BANGKOK: The Omicron cluster in Kalasin appears to be expanding after local authorities diagnosed 64 more cases on Saturday (Dec 25).
Senior officials of the Public Health Ministry on Thursday take part in a merit-making ceremony at Wat Phutthapanya in Nonthaburi province for people who died from Covid-19. Photo: Arnun Chonmahatrakool / Bangkok Post
According to one Siriraj doctor, up to 50% of all new cases in January could be of the new COVID-19 variant, reports the Bangkok Post.
A cluster was linked to cases among staff and customers of a pub and restaurant in the northeastern province of Kalasin, which an infected married couple visited on Dec 12.
After a total of 19 musicians, waiters, waitresses and guests visiting the pub and restaurant were confirmed to have the Omicron variant on Christmas Eve, another 45 patrons were on Saturday diagnosed with COVID-19 and awaiting the result that would reveal the strain, said Aphichai Limanon, chief provincial public health officer.
In total, 61 new COVID-19 infections were recorded in Kalasin on Saturday.
So far, 64 COVID-19 infections in Kalasin are confirmed to have arisen through contact with the couple who returned from Belgium on Dec 10 and later tested positive for Omicron after the first negative RT-PCR test upon their arrival, he said.
This infection situation has prompted the province’s disease control committee to begin discussing what other places that may need to be shut down.
The pub and restaurant, seen as the epicentre of the cluster, has already been shut, he said. It is unclear how many other places could be affected by a closure order.
The husband and wife, who were admitted to a private hospital in neighbouring Khon Kaen for treatment on Dec 18 are being closely monitored by doctors in an isolated ward, said Khon Kaen Governor Somsak Jangtrakul.
About 100 people who shared a bus journey with the pair from Kalasin to Khon Kaen all tested negative in the first round of COVID-19 testing using rapid antigen test kits, he said.
An infectious diseases expert, meanwhile, said the Omicron variant may soon dominate new COVID-19 infections in Thailand.
Up to 50% of new cases could be caused by the new highly transmissible variant by mid-January, said Dr Nitipat Jiarakul, chief of Siriraj Hospital’s Division of Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis Department.
By February, the number of daily new infections is projected to surge to between 10,000 and 20,000, said Dr Nitipat.
The number of severe cases, however, may be as low as 2%, as opposed to the average rate of 5% in patients infected with the previous variants in Thailand, he said.
“So, it is unlikely to overwhelm the country’s healthcare system as the previous variants did in past waves of COVID-19,” he said.
Exact numbers would depend on how well the country deals with preventing the spread of COVID-19 during the coming New Year festival.
In Prachuap Khiri Khan, three British tourists also tested positive, with a fourth member of the group still waiting for the result of a test to confirm if he has the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, said local authorities.
Eight COVID-19 infected tourists in Krabi are also waiting for second-test confirmation, said Dr Chaiway Thongmai, chief provincial public health officer, on Saturday.
These infected tourists were among 1,616 tourists from Finland, Norway and Singapore who arrived in Krabi on direct flights between Nov 1 and Wednesday, he said.
Meanwhile, Revenue Department Director-General Ekniti Nitithanprapas on Saturday said he was suffering a low fever and coughing as a result of an COVID-19 infection.
Source: The Phuket News