Thailand logs 51 new coronavirus cases, 3 deaths Monday

A police officer checks the temperature of a motorcyclist in Bangkok's Prawet district on Saturday. (Bangkok Post photo)

Thailand has recorded 51 new confirmed coronavirus cases -- including 13 health workers -- and three additional deaths on Monday, a health official said.

Total confirmed infections in the country now stand at 2,220, with the cumulative death toll at 26.

The number of confirmed new cases was exactly half the 102 reported on Sunday, and the lowest number of new cases since March 20. With limited testing, it is impossible to say how fast and how widely the novel coronavirus is actually spreading.

Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said the 24th death was a Thai man aged 28 who was an employee at a company in Bangkok. A colleague of his wife had earlier tested positive for the disease.

The man fell sick on March 27 with a fever, cough and sore throat. He first visited a private hospital in Bangkok and then moved to another hospital in Samut Prakan province.

On Saturday his fever rose to 39.2 degrees Celsius and his blood oxygen saturation plunged. He was moved to a private hospital in Bangkok and died late Saturday night.

The 25th death was a self-employed Thai man aged 51 who suffered from diabetes, hypertension and obesity. The man fell sick on March 28 and went to a private hospital in Bangkok with coughing, headache and muscle pain. He was admitted on April 1 for muscle pain and breathing difficulties.

He was diagnosed with severe pneumonia and tested positive for Covid-2 last Thursday. He died on Saturday.

The 26th death was a 59-year-old female vendor who suffered from diabetes. Dr Taweesilp said she gambled at many locations in Bangkok and fell sick on March 29.

She was admitted to a private hospital in Bangkok on April 1 with breathing difficulties, low blood oxygen and severe pneumonia. She tested positive for the disease last Thursday and died on Saturday.

“The last three deaths were of people under 60 years of age and one of them was 28 years old,” the government spokesman said.

Screenshot from http://covid19.ddc.moph.go.th/en

Dr Taweesilp warned that people should not feel comfortable with Monday's lower number of 51 new infections because many suspected new cases are being investigated could be confirmed later.

The 2,220 local cases were reported in 66 provinces. That number includes 793 people who recovered and were discharged from hospitals.

Bangkok recorded the largest number of cases, 1,051, followed by 143 in Nonthaburi, 135 in Phuket, 103 in Samut Prakan, 66 in Chon Buri, 54 in Yala, 46 in Pattani, 37 each in Chiang Mai and Songkhla, and 28 in Pathum Thani.

No Covid-19 cases were reported in the 11 provinces of Ang Thong, Bung Kan, Chai Nat, Kamphaeng Phet, Nan, Phangnga, Phichit, Ranong, Satun, Singburi and Trat.

The 51 new cases included 22 people in close contact with previous patients, 13 health workers (11 at private hospitals), three attendees of religious ceremonies, three people who worked in crowded areas or in close promixity to foreigners, one returnee, one foreign visitor and one in close contact with arrivals from overseas. Seven cases were under investigation.