DDC chief confirms three Narathiwat Covid cases had strain found in South Africa
The chief of the Department of Disease Control has confirmed that the B.1.351 variant of the Covid-19 virus first seen in South Africa were found in three patients who tested positive in Tak Bai district of Narathiwat province.
Narathiwat found 83 Covid patients, 81 of them in Tak Bai during May 4-22.
The index case of this cluster was revealed to be a Thai businessman, 32, who has a Malaysian wife. The wife had travelled from Malaysia with her child and her mother via the natural border and stayed from April 12 to May 4. All of them have travelled back to their country of origin.
The man fell ill on April 26 with stomach ache, body ache, and fever. After his family returned home on May 4, he went for a medical check-up and was admitted to a private hospital in Yala province. The positive result came out the next day.
Following the case, his village head ordered a lockdown from May 9-22 to test the community -- 698 people were classified as high-risk contacts, 83 were found to be infected of whom 67 are under treatment and 16 have been discharged. Three of the patients who have recovered were found to have been infected with the variant that emerged in South Africa
The Emergency Operation Centre is now investigating the situation.
Despite its characteristic of being resistant to vaccines, Dr Opas said the strain was still controllable.
He asked for cooperation from people to inform officials when they find outsiders or illegal border crossers.
