157 new Covid-19 cases and one death reported in 24 hours
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Wednesday reported one death and 157 new cases in 24 hours, eight being returnees in quarantine facilities.
Thirty-eight people contracted Covid-19 after visiting high-risk areas. Samut Sakhon leads the list with 28 cases.
Meanwhile, proactive testing led to the discovery of 106 cases, most found in Samut Sakhon – 104 – followed by two in Samut Songkhram.
The 80th death is a Samut Sakhon woman, 65, who had laryngeal cancer, hyperlipidemia and chronic kidney disease. She got infected by one of her family after five of the eight members contracted the virus. She was found to be infected when she went to a private hospital on December 29 for dialysis. Doctors spotted her shivering before dialysis and ran a test, leading to the positive result on January 1. Her condition worsened after she was transferred to a hospital in Bangkok. She had difficulty breathing and was put on a respirator. She had bleeding around her tracheostomy tube and fungus was found in her blood. She passed away on February 8 after her heart rate dropped drastically.
Of the returnees, three are Thais who returned from Malaysia, Philippines and the United States. A Kuwaiti, an Argentinian, an Indian, a Japanese, and an American who flew in from their respective nations were also found positive.
It was also reported that five Indonesian aircrew, who sought temporary stay in Thailand on January 31, were found positive on February 3-4 and taken to a private hospital in Chon Buri.
Meanwhile, 548 patients have recovered and been discharged.
As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand has risen to 23,903. Of these, 21,329 had been contracted locally, including 13,545 who were found via proactive testing, while 2,574 were returnees. So far, 18,914 have recovered and been discharged, 4,909 patients are undergoing treatment (2,593 in hospital and 2,316 in field hospitals) and the death toll has increased to 80.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 107.41 million (increasing by 383,614 in 24 hours), 79.47 million have recovered, 25.59 million are active cases (102,583 in severe condition) and 2.35 million have died (up by 13,166).
Thailand ranks 114th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 27.8 million, followed by India 10.86 million, Brazil 9.6 million, Russia 3.99 million and the United Kingdom 3.97 million.