More infections found in Bangkok slums
Eighty residents of slums in Dusit district have tested positive for Covid-19, as Bangkok battles cluster infections in its poorest neighbourhoods.
The 80 cases are residents of three slums located in Dusit’s Mahanak intersection area, said Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin on Tuesday.
The worst-affected community is the Wat Yuan-Klong Lampak neighbourhood with 73 cases.
Another five cases were found at the community behind the Baan Manangkhasila royal mansion, while two people tested positive in the Paet Riu rail line community.
The slums reported their first Covid case on April 9, but the outbreak has spread quickly since April 21 in the wake of the Songkran holiday.
Ten cases were found last Thursday and seven more on Friday, indicating a new source was driving the outbreak.
Authorities have launched proactive testing for the 856 people who live in the worst-hit community, Wat Yuan-Klong Lampak.
Officials say the outbreak in Dusit is linked to three previous clusters – at Ratchada Pub and a pub near Rama II in Bangkok, and at a floating resort in Kanchanaburi during the Songkran festival.
Bangkok is also battling an outbreak of hundreds of cases in the Klong Toei slums, to the southeast of Dusit district.
