63 Omicron cases confirmed in Thailand, 20+ tests outstanding
As many as 63 Omicron cases have been confirmed in Thailand with another 20 or so awaiting confirmation, the Department of Medical Sciences director-general Suphakit Sirilak told the press on Monday.
Of the 63 cases, 52 were confirmed in the week of December 11-19 alone, he said.
The number of Omicron patients in Thailand has risen from less than 1 per cent early this month to 3.26 per cent of Covid-19 cases, Suphakit said. He added that a fourth of the foreign arrivals in Thailand have tested positive for the variant.
Omicron, which was discovered last month in South Africa, has spread to 89 countries so far and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the variant has three sub-lineages (BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3).
Suphakit also pointed out that the Omicron variant can spread 8.45 times faster than the Delta variant. However, he said, that though the number of Omicron patients is high, there is still not enough conclusive information about the severity of infection and deaths.
The WHO has said that the efficacy of the first two jabs of a Covid-19 vaccine is low against the variant, though a booster shot improves immunity. Hence, Suphakit said, people should start receiving their boosters.
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He added that Thai researchers will conduct studies to see what vaccine combination can prevent infection or at least prevent severe symptoms from Omicron.
