The Ministry of Public Health has voiced concern that more COVID-19 patients may require ventilators after the Songkran holidays.
According to Dr Sumanee Wacharasint, director of the Department of Disease Control’s (DDC) Risk Communication and Health Behavioral Development Bureau, 1,862 COVID-19 patients have been suffering from lung inflammation as of Tuesday, 781 of whom are on ventilators. She added that this number is steadily rising and is likely to see a spike after the Thai New Year holidays.
The bureau director also expressed concern over COVID fatalities, which have started exceeding 80 per day over the last seven days. Many of these deaths involve elderly patients or those with underlying health problems.
Dr Sumanee has urged people, particularly the elderly and at-risk groups, to get their booster vaccinations in order to prevent severe symptoms and death, pointing out that only 37.2 percent of the elderly and at-risk groups have received their boosters.
The director also emphasized the importance of vaccinations to parents with children aged 5-11, noting that many kids in this age group have not been vaccinated and are therefore vulnerable to severe COVID symptoms. Recent reports indicated that 27 children under the age of five have succumbed to the Omicron variant during the latest outbreak.
The Ministry of Public Health will meanwhile collaborate with the Ministry of Interior to launch a door-to-door vaccination campaign for senior citizens and at-risk groups ahead of the Songkran holidays to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19. (NNT)
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