Latest Covid variant 'not a concern'

People wearing face masks walk in front of CentralWorld shopping mall on Saturday. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)
People wearing face masks walk in front of CentralWorld shopping mall on Saturday. (Photo by Apichart Jinakul)

The new Omicron subvariant CH.1.1, which has been detected in 67 countries including Thailand, can evade immunity produced by some vaccines but its rate of transmission is low, the Department of Medical Sciences said.

The department has only diagnosed around 300 patients so far, as the majority of cases at the moment, about 80%, are caused by the BN.1 subvariant of the novel coronavirus.

People travelling to China, India, Nepal and Myanmar must take an RT-PCR test before arrival. Based on 2,022 cases recorded between Jan 8 and Feb 3, the department found a decline in positive test results from 10% to 1% among Thai people, with a corresponding drop among Chinese tourists from 7% to 2%.

In the week from Jan 28 to Feb 3, 94 people — 87 Thais and seven foreigners — tested positive for Covid-19 during initial examinations.

The BA.2.75 subvariant was detected in 82 cases, followed by BA.4/BA.5 in 8 cases and others in the remaining four cases.

Meanwhile, a source from the Department of Disease Control said that the cabinet will receive 1.5 million doses of vaccines donated by South Korea and France, which are expected to arrive shortly.

The department will set up a committee to clarify which groups should receive the newer jab.

Learn from listening

Click play to listen to audio for this story, or download to save the file
: :

Vocabulary

  • clarify: to make clear - ทำให้ชัดแจ้ง
  • concern: a worry - ความกังวล
  • decline: a weakening or reduction in power - การเสื่อมอำนาจ
  • detected: noticed, discovered or found out - จับได้ พบได้
  • diagnosed (verb): having found out what physical or mental problem someone has by examining them - วินิจฉัยโรค, พบสาเหตุ
  • evade: to avoid or escape from someone or something - หลีกเลี่ยง
  • immunity: protected from a disease naturally by the body - ภูมิคุ้มกันโรค, ภูมิต้านทานโรค
  • majority: more than 50 percent of a group - เสียงส่วนใหญ่
  • patients (noun): people who are receiving medical treatment - คนป่วย, คนไข้
  • rate: the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period - อัตรา
  • source: a place where information comes from; someone who gives information - แหล่งข่าว
  • transmission: the spread of a disease from one person or animal to another - การแพร่เชื้อ
  • variant: a thing that is a slightly different form or type of something else - สิ่งที่ผันแปร, สิ่งที่แตกต่างกัน
Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT
MORE IN SECTION