WITH a new coronavirus cluster emerging at two villages in Phetchabun Province’s Lom Kao district both have now been locked down with resorts on the 1,768-metre- high Phu Thap Boek mountain shut till the end of the month, Sanook.com said today (Oct. 21).
After coronavirus infection started spreading in villages number 14 and 16 in Wang Ban subdistrict with 165 getting a positive result via antigen test out of 607 tested and 158 confirmed infected via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, provincial authorities mounted large scale testing in the area on Oct. 18-19.
Of the 2,313 people tested an additional 145 people were confirmed to be infected via RT-PCR taking the total to 303. There remains 743 people to be tested with most of them being elderly, bed-ridden or not residents of this province and they too will be tested.
Phu Thap Boek is this province’s famous landmark and popular among Thais for its cold weather and beautiful landscapes although not widely known among foreign tourists. The road to the summit is very curvy and quite steep sometimes, but once up there visitors get to enjoy fresh and cold air and stunning views.
Meanwhile the Public Health Ministry said there were 9,727 Covid cases and 73 deaths today taking the cumulative confirmed total since April to 1,792,716 and from the start of the pandemic 1,821,579.
Of the new batch of cases 9,072 emerged in surveillance and healthcare systems, 558 were found through proactive search in communities, 71 fell sick in prisons and detention centres while 26 foreign arrivals were placed in state quarantine.
The additional 73 fatalities raised the death toll to 18,559.
Another 10,075 patients were cured taking total recoveries since April to 1,672,508 with 103,086 still undergoing treatment.
CAPTION:
Resorts on the scenic Phu Thap Boek mountain were shut down till the end of this month as proactive testing of residents continues. Photos: Sanook.com
