Confirmed Omicron cases in Thailand have increased to 739, including 488 cases among arrivals from abroad and 251 locally-acquired cases, according to Dr. Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Medical Services Department.
He said that all the cases have been confirmed through whole genome sequencing tests, adding that full details about Omicron infections will be given at a press conference scheduled for this afternoon.
Meanwhile, Dr. Prasert Kitsuwanrat, provincial health chief of the northern province of Lampang, announced today (Wednesday) that the first Omicron case in the province was detected in a Thai woman who recently arrived from Switzerland, where she worked as a house cleaner.
The woman, who lives in Ban Kiew sub-district, was inoculated with two doses of Pfizer vaccine, on July 28th and August 20th. She tested negative by RT-PCR prior to her departure from Switzerland for Thailand on December 23rd. She wore face mask while on board the plane, but temporarily removed it when eating.
The woman arrived at Suvarnabhumi international airport at 6am on December 24th and immediately checked into an “alternative quarantine” hotel. A further RT-PCR test was administered on the day of her arrival, which produced negative result.
According to the COVID-19 Information Centre today, 2,575 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, including 40 cases among inmates in prisons and 116 among foreign arrivals.
The death toll today is 17 and 2,695 have recovered and returned home. 33,502 people are still being treated in hospitals.
