Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) WHO Thailand Situation Report 223 – 15 February 2022 [EN/TH]

Situation Analysis

The average number of new community acquired COVID 19 cases reported per day increased by 50% in the past 7 days compared to the previous week.

Although daily reported case numbers continue to increase, Thailand is still not seeing the steep rise seen in other countrie s d ue to the omicron COVID 19 variant. The total number of cases reported on 12 February (16,330) was the highest since 29 August 2021.

Bangkok continues to report the highest daily number of COVID cases. The average number of new COVID 19 cases reported per day f or Bangkok in the past week (2,960) is 93% higher than the week prior. In addition, the number of cases reported on 12 February (3,237) was the high est number since 13 September 2021.

The average daily number of all currently ‘active’ COVID 19 cases (117,341) over the last seven days increased by 32% compared to the previous week. The number reported today (132,738) is the highest since 12 September 2021. This number reflects the overall burden of COVID19 cases for the healthcare delivery system since even people isolating at home are being actively monitored by healthcare workers.

An average of 24 daily deaths were reported in the past week, compared to 19 for the previous week.

The average daily number of severe COVID 19 cases over the past seven days (617) represents a 17% increase over the average numb er reported for the previous week (527). The average daily number of ventilated COVID 19 cases over the past seven days (125) represents a 19% increase over the average number reported for the previous week (105).

It now appears that the rise in new COVID 19 case numbers is starting to cause an increase in the number of severe and ventilated cases in hospitals. However, the number of seriously ill COVID 19 cases remains much lower than the numbers seen at the peak in July / August 2021, and there is still significant capacity in the healthcare system to admit patients.

Although Thailand does not appear to be experiencing a big upsurge of COVID 19 cases as seen in some other countries, the widespread use of rapid antigen tests (including those available ‘over the counter) continues to make it difficult to accurately monitor the situation.

COVID 19 vaccination rates in Thailand are likely to significantly reduce levels of severe illness and deaths caused by circulating COVID 19 strains. High vaccination rates also help to reduce the transmission of COVID 19. However, vaccination rates are still low in some provinces a nd some important risk groups.