The number of Omicron infections reached 934 as of Wednesday, most of which were new arrivals from abroad, the Ministry of Public Health said on Thursday.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said that between Nov 1 when the country reopened and Wednesday, Thailand logged a total of 934 Omicron cases. Of them, 577 or 62% were arrivals from abroad and 357 or 38% were local transmissions. On Wednesday alone, Omicron cases surged to 194. Eighty-eight of them were arrivals from overseas and 106 were local transmissions, he said.
Dr Supakit said the number of local transmissions now tends to be higher than infections detected among arrivals from abroad as international travel to Thailand begins to slow down.
He said those who received two vaccine shots and are still infected with Covid-19 will not experience severe symptoms and they will have natural immunity after recovering from the virus. Immunity can occur naturally after recovering from Covid-19 or from getting the Covid-19 vaccination.
However, he said those who were infected with other strains of Covid-19 and recovered can still be infected with the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
"Still, getting fully vaccinated will prevent the worst effects of Covid-19. That's why we are encouraging everyone to get the jabs. We confirm that two vaccine shots can stimulate immunity better than immunity which occurs after infections," Dr Supakit said.
Dr Chawetsan Namwat, director of the Emergency Health Hazard and Disease Control Division under the Department of Disease Control, on Thursday came up with a prediction for Covid-19 cases in the first quarter of next year.
He said new cases may soar to 30,000 a day unless people follow precautions strictly. The public has been urged to comply with Covid-19 containment measures and avoid risks. This should bring the situation under control and flatten any rising curve of infections, Dr Chawetsan said.
From Dec 1-29, Thailand logged 270,851 arrivals from abroad. Of them, 227,604 entered the country under the Test & Go scheme and 730 were infected with Covid-19. Some 37,340 arrived under the Sandbox scheme, with 121 infections detected. Some 5,907 arrivals underwent quarantine, with 205 infections found, he said.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha instructed the Public Health Ministry to assess the situation 15 days after New Year. If new cases are high, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration may discuss further containment measures.
Thailand logged 3,037 new coronavirus cases and 25 more Covid-related fatalities during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry said on Thursday.
