SAMUT SAKHON: Another 1,094 coronavirus infections were reported in this dark-red zone province yesterday, as the governor ordered the immediate isolation of symptomatic people who return positive antigen tests, without waiting for hospital tests.
Of the new cases, 766 were confirmed in hospitals, 326 were detected via mass testing, and two were in the prison.
The cases found in hospitals were 530 people living in Samut Sakhon (399 Thais and 131 foreign nationals) and 236 people from other provinces (213 Thais and 23 foreign nationals).
The 326 cases found by mass testing comprised 296 Thais and 30 foreign nationals. The two infections in the prison were one Thai and one foreign national, the provincial public relations office said on its Facebook page yesterday morning.
The new infections brought the provincial total to 43,703 of whom 29,240 had recovered, with 435 discharged in the previous 24 hours, the public relations office said.
A total of 14,361 were still under treatment at hospitals. Accumulated fatalities stood at 102.
Governor Veerasak Vichitsangsri said people who tested positive for Covid-19 using an antigen kit and showed symptoms would be immediately taken to community isolation centres, without waiting for results from a hospital RT-PCR test.
He had already given his instructions to local leaders and community health officials.
The province had acquired 10,000 antigen test kits and the private sector donated another 10,000 kits. The test kits would be allocated to health promotion hospitals in tambons that would conduct Covid-19 tests on people who were in at-risk groups, the governor said.
His message was posted on the public relations office Facebook page late on Monday night.
Mr Veerasak said the public could buy antigen test kits at drugstores for Covid-19 testing, but the kits must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They cost 350 baht each.
If they test positive for Covid-19 using the antigen kit, and developed symptoms, they should alert local leaders and officials, who would take them to community isolation centres, the governor said.
Meanwhile, Chon Buri, one of the 13 dark-red zone provinces, reported two more Covid-19 deaths and 884 new infections yesterday, as case numbers kept rising.
Of the new cases, 274 caught the disease from other family members and 130 from colleagues, the Chon Buri public health office said in an update posted on its Facebook page yesterday.
Fifty-five infections were from six clusters -- a workers' camp in Koh Chan district (17), two workplaces in Phanat Nikhom district (14, 3), Vandapac Co in Muang district (11), and two workplaces in Muang district (6, 4).
The new infections brought the provincial total to 21,660 cases of which 11,478 had recovered, with 411 discharged over the past 24 hours. A total of 10,080 were being treated at hospitals. The latest two deaths brought the total to 102, according to the provincial public health office.
