Health authorities in Thailand’s Phuket province have begun mass COVID-19 testing in communities suspected to be the source of the high number of new cases.
Phuket health office chief Kusak Kukiattikun said nine Comprehensive COVID-19 response (CCR) teams were sent to search for infected people in target communities on Sunday, in a three-day active case-finding operation using rapid antigen test kits (ATKs) targeting about 25,000 people.
He said that, as a result, the number of new cases of COVID-19 on the resort island surged to well over 200 per day during the operation. This has caused alarm bells to ring among officials, who fear a worsening of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mr. Kusak said the number of new infections has continued to rise since July due to the delta variant. Among them were migrant workers, so a mass screening program is needed before more patients fill up hospital beds and seriously affect the “Phuket Sandbox” tourism scheme. (NNT)
 |
 |
 |
