The PPHO report, marked as accurate as of 8pm last night, but posted online past 11:30pm, reported two new infections among Sandbox tourist arrivals.
Of note, for just the second time since Sept 3, Phuket officials marked no new deaths attributed to COVID-19, leaving the total number of deaths in Phuket attributed to COVID-19 since Apr 3 at 74. Of those, 54 deaths have occurred this month alone.
Meanwhile, the 187 new local infections bring the total number of new local infections reported on the island in the past seven days to 1,475, as follows:
- Sept 22 - 239 new cases
- Sept 23 - 228 new cases
- Sept 24 - 225 new cases
- Sept 25 - 219 new cases
- Sept 26 - 193 new cases
- Sept 27 - 184 new cases
- Sept 28 - 187 new cases
The current total of 10,733 people infected in Phuket since Apr 3 does not include 10 infected with COVID-19 in other provinces and 25 returning from other countries and testing positive.
The current Phuket tally also does not include 42 COVID patients brought back to Phuket under the “Bring Phuket people home” policy, or the 115 Phuket Sandbox arrivals who have tested positive for the virus after landing on the island since the Sandbox scheme began on July 1.
According to the PPHO COVID situation report for yesterday, 4,448 people were under medical care or supervision, an increase of 50 from the 4,398 reported the day before.
The report also marked 6,435 people in total being discharged from medical care for COVID infection since Apr 3 ‒ 139 more than the 6,296 reported yesterday.
The report recorded 47 people suspected of being infected with COVID-19 after testing positive by antigen test kits (ATK), but the total number of people reported as currently being held at ‘COVID-19 Care Centers’ across the island fell by 29, from 1,979 to 1950.
The report did not confirm how many people who tested positive by ATKs were confirmed infected by RT-PCR tests or how many people had been released from ATK detention at ‘COVID-19 Care Centers’ and allowed to go home.
The PPHO daily COVID situation report also marked that Phuket currently has in total 6,490 beds available for COVID patients ‒ a massive jump of 4,019 from the 2,471 beds reported as designated for COVID patients yesterday.
The total number of hospital beds actually occupied by COVID patients in Phuket also showed a massive jump from 2,021 to 4,020 (+1,999) ‒ with the 4,020 beds occupied representing 61.94% of the total number of hospital beds designated for COVID patients.
The number of hospital beds reported as remaining available also showed a huge change, increasing from 450 to 2,470 (+2,020) ‒ with the 2,470 beds available representing 38.06% of the total number of beds designated for COVID patients.
While the numbers of hospital beds available, occupied and designated for COVID patients jumped wildly, the report marked that of the COVID patients in care only 35 were designated as ‘Red patients’ (zero change since Sept 17 report), 376 were designated ‘Yellow’ patients (+29 from yesterday), and 257 were designated as ‘Green’ patients (-29 from yesterday).
The PPHO no longer issues an updated map showing the locations of COVID infections across the island. The most recent map was posted publicly on Sept 16. It was dated Sept 15 but marked as accurate as of 6pm on Sept 14, and was the first daily report to mark five COVID deaths on the one day.