BA.2 strain behind Thailand’s infection surge: ‘isolate asap if you test positive’
The Omicron BA.2 subvariant is driving the surge of new Covid-19 infections in Thailand, top virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan said on Sunday.
He said Covid-19 cases had risen by 10 times in each of Thailand’s previous four waves, adding that this fifth Omicron wave could bring 100,000 cases per day.
"It will take time for Covid-19 cases in Asia to hit the peak before falling," said Dr Yong, noting that infection rates in Europe and the US were already declining.
He said Thailand’s Covid-19 caseload is now rising by over 25,000 per day if you count results from both antigen (ATK) tests and RT-PCR tests, while the death rate would be about 1 in every 1,000 cases.
"With Covid-19 cases continuing to rise, everyone must do everything they can to prevent the disease from spreading," he said, writing on Facebook.
He advised people who tested positive via ATK tests to isolate themselves immediately, adding that getting an RT-PCR test comes with expenses. The government would have to spend 100 million baht to conduct RT-PCR tests on 100,000 people, he explained.
He reiterated that most Omicron patients develop only mild symptoms, but vulnerable groups needed to verify infection and receive treatment quickly.
