“His fever is lower. He can sit up and eat food,” Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Sopon Mekthon said yesterday.

The Omani patient may have come to Thailand to seek treatment. Last year, another elderly Omani enjoyed a full recovery in Bangkok after he was found to have caught the often deadly viral disease.

As of yesterday, 33 of 40 people who had direct contact with the second Mers patient had registered in Thailand’s disease-control system as the country tries to prevent the spread of the disease. According to Sopon, none of these 33 people has developed any symptoms that could be associated with Mers.

Seven of them were foreigners who planned to visit Thailand for sightseeing during their holidays. Now, they want to leave the country but Thai officials have insisted that people in close contact are a high-risk group must be monitored for 14 days.