PM tells provincial administrations to be ready for Covid-19 downgrade
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed all provincial administrations to come up with operation plans once Covid-19 is downgraded to endemic status, the government spokesman said on Tuesday.
Government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said the premier issued the order after the Public Health Ministry downgraded the Covid-19 alert from Level 4 to Level 3 nationwide.
Thanakorn quoted the PM as saying that each province should have an operation plan ready once Covid-19 is declared endemic.
Meanwhile, he said, the alert level has been downgraded because the number of Covid patients requiring ventilators and Covid-related fatalities is dropping.
He added that 23 provinces have “plateaued” with the Covid situation stabilising, while 53 provinces are showing a marked drop in infections.
The PM is also encouraging members of the public and government agencies to continue practising universal prevention measures and to get as many people as possible vaccinated so the virus can be declared endemic.
The Public Health Ministry reported 6,230 new infections over 24 hours on Tuesday, four of whom had arrived from overseas. Thailand also logged 53 deaths during the period.
Currently, 1,481 Covid patients have developed lung inflammation and require ventilators, while 18.5 per cent of hospital beds are occupied.
From February 28, 2021, to May 8 this year, 134.73 million Covid vaccine doses have been administered nationwide, with 56.4 million people getting their first jab, 51.65 million their second jab, 23.8 million their third jab and 2.85 million their fourth jab.
