Neighbouring nations no more considered dangerous communicable disease zones
The National Communicable Disease Committee (NCDC) agreed on Tuesday to cancel the Public Health Ministry’s announcement which stipulates areas outside Thailand as dangerous communicable disease zones due to the Covid-19 situation.
The danger zones under the announcement covers neighbouring Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia and Cambodia as well as other nations that have reported Covid-19 outbreaks.
“The committee approved cancellation of the announcement to facilitate international travel in line with the current situation now that many restrictions on foreign arrivals have been lifted,” Department of Disease Control director-general Dr Opas Kankawinpong said on Tuesday.
“Furthermore, statistics have shown that since June 1, the date from which Thai nationals returning home are not required to register via Thailand Pass, the number of imported Covid-19 cases has been extremely low, with zero cases reported on some days.”
In a meeting on Tuesday, the NCDC also announced monkeypox as Thailand’s 56th communicable disease that requires surveillance. Symptoms to look out for include fever, headache, swollen lymph node, sore throat and blisters on the head, body, genitals, around the anus, palm and soles.
So far, there has been no confirmed case of monkeypox in Thailand.
Opas said the meeting also acknowledged the current Covid-19 situation in the country, with the reopening of schools on May 17 having no significant impact on the number of new cases and deaths, as well as the number of patients with severe symptoms.
“However, the reopening of entertainment venues such as pubs, bars, karaoke joints and massage parlours since June 1 still requires more time for evaluation of the situation, despite there being no reports of an unusual situation so far,” Opas said.
“The committee will reevaluate the situation again in 2-3 weeks.”
When asked about the move to change the status of Covid-19 from a dangerous communicable disease to one that requires surveillance, Opas said the NCDC has yet to consider this, as many aspects still need to be taken into account, including the current infection rate, available hospital beds and public awareness of the situation here and abroad.
On Wednesday morning, Thailand recorded 2,688 Covid-19 cases and 21 deaths in the past 24 hours, with no imported cases. Precisely 4,130 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospital. Cumulative cases in the country since January 1 are at 2,250,432.