The Department of Health Service Support (HSS) has recommended that people taking part in the Lunar New Year celebrations strictly maintain COVID-19 prevention measures, amid a surge in the number of new cases fueled by the Omicron coronavirus variant.
According to HSS Director-General Dr Thares Krussanairawiwong, Thais of Chinese descent often get together to share meals during this period.
Despite the lesser severity of the Omicron variant compared to previous variants, D Thares warned that the strain is nevertheless more infectious than the others.
Citing a recent survey from his department, the director-general said people still engaged in risky behavior ahead of the Lunar New Year festival. He noted that 61.4% of the 1,289 collected samples were from people who visited crowded markets to purchase items for religious rites, with 54.4% physically gifting pocket money, 29.5% neglecting to take an antigen test before meeting their relatives, 27.6% still having meals in large groups, and 24.2% foregoing the process of logging their activities via the Thai Chana platform.
Director-General Thares stressed the importance of maintaining the prevention measures to avoid the loss of lives. He strongly recommended switching to online shopping, using online financial services to make purchases, taking COVID tests before meeting others, refraining from physical contact and wearing a mask at all times.
He said the practice is essential in order to protect the elderly, who are more susceptible to COVID-19 and face greater risk when gatherings are common. (NNT)
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