Chula virologist says discipline keeping Thais safe as global contagion rages

However, the general rate of global infections is falling and will continue to decline if controls are maintained, he said.
The greatest concern now is over a possible resurgence of the disease in the developing world –
especially South America, Africa and India – where there will be a huge number of unreported cases, he added.
In New York City, serology studies show a 20 percent rate of Covid-19 infection, indicating that only one in 10 patients report an infection, Dr Yong explained. Like many other places, especially in Europe, the number of reported cases will be much lower than actual infections because most patients stay at home until their symptoms get so bad they have to be admitted to hospital. So many Covid-19 infections are never diagnosed.
Thailand has been fortunate since most infected people have received good treatment in hospital rather than suffering at home, he said.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Thailand is far lower than in Western countries, he added.
In the United States, up to 6 percent of Covid-19 cases have died. The coronavirus death toll in the US has now surpassed the number of Americans killed during the Vietnam war.
Thailand’s current mortality rate, at 1.8 percent, is much lower than in Western countries because of strong public cooperation with official health directives, said Yong.
Turning to the economic impact of the virus, he said the important thing now was to achieve a balance that ensured every Thai had sufficient resources to thrive. Thailand is rich in food, which should be shared with patients who had no family or other support beyond the public health system, he said.
Dr Yong predicted it would take another year before medicines and a vaccine to eradicate Covid-19 were available, allowing us all to return to normal life.