Thailand Reports First Death Due To Omicron Variant

JAKARTA - Thailand reported its first death from the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus, health officials said on Sunday.

The death happened to an 86-year-old woman in Songkhla province.

"The woman is an Alzheimer's patient who can only lie in bed," health ministry spokesman Rungrueng Kitphati told Reuters.

Deaths from Omicron in Thailand were predictable when the country had recorded more than 10,000 cases of Omicron, he said.

Kitphati added that Thailand does not need further COVID-19 containment measures.

Thailand detected its first case of Omicron last month prompting the government to reimpose mandatory quarantine for foreign visitors.

As of Sunday, there were 8,077 new cases and nine deaths reported. Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Thailand has recorded 2.3 million cases and nearly 22,000 deaths from COVID-19.

About 66 percent of the country's roughly 72 million people have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and about 14.9 percent have been vaccinated with a booster dose.