The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand is closely guarding against the COVID-19 virus XEC variant, which spreads at a speed seven times that of regular flu.
Thai Minister of Public Health, Anutin Charnvirakul, stated that since January 1st this year, Thailand has been in the 21st week of implementing disease control measures. To date, there have been 108,891 recorded cases of the XEC variant, resulting in 27 deaths. This new strain is a descendant of Omicron, and although not particularly severe, its rapid spread poses a greater threat to high-risk groups.
He pointed out that this year's fatalities mainly occurred in the so-called "608 group" (people over 60, pregnant women, and individuals with chronic diseases), with 80% of the deaths occurring in the elderly demographic. Children are also affected by the virus. Despite the strain's relatively low mortality rate, authorities emphasize the importance of preventive measures.
The authorities recommend that the public wear masks and use self-test kits (ATK) if they experience symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, or fatigue.
Meanwhile, Dr. Teera from the Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University noted that the variant's transmission speed is nearly seven times that of the flu.
He also noted that COVID-19 cases have increased sharply for 11 consecutive weeks. If the situation persists, the number of cases reported next week will double.
Cases Double in Thailand; Over 6,000 Confirmed in Bangkok Last Week
Earlier, the Thailand Disease Control and Prevention Center reported that last week, COVID-19 cases in Thailand rose to 33,030, with over 6,000 cases reported in Bangkok.
The Disease Control and Prevention Center noted that the cases reported from May 11 to 17 were more than double those reported in the previous week (16,000 cases).
Among them, 1,918 cases resulted in hospitalizations, and there were two deaths each in Sukhothai Province and Kanchanaburi Province. Bangkok reported the highest number of cases, totaling 6,290, followed by Chonburi Province (2,573 cases), Rayong Province (1,680 cases), Nonthaburi Province (1,482 cases), and Samut Prakan Province (1,442 cases).
The majority of those infected are between the ages of 30 and 39.