BANGKOK, Dec 26 – Two Lampang men died of exposure due to the cold wave covering the northern province of Lampang, the Ministry of Public Health’s Bureau of Epidemiology reported Monday.
Director Passakorn Akrasewi said that the two cold-related deaths were identified as a man, aged 52, with emphysema and a man, aged 53, who had drunk alcohol and died of apparent exposure to cold spell.
As temperatures in some areas in upper Thailand are dipping to 3-5 degrees Celsius and some were declared disaster zones due to the sudden cold, the director advised people to keep themselves warm, particularly those with chronic diseases, asthma, high blood pressure, and diabetes in order to avoid pneumonia, not to over-exercise, to eat hot and cooked food as well as not to drink alcoholic beverages.
However, the flu-related patient toll has risen slightly, while the number of patients contracting Influenza Type A (H1N1) has decreased.
According to the Meteorological Department, an intense high pressure area still blankets upper Thailand, causing cooler weather. The westerly trough will move over the upper North and these will cause light rain and 2-4 degree temperature drops.
