BANGKOK – Thailand logged two more cases of the South African variant of COVID-19.
During a discussion on COVID-19 mutation, Assist Prof Dr Opass Putcharoen, chief of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital’s Center of Emerging Infectious Diseases, said two more Thai returnees were confirmed with the South African variant of COVID-19, raising the total of cases with the variant to three.
The new cases were being included in the government’s database on COVID-19 cases, he said while calling for serious measures to control the variant in the country.
“We must closely monitor the development of the virus. If mutation considerably grows, it can affect responses to vaccines,” Assist Prof Dr Opass said.
He suggested human-to-human transmission be reduced, COVID-19 be contained in communities and the government issue relevant measures to cope pending adequate COVID-19 vaccination.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul wrote on his Facebook page that the first 200,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses for Thailand would leave their plant on Feb 20 and Thai Airways International would deliver them from Beijing to Thailand on Feb 24. (TNA)
