Tak province has emerged as a new Covid-19 hotspot, with 52 cases found from proactive testing, as 126 cases — 116 local and 10 imported — were added nationwide on Saturday.
The new cases brought the national tally to 24,405 cases, with no new deaths.
Of the new 116 local cases, 79 were found through active case finding in five provinces — Tak (52), Samut Sakhon (24), Pathum Thani (1), Phetchaburi (1) and Samut Songkhram (1), according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
The remaining 37 cases were detected at hospitals in Bangkok (7), Samut Sakhon (29) and Phetchaburi (1).
Of the 52 new cases found through active case finding in Tak, 21 — one Thai and 20 Myanmar nationals — were screened and hospitalised. The rest were being investigated.
Samut Sakhon, an epicentre of the Covid-19 wave that began in mid-December, logged 24 cases — seven Thais, 19 Myanmar nationals and one Cambodian. The cases were being investigated.
The number of cases in Samut Sakhon has dropped sharply since the Public Health Ministry adopted the "seal and bubble" strategy at large factories on Feb 6, with the aim of bringing local transmission in the eastern proivince under control in 28 days.
For factories providing on-site accommodation for their workers, the "seal method" is being used to prevent them from leaving the factory compound.
For workers staying outside the factory compound, the "bubble method" was used to allow officials to regulate the workers’ movements between their dormitories and workplace to prevent them from wandering off to other locations.
At the same time, active case finding was scaled up at other factories and public places in the province.
Pathum Thani, Phetchaburi and Samut Songkhram provinces reported one new case each on Saturday. All three cases were Thais, said the CCSA.
The 10 imported cases were quarantined arrivals from Turkey (2), Germany (1), the United States (3), the United Arab Emirates (2), Malaysia (1), and India (1). By nationality, they were five Thais, two Americans, two Australians, and one Indian.
Of the 24,405 people diagnosed with Covid-19, 21,180 (86.8%) have recovered, including 970 discharged from hospitals over the past 24 hours, and 3,145 remain hospitalised. The death toll remains at 80, said the CCSA.
Global Covid-19 cases rose by 423,172 over the previous 24 hours to 108. 72 million. The worldwide death toll soared by 12,353 to 2.39 million.
The US had the most cases at 28.10 million, up 100,288, followed by India with 10.89 up 12,137. Thailand ranked 114th.
