Increased testing sends new Thai coronavirus cases soaring

Thailand on Monday discovered a record 914 new cases of the coronavirus, all in Samut Sakhon province near Bangkok where a major outbreak began in December. The new cases shot the national total past 14,000.

The previous high was on Jan. 4, when 745 cases were reported, mostly in Samut Sakhon among migrant workers from Myanmar. The province is a center for fishing and industry. The first case reported in the recent surge was detected there in mid-December at a major seafood market, which has been closed.

Any new cases in other provinces will be announced in Tuesday. National totals are announced the day after test results, but Samut Sakhon health officials officials released local results on Monday, the same day they began mass proactive testing in the province, targeting up to 10,000 people a day for a week.

Workers spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus at shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Thailand on Monday registered a new daily high of 914 confirmed new cases of the coronavirus at the province near the capital Bangkok, where a major outbreak occurred in December. (AP Photo)

They said 844 new cases were detected Monday through pro-active testing and 70 discovered in hospitals. Thai nationals accounted for 119 cases and migrant workers for 795.

Earlier Monday, Health Ministry officials had announced 187 new cases nationwide, bringing the total to 13,687. Two deaths pushed the death toll to 75. The Samut Sakorn figures were announced in the afternoon and not yet officially added to the national total.

Cases linked to the Samut Sakhon outbreak have spread to more than 60 of Thailand’s 78 provinces. A cluster of cases also occurred among itinerant gamblers who gathered at illegal gambling dens.

Workers clean the road outside shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Jan. 25, 2021. Thailand on Monday registered a new daily high of over 900 confirmed new cases of the coronavirus at the province near the capital Bangkok, where a major outbreak occurred in December. (AP Photo)

Restrictions to control the spread of the disease were reimposed in most provinces, including Bangkok, where schools were closed and restaurant hours limited, among other measures.

Samut Sakhon Gov. Veerasak Vijitsaengsri was hospitalized with the coronavirus before the New Year, and remains in critical condition with severe lung damage, according to the Bangkok hospital where he was admitted.

Visitors to Thailand who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will no longer need to undergo any test or quarantine on arrival starting May 1, a measure the authorities hope will help rejuvenate the country’s lucrative tourism industry.

“Many countries have already eased their restrictions,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday. “We are a country that relies on the tourism industry, especially during these times. This will help move the economy forward.”

Under the new rules announced by the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, unvaccinated travelers will still have to provide proof of negative results from a RT-PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.

All visitors still must register with an online “Thailand Pass” system and provide proof of health insurance with coverage of at least $10,000 for COVID-19 treatment.

Under the current arrival scheme known as “Test and Go,” even fully vaccinated travelers have been required to take RT-PCR tests upon arrival and then stay in a government-approved hotel for one night until the results are known. On the fifth day of their stay. a self-administered rapid antigen test has been required.

The Public Health Ministry on Friday announced 21,808 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 128 related fatalities, bringing the totals since the pandemic began in 2020 to 4,128,038 cases and 27,520 deaths.

The official figures are based on RT-PCR tests, and the new cases do not include 20,635 positive results from antigen tests, which would almost double the number of new cases to 42,443. Many other positive results from self-administered antigen tests may not have been reported to authorities.