The Phuket Communicable Disease Committee today (Apr 3) announced 13 more confirmed cases of people infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus. The new cases reported today bring the total number of people in Phuket officially recognised as infected with the disease since the outbreak began to 100.
According to the report released this morning, health officials have checked 1,328,187 people at the airport and a further 38,424 checked at “other ports” since the outbreak began.
In short, a further 1,168 people have been checked at the airport while an official number of zero people have been checked at the Phuket Check Point in the previous 24 hours.
So far 1,322 people have been put under observation for possible infection of the virus, said the report.
Of those, 1,117 “Persons Under Investigation” (PUI) had been checked and cleared, 100 have been confirmed as infected and 105 are waiting for test results to confirm whether they have COVID-19.
A total of 190 people have had or are still receiving hospital treatment, said the report.
The report also noted that 15 people who had been confirmed as infected in Phuket since the outbreak began had recovered and been discharged from hospital care.
The committee gave limited details of the 13 new cases announced today as follows:
Case 88. A Hungarian man, 25, who had been traveling with friends since November. He had a history of visiting entertainment areas on Bangla Rd frequently and having close contact with foreign tourists. He became ill on Mar 26. Thirty five people had high risk exposure to this patient.
Case 89. A German man, 62, a tourist who had been staying in Phuket many months. He had a history of visiting entertainment areas on Bangla Rd and had close contact with a Thai man who was confirmed as infected in Bangkok. The German man was not exhibiting any signs of infection. No persons had had high risk exposure to this patient.
Case 90. A Thai woman, 24, a receptionist at a hotel in Patong. She worked at the same hotel as Case 69 (see here), and had contact with foreign tourists. She became ill on Mar 25. Ten people had high risk exposure to this patient.
Case 91. A Thai woman, 56, an accountant at a hotel in Nai Harn. She had a history of contact with foreign tourists and a history of contact with Case 63 – a 69-year-old Australian hotel manager who spent most of his time in Khao Lak. Forty people had high risk exposure to the man (see here). The woman became ill on Mar 14. Twelve people had high risk exposure to her.
Case 92. A Thai woman, 63, who worked at a restaurant business on the Patong beachfront. She had a history of contact with foreign tourists. She became ill on Mar 24. eight people had high risk exposure to this patient.
Case 93. A Thai woman, 46, a masseuse in Patong. She had a history of of visiting entertainment areas on Bangla Rd and working closely with foreign tourists. She also had a history of contact with Case 52 (see here). She became ill on Mar 18. Five people had high risk exposure to this patient.
Case 94. A Thai man, 54, a welder who had a history of contact with foreign customers. He became ill on Mar 18. Six people had high risk exposure to this patient.
Cases 95-97. Masseurs in Patong who were in close contact with Case 81 (see here). No other details given.
Cases 98-100. Three persons who had contact with the 57-year-old man from Narathiwat who collapsed and died on a southbound special express train on Monday night (Mar 20).
All three had traveled to Pakistan with the now deceased man, named by Thai media as Anant Sahor, 57, of Narathiwat, and returned to Thailand on Mar 29.
State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Deputy Governor Voravuth Mala said Anant boarded a train from Bangkok to Hat Yai. He boarded the car No 4 at Bang Sue railway station en route to Sungai Kolok.
Anant developed a cough and vomited during the journey. His condition had apparently improved by the time the train reached Hua Hin railway station, and a team of screening officials from Hua Hin municipality checked his body temperature, which was measured at 36ºC. Officials advised Anant to take a rest at Hua Hin station, but he insisted on continuing his journey.
At about 10:15pm, train staff found Anant collapsed in front of a toilet. When the train reached Thap Sakae railway station in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, a local rescue team boarded the train and took Anant to Thap Sakae Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight.
Anant suffered from diabetes, but his fluid was sent for COVID-19 tests, which came back positive Wednesday (Apr 1). (See story here.)