Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) WHO Thailand Situation Report 222 – 9 February 2022 [EN/TH]

Situation Analysis

• The average number of new community-acquired COVID-19 cases reported per day increased by 30% in the past 7 days compared to the previous week. Although average case numbers have increased more in the past week than previous weeks, it is still the case that the steep rise in cases seen in other countries due to the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant has not been seen in Thailand. However, the total number of cases reported today (13,182) is the highest since 23 September 2021.

• Bangkok continues to report the highest daily number of COVID cases. The average number of new COVID-19 cases reported per day for Bangkok in the past week (1,725) is 27% higher than the week prior. In addition, the number of cases reported today (2,772) is the highest number since 20 September 2021

• The average daily number of all currently ‘active’ COVID-19 cases (90,892) over the last seven days increased by 9% compared to the previous week. The number reported today (98,830) is the highest since 01 November 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 20 daily deaths were reported in the past week, compared to 19 for the previous week (15).

• The average daily number of severe COVID-19 cases over the past seven days (530) represents a 2% decrease over the average number reported for the previous week (542). The average daily number of ventilated COVID-19 cases over the past seven days (106) represents a 1% increase over the average number reported for the previous week (105).

• Although COVID-19 case numbers are slowly increasing, this is not currently resulting in an increase in the number of severe and ventilated cases in hospitals, which may reflect the lower levels of illness believed to be associated with omicron infection

• 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 very likely to be significantly reducing 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 and in some important risk groups.