Thailand staring at 70,000 Covid cases a day unless lockdown extended
Daily infections could reach 70,000 unless strict lockdown measures are employed in late August, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the governments Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, warned on Friday.
Taweesilp cited the Ministry of Public Health’s estimate that daily infections in late August to early September could be around 60,000 to 70,000 patients per day after the current lockdown measures end. However, if the lockdown measures were extended to September, daily infections would be at around 45,000 patients per day, which would still be high.
“If we were to maintain daily infections at the current rate of around 20,000 patients per day, strict lockdown measures must be employed for at least two months coupled with vaccinating elderly people and other target groups in wider areas,” said Taweesilp.
“This is the best-case scenario for our public health system. At this infection rate, we will still have adequate hospital beds while the mortality rate will be at a controllable level.
“Lastly, I urge everyone to stay at home as much as you can and follow disease control measures to limit the spread of the virus and make the lockdown as effective as possible,” said Taweesilp.