The Public Health Ministry plans to effectively control COVID-19 and declare it an endemic disease on July 1.
Announcing the plan by the ministry’s National Communicable Diseases Committee, Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit, permanent secretary for public health, said that the ministry would cap new daily caseloads in March and April and gradually reduce the numbers from May to end-June.
By the end of June, new daily cases should drop to 1,000-2,000 and the fatality rate must fall to about one in 1,000 cases. At present the fatality rate is at 0.19% in Thailand and 1.3% worldwide, he said.
Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the Department of Health Service Support, said that from March 16 yellow and red-coded COVID-19 patients would be covered by the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients and thus could seek complete treatment at their local hospitals.
Green-coded patients would receive treatment according to their health welfare programs including welfare by the National Health Security Office, the Social Security Office, the government sector and health insurance firms, he said. (TNA)
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