Thailand: over 10,000 to be tested after new COVID-19 outbreak

Migrant workers from Myanmar stand behind razor wire blocking the entrance to the Central Shrimp Market linked to an outbreak of Covid-19, in Muang district of Samut SakhonDecember 20 (Photo: bangkokpost.com)

Bangkok – Thai authorities announced on December 20 that the country will begin to test tens of thousands of people for coronavirus and extend curbs on movement, after a record daily surge in coronavirus cases to over 500.

Taweesin Wisanuyothin, spokesman for the Thai government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration said by December 23, the country aim to conduct 10,300 tests in the southwest province of Samut Sakhon, where the outbreak appeared, and nearby provinces such as Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Pathom.

Active case findings will continue in several provinces, actually across the country, he noted.

Thailand, the first country outside China to report coronavirus infections, has largely kept the outbreak under control with 4,907 cases and 60 deaths as of December 17.

However, the country confirmed 576 new infections on December 19-20, including 516 migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province.

Previously, on December 17, the Thai Government announced one case of community infection - a woman vendor at the Central Shrimp Market in Samut Sakhon. According to epidemiological information, the woman has not left Thailand and the source of infection has not been determined.

Thai Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul said that the outbreak may have originated from illegal migrant workers from the Myanmar border into Samut Sakhon, which is a fishing hub with tens of thousands of migrant workers from countries in the region.

The Cambodian government on December 20 asked local authorities to strengthen safety measures along the border after neighbouring Thailand reported more than 500 COVID-19 cases in its Samut Sakhon, which is located about 300 km away from Cambodia's border.

Health Minister Mam Bunheng said in a statement that the authorities along Cambodia's provincial border with Thailand must be on high alert and must check health for all incoming travelers thoroughly, screening their body's temperatures and requiring them to fill in health declaration forms.

All travelers entering Cambodia must undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine, and their samples must be taken on the same day they enter Cambodia, he added.

Cambodia has reported no new cases of COVID-19 infections in the last five days. According to its Ministry of Health, the country has recorded a total of 362 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date, with no deaths and 345 recoveries.

Meanwhile, the Philippines announced 1,754 new cases of COVID-19 and 36 deaths on December 20, raising the total cases to 459,789 and fatalities to 8,947.