BANGKOK (THAILAND) – Thailand plans to conduct testing of more than 10,000 people after a record daily surge in coronavirus cases to over 500. Most of these were among migrant workers were connected to a shrimp market near the capital, an official said on Sunday.
Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for Thailand’s COVID-19 taskforce, told a news conference, by Wednesday, the authorities plan to conduct 10,300 tests in the southwest province of Samut Sakhon, where the outbreak surfaced, and such nearby provinces as Samut Songkhram and Nakhon Pathom.
He said, “Active case findings will continue in several provinces, actually across the country.”
Thailand is the first country outside China to report coronavirus infections, has largely managed to keep the outbreak under bay with 4,907 cases and 60 deaths.
On Sunday, Thailand confirmed 576 new infections, including 516 migrant worker cases announced locally the day before.
Most of the migrant workers in Samut Sakhon come from Myanmar, which has had a setback because of a far worse outbreak than Thailand.