ministry of Public Health reported Monday that new COVID hospitalizations, serious condition patients and those requiring intubation to breathe all declined last week.

 

The latest weekly COVID update broke a trend, at least for the most recent week, in which new COVID hospitalizations in Thailand had increased for nine of the past ten weeks since the beginning of April. The only increase in Thailand's key publicly reported COVID stats last week was in COVID deaths, which rose by one to 69 for the week versus 68 the week before, a new weekly high for 2023.

 

Elsewhere, the COVID news was all good. New COVID hospitalizations for June 4-10 declined 12.2% from 3,085 two weeks ago to 2,709 last week. COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition declined 1% from 386 two weeks ago to 382 last week, the second consecutive weekly decline in that category. And COVID patients requiring intubation in order to breathe declined 4.9% from 243 to 231, also a second consecutive weekly decline.

 

At last week's rates, Thailand was averaging 387 new COVID hospitalizations per day and nine new COVID deaths per day. For 2023 thus far, Thailand now has reported 563 total COVID deaths and 23,833 COVID hospitalizations.

 

Thailand's seasonal COVID surge began at the beginning of April in the lead-up to the country's annual Song Kran holidays and its spike in domestic and international travel. Both the 3,085 new COVID hospitalizations and 68 new COVID deaths reported two weeks ago were year-high totals for Thailand. So while last week's death tally increased slightly, last week's drop in new hospitalizations was a significant retreat from the yearly high.

 

Still, last week's total of 2,709 new COVID hospitalizations remained 16 times higher than the 167 weekly total reported at the beginning of April. And last week's total of 69 new COVID deaths remained 23 times higher than the three weekly deaths reported at the beginning of April.

 

The Thai government last fall stopped publicly reporting regular COVID infections and positive tests, and since then has only counted and reported new COVID hospitalizations as the country's tally of new COVID "cases."

 

 

Ongoing advice from the Thai MoPH:

 

 

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