Omicron surges above 70% of all new cases in Thailand
Surging Omicron infections accounted for over 70 per cent of all new Covid-19 cases in Thailand last week, health officials said on Monday.
Random DNA sequencing found the Omicron variant was responsible for 70.3 per cent of cases reported from January 2-8, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). Delta accounted for just 29.7 per cent of cases in the same period. The CCSA said the surge in new-variant cases was not unexpected.
A total of 5,397 Omicron cases have been recorded in Thailand, with infections found in all but five provinces.
Overall, Omicron now accounts for 35.17 per cent of Covid-19 infections in Thailand, but Delta remains the dominant variant at 76.71 per cent. However, that situation is expected to reverse soon in line with Omicron’s global dominance.
A total of 7,926 new Covid-19 cases were logged on Monday, including 412 among foreign visitors in pilot-tourism provinces. Meanwhile, 3,612 Covid patients were discharged, leaving 58,159 cases still in hospital with 495 suffering lung infection and 115 on ventilators.
Thailand also saw 13 deaths from Covid in the 24 hours up to Monday, the victims all elderly or suffering from chronic conditions.
