Over 1,100 overseas Thais returning home in next two days
There were seven cases of Covid-19, the big increase over a 24-hour period in weeks, the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported on Saturday (July 18).
But Thailand has gone 56 days without a domestic case.
All the new patients had returned from foreign countries and were in state quarantine.
Two had returned from the US, one from Bahrain and four from Egypt.
In Thailand, the total number of cases since the outbreak, as of Saturday, was 3,246, with 58 deaths, 3,096 recoveries, and 92 undergoing treatment in hospitals.
Thailand has dropped to 101 in the list of countries with most Covid-19 cases, while the US tops the list with 3.7 million, followed by Brazil 2 million and India 1 million.
Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, the CCSA spokesperson, also mentioned that 607 Thai nationals will return home on Saturday while 510 will return on Sunday.
Of the 607 returnees on Saturday, 171 were coming from Austria, 156 from Netherlands, 44 from Ethiopia and 236 from the US. Flights on Sunday will bring 246 from Bahrain and 264 from Australia.
As of Friday (July 17), the total number of people in state quarantine since the outbreak was 59,519, of whom 51,122 had already returned home. Total infected persons in state quarantine were 309.
The spokesperson added that sports tournaments and concerts would be held in Rayong in August to promote tourism in the province.
He also clarified that those who visit Rayong from other provinces and return will not be ordered to quarantine themselves.