More than a thousand people who came into close contact with an inmate infected by Covid-19 have been tested and more than half of them have already come back negative, says the Department of Disease Control (DDC).
The DDC said yesterday that 1,004 people identified as at-risk had been given the standard swab test -- 570 of them were negative while results for the rest are still pending.
The 37-year-old inmate, who was jailed on Aug 26 for a drug offence, was the country's first locally transmitted case for more than 100 days. His infection was confirmed on Sept 3, as he was being quarantined in prison.
He worked as a DJ at two branches of the Sam Wan Song Khuen pub, one in Bangkok and the other in Nonthaburi. He had visited the Bangkok venue on Aug 18, just before he was jailed.
The DDC says six members of his family were in the at-risk group, had already completed their 14-day quarantine and then again tested negative for the virus. All eight inmates who shared the ride to Bangkok Remand Prison had also tested negative and completed their quarantine.
However, the DDC said that health officials had recently identified another person at high risk and contacted him to be tested as soon as possible. The person was granted bail after coming into close contact with the infected man at the Central Special Correctional Institution.
The DDC allayed concerns about the possible spread of the virus at a school following reports that the infected man dropped off his child there on Aug 25. The DDC says the man wore a face mask when he went out and did not enter the school premises, so no one there was considered being at risk.
Meanwhile, Danucha Pichayanan, deputy head of the National Economic and Social Development Council, said a new master plan in line with the Covid-19 pandemic would be submitted to the cabinet next week for consideration.
If the master plan is passed, it will be implemented from 2021-2022.