The number of Covid-19 cases is rising across the country as people return to work after the New Year holiday, with hospitalisations up 7% on last week, according to an epidemiologist at Chulalongkorn University.
The number of people reporting respiratory problems from Covid-19 also increased by 6.2% over the same period, the biggest jump in four months, said Assoc Prof Thira Woratanarat, specialist in preventive medicine and epidemiology at Chulalongkorn’s faculty of medicine.
Similarly, the number of Covid-19 patients who require breathing assistance increased by 13.8%, he said, The number of new cases was likely to remain around 4,243-5,893 per day this week.
People who feel unwell after the holidays should pay extra attention to their health, and be extra vigilant of Covid-19 symptoms, as a test might not return a positive result until 4-5 days after initial exposure.
During this period, Dr Thira said, anyone who has Covid-19 could pass the virus to others if they do not follow preventive measures, such as wearing a face mask in public.
As the number of Covid-19 cases was expected to continue rising for the next 4-6 weeks, the best course of action was to strictly follow public health guidelines, he said.
In Nakhon Ratchasima, Provincial health chief Suphon Tatiyananthaphon also noted a significant rise in the number of new Covid-19 cases during and after the New Year.
The province was prepared for a steady rise in the number of patients requiring treatment in hospital, Dr Suphon said.
Last week, the Centre for Medical Genomics at Ramathibodi Hospital reported that the first cases involving the JN.1 subvariant of the Omicron variant had been detected in Thailand.
The subvariant is expected to become the main variant of Covid-19 in Thailand.
