Nakhon Ratchasima locks down entire village after Covid-positive woman hosts party to celebrate being freed from prison
Nakhon Ratchasima province on Wednesday prohibited all travel to and from Ban Pong Khok village in Serngsang district’s Nonsomboon subdistrict until July 20 after the district chief reported that three persons in a family tested positive for Covid-19, leading to fears of a new cluster with 36 people from 22 households being classified as high risk.
“The village has a total 68 households. We estimate there are at least 36 people who came into close contact with the patients during the past week, and another 160 who are in the low-risk group,” Serngsang district chief Sanit Srithawee said.
Sanit also said a preliminary investigation revealed that the infections stemmed from a woman who had just been freed from prison and returned to her house in Ban Pong Khok on June 23. She had been staying there without notifying the province’s public health office.
“After driving her home, her son, who resides in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Muang district, was tested on June 27 and found he was infected,” Sanit said.
“He alerted his mother to get tested and found that she and another person living in the house also tested positive.”
The woman reportedly said she had hosted a party among neighbours to celebrate being released from prison. They also helped her harvest tapioca at her plantation, resulting in at least 36 persons from 22 households being classified as high risk and other 160 being low risk.
The province’s public health office has ordered them to self-quarantine and monitor their symptoms closely.
Since the start of the new wave on April 1, Serngsang district has reported 42 cases. Of these, 12 persons have been cured and discharged while 30 are being treated at Serngsang hospital, which has a total capacity of only 30 beds. The district is planning to add 12 more beds in the next two weeks to prepare for additional infections caused by the new cluster.
