Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported on 21 June that the Beta strain of COVID-19, first identified in South Africa, is now sweeping through the South, after initially being found in a cluster at an Islamic school on 9 June.
CCSA assistant spokeswoman Dr Apisamai Srirangsan said the recent cluster in the Islamic boarding school, or madrasa, at the Margaz Tabligh preaching center in Yala’s Muang district, has already spread to 402 patients across 12 southern provinces. The school has been closed and access to and from nearby areas is being heavily restricted, as active case finding is conducted.
There were 111 positive cases reported in Narathiwat, 102 in Yala, 46 in Satun, 46 in Pattani, 36 at Songkhla, 18 in Krabi, 13 in Phatthalung, 10 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 9 in Surat Thani, 5 in Phang Nga and 3 each in Trang and Phuket.
Dr Apisamai added that the Eid al-Fitr festival in July, during which feasts are held to celebrate the end of fasting, will go ahead this year and Sheikh-ul-Islam of Thailand Asis Pitakkumpol has asked Muslims to be mindful of the COVID-19 outbreak and to follow disease control measures. (NNT)
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