Thailand to test thousands for Covid-19 after outbreak at shrimp market near Bangkok
- Four cases were reported on Friday and that number had jumped to 689 by Sunday
- Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said up to 40,000 people would be tested in Samut Sakhon and nearby provinces
Thailand on Sunday began testing tens of thousands of people for coronavirus and extended curbs on movement, a day after locking down a province following the country’s worst outbreak yet.
The outbreak began at a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, a province southwest of Bangkok and a centre of the seafood industry that is home to thousands of migrant workers.
Four cases were reported there on Friday and that number had jumped to 689 by Sunday, the public health ministry said. Thailand had previously kept the epidemic in check, recording little more than 5,000 Covid-19 cases.
“Today is just the first stage,” Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the ministry’s permanent secretary, told a news conference. “Further results will show a lot more infections.”
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Thailand testing more than 10,000 for Covid-19 after record daily spike of coronavirus cases
He said up to 40,000 people would be tested in Samut Sakhon and nearby provinces, with more than 10,000 tests to be conducted by Wednesday.
Migrant workers, mostly from Myanmar, lined up for testing on Sunday, along with some Thais. Most cases identified so far have been asymptomatic, health officials said.
