The government on Saturday reported three new cases of Covid-19 — an Italian living in Phuket and two Thais returning from abroad — raising the nationwide total to 3,040, and no new deaths.
The Italian man, 49, was asymtomatic and tested positive on Friday. He had a history of being in crowded places, said Dr Panprapa Yongtrakul, assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The provincial emergency response panel in Phuket said the Italian engineer had been working in Shanghai and came to stay in Talang district of the resort island in mid-March. He and his children visited a private hospital to be tested in preparation for their planned return to China. His children, aged 10 and 15, tested negative. (continued below)
Dr Panprapa said the other two cases were a 24-year-old Thai male student who had returned from Egypt on May 8 and was in a state quarantine facility in Chon Buri province. On May 9, he had a cough and diarrhoea but a Covid-19 test at the time was negative. Another test done on May 20 showed he was infected.
The third case was a 43-year-old Thai spa employee. She returned from India on May 17 and was in a state quarantine facility in Chon Buri. On May 9, she developed a fever, a cough and a headache. She also vomited and lost her sense of smell. She tested positive on May 21.
Dr Panprapa said the three new infections brought the cumulative Covid-19 cases in the country to 3,040. Six patients have recovered, bringing the total number of recovered cases to 2,916. There were no new deaths, leaving the death toll at 56. Only 68 patients are still being treated in hospitals, she said.
Bangkok has the most cases in the country at 1,532, followed by Phuket at 226.
In Phuket, 209 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital, three have died and 14 are still being treated. One of the patients died of injuries from a motorcycle accident.
Provincial health authorities said they have tested a total of 10,775 people, with 6,740 classified as patients under investigation (PUI), 188 of whom later tested positive for Covid-19. The other 4,035 were tested as part of active case finding, and 38 tested positive for the virus.