The number of new daily Covid-19 cases in Bangkok has surged from 400 to 700, nearly twice the number of cases reported before the Songkran festival.
The situation could worsen as some cases in the capital may not have been reported to authorities or are still being recorded, with the number of new cases potentially rising to 1,000 per day, said Wantanee Watana, deputy city clerk at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).
Dr Wantanee has advised people not to worry about the resurgence of infections since most of the new cases were found to be older sub-variants, not the new Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16, which has caused 27 cases so far. It is not a concern just yet.
Nonetheless, Dr Wantanee recommends senior citizens and those with chronic conditions receive the bivalent vaccines, such as Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca, as a booster shot or for initial vaccination. These vaccines are available for free from the BMA, and at Vajira Hospital as well as 69 other public centres across the city, she said.
In a related development, a homeless man who had tested positive for the virus was found dead on Saturday in front of a bank in the Tha Phra Chan area of Bangkok, said Pol Lt Yosita Harikul, deputy inspector at the Chana Songkhram Police Station.
Police could not identify the man, who is thought to be in his fifties, as no ID documents were found on him. A preliminary autopsy result showed pneumonia was the likely cause of his death.
The body will be sent to Vajira Hospital’s forensic department for a further examination, said Pol Lt Yosita.
