The Public Health Ministry's Department of Medical Sciences (DMS) on Monday assured the public of its Covid-19 testing capability as the country prepares for fresh infections now that most businesses have reopened.

The director-general of the DMS, Opas Kankawinphong, on Monday outlined what the public health community was doing to prepare for a second wave of coronavirus infections even though the country has had no local cases for more than 50 days.

He said the number of laboratories, public and private, has been increased to 209 across the country, from two when the outbreak started in January, and all of them can return results within 24 hours.

He also praised Thailand's vaccine research efforts, increased local production of Covid-19 test kits, the development of new testing methods and investigation into mutations of the virus.

To expand testing capacity, the department has also collaborated with the Department of Communicable Diseases Control to roll out saliva tests which are easier, effective and less costly. Currently, the RT-PCR "swab test" is used which is 95% accurate.

Dr Opas said the country was also moving closer to finding a Covid-19 vaccine after a second round of testing on monkeys proved to be successful. Tests on humans are likely to take place in October.

In terms of testing, Mr Opas said that a total of 652,089 samples have been checked since January, with four in a 1,000 having come back positive. 

"So we are ready and we have the resources to tackle any outbreak," he said.