#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40012225

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Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday declined to commit on whether Omicron cases have peaked in the country, but assured the ministry will be able to take care of patients with severe symptoms.

The Public Health Ministry on Friday reported 15,242 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 over a 24-hour period.

Anutin said he could not say categorically that the wave had peaked because more new cases could arise due to the behaviour of people.

“We are not locking down the country or enforcing many restrictions. We are only prohibiting the reopening of pubs and bars and telling the owners to convert them to restaurants, because if pubs and bars are opened, it’s clear many more people will be infected,” Anutin said.

He said the Thai public health system could still handle the Covid situation. Although there were many new cases, the number of fatalities and patients with severe symptoms needing ventilation and hospital beds had not increased, the minister added.

He said the rise in the number of new cases was expected because the Omicron strain spreads quickly, but its symptoms are not severe and many people have already received either base vaccines or booster doses, so they would not develop severe symptoms.

He said future measures would depend on the situation based on the number of fatalities and severe symptoms.

The minister added that over 90 per cent of those who had died of Covid-19 belonged to risk groups and had not been vaccinated. He said in many cases, the patients died due their own co-morbidities, not due to the virus, but the World Health Organization required them to be listed as Covid-19 fatalities.

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said although the number of new cases had risen sharply in Bangkok, the ministry would have enough beds for patients in severe condition, categorised as yellow and red levels.

He said the ministry would continue to deploy health volunteers to find elderly people in the provinces, who had not yet been vaccinated, to get their first dose as soon as possible.

He said the ministry would also deploy health volunteers to check and help people get their third jabs as soon as possible.

Published : February 11, 2022

By : THE NATION