THE Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said this afternoon (Dec. 24) that the Omicron variant of coronavirus has now spread to 98 countries with there being 973,256 cases and 6,562 deaths worldwide while Thailand has logged 205 cases, TV Channel 7 said.
CCSA assistant spokeswoman Dr Apisamai Srirangsan said Omicron infection is soaring in the west with there now being 267,269 cases in the US, 119,789 in the UK, 91,608 in France and 72,912 in Spain. This virus has now spread to all the states of the US and the number of cases has doubled rapidly.
Although the situation in Asia is not as bad with the total number of Omicron cases yet to reach tens of thousands, the Public Health Ministry warned that this continent too will follow the pattern in Europe and America.
As for Thailand, Omicron cases now total 205, up from 154 on Wednesday Dec. 21. A couple who returned from Belgium on Dec. 10, both aged 47 and have received two Covid jabs while getting negative PCR test results upon entry by Test & Go, turned into superspreaders in Kalasin and Khon Kaen provinces.
Timeline of their activities is as follows:
Dec. 11, 2021: Returned to their home province Kalasin;
Dec. 12: Had a meal at a local restaurant with the family;
Dec. 13-15: Started having symptoms but despite this went to a bank and many government agencies including travelling by van to Khon Kaen province. Had contacts with lots of people putting a large number at risk of getting infected. Bought ATK test kits and got positive results;
Dec. 16: Admitted to a hospital in Kalasin;
Dec. 17: Test results confirmed they had contracted coronavirus;
Dec. 21: Retest indicates Omicron infection.
Checks so far show that 21 people have contracted the infection from this couple.
Apisamai also revealed that of the 874 samples tested during Dec. 20-23 83.8 percent was Delta strain while 16.2 percent Omicron. Meanwhile the testing of 221 international travellers showed that half were infected with Omicron, up from one in four previously.
CAPTIONS:
Top: People wait in line at a Covid-19 testing site in Times Square, New York, on Dec. 13, 2021.File photo: AP / Seth Wenig and published by Times of Israel
Home Page: People wearing face masks to protect against Covid-19 cross the Trocadero Plaza in Paris on Dec. 15, 2021.Photo: AP Photo/Michel Euler and published by Channel NewsAsia
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