Forty-two migrant workers in Songkhla have been infected with Covid-19, among new infections reported by the government on Saturday.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) yesterday reported one death and 53 new infections, bringing the total to 2,907 infections and 51 dead.
The 53 new cases were the most reported in a single day since April 9.
Forty-two of them were migrants who had been detained at the immigration centre in Songkhla for illegal entry, said Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA.
They were from Myanmar (34), Vietnam (3), Malaysia (2), Yemen (1), Cambodia (1) and India (1). The infections were discovered during active case finding, Dr Taweesilp said.
Dr Taweesilp said people in Songkhla need not worry about the risk since the group in question had been detained and was being closely monitored.
Another four new cases involved people who had been in contact with existing patients (3) and a person who went to a crowded place, Dr Taweesilp said.
The remaining seven cases were discovered by active case finding in Yala province.
The death was a 48-year-old Thai man who had been in contact with a previously reported case, he said.
Of the 2,907 total cases in 68 provinces, 2,547 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. A total of 309 are being treated at hospitals, the doctor said.
A jump in new cases in Singapore and the addition of five countries -- Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar -- to the dangerous zone list have led to a more proactive approach, which includes active case finding, Dr Taweesilp said.
Up until now, the list consisted of four countries -- South Korea, China (including Macau and Hong Kong), Italy and Iran.
Singapore has seen skyrocketing growth in infections, with more than 6,000 new cases in the past week, almost all of them were among migrant labourers living in crowded dormitories that health authorities had all but overlooked earlier.
The city-state registered 618 new infections on Saturday, taking the total number to 12,693.
Diplomatic and economic experts are calling on all countries in the region to step up screening of migrant workers in the future to prevent the transmission of diseases like Covid-19.
By province, Bangkok led with 1,459 cases, followed by Phuket (202) and Nonthaburi (152).
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday the Public Health Ministry will ask Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, who heads the CCSA, to continue barring foreigners from entering Thailand.
Mr Anutin said Thailand has managed to reduce and slow the spread of the infection, though imported cases could derail the current disease control measures.
