Thailand Warns Of Potential COVID-19 Spike Due To 'super Spreader'

Archives - People wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 walk at a train station in Bangkok, Thailand, November 29, 2021. ANTARA/REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/as

JAKARTA - Thai health authorities warned residents to prepare for a possible spike in COVID-19 cases after the country's first cluster of Omicron variants was designated a super spreader incident.

The cluster was discovered in the northeastern province of Kalasin on Christmas Eve and was linked to a pair of men and women who had traveled home from Belgium and visited bars, concerts, and markets.

The cluster has infected hundreds of people and spread to 11 other provinces, said senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong.

He said one of the bars linked to the cluster was packed with people and not well ventilated.

"During the New Year, if you visit a place and it doesn't look safe, don't go there", Opas told a briefing.

To date, Thailand has reported 740 cases of the highly contagious Omicron variant, including in 251 people who had direct contact with the couple.

After the COVID-19 outbreak peaked in August with daily cases of more than 20,000, the number of new cases has dwindled to around 2,500 in the past week.

However, the health ministry scenario indicates that by March the daily cases could cross the 30,000 mark with more than 160 deaths if Thailand does not speed up vaccination, testing, and wider social restrictions.

If restrictions are tightened, daily cases could reach 14,000 in February and the death toll is less than 60 a day, according to that scenario.

In the first two weeks of January, government employees have been asked to work from home, COVID-19 task force spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin told a briefing. separated. On that occasion, he urged the private sector to implement the same measures.

After detecting the first local case of the Omicron variant last week, Thai authorities reinstated quarantine obligations for foreign arrivals and suspended "Test & Go", a program that exempts vaccinated travelers from quarantine rules.