COVID-19 situation improves in Thailand

Bangkok – The Thai Ministry of Public Health reported on January 30 that the local COVID-19 situation is improving.

According to Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong, permanent secretary for public health, in the fourth week of this year (from January 22 - 28), there were 472 COVID-19 inpatients and 29 fatalities.

All the new deaths were vulnerable people, most of them were never vaccinated or received only one shot, Opas said.

Thai health officials are still getting ready to handle the growing number of arrivals. Workers in the service sector undergoes antigen tests weekly.

From January 8-21, 828 foreign visitors and Thai people who returned from abroad took RT-PCR tests and 33 of them (3.99%) tested positive for COVID-19.

Opas said the BA.2.75 sub-variant of the Omicron variant was the dominant strain in the country, accounting for 90% of new cases.

There have been 128 COVID-19 vaccination centres for foreign tourists in 31 localities across Thailand.

Thailand and the EU have agreed to pursue free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations in the first quarter this year, after nearly a decade of stagnation.

Thailand's industrial output further declined more than expected in December 2022, as a global slowdown hit demand for Thai exports, according to the Ministry of Industry.