Attachments
HIGHLIGHTS
• Today, 28 February 2020, the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand announced one new case of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in Thailand to 41. This case is a 25-year-old Thai national, working as a tour guide, he recently traveled to South Korea. He is now admitted at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute. Two close contacts have been traced. Tour group members and passengers on the same flights are being traced.
• 1,011 persons are listed as Persons Under Investigation, including persons being tested for the coronavirus or being treated for respiratory symptoms. This includes persons under treatment for pneumonia who are no longer suspected of having COVID-19.
• The current definition of a Person Under Investigation (PUI) includes persons presenting with onset of fever and symptoms within 14 days of travel to Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea as well as mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taipei and environs.
• The Ministry of Public Health announced today that several Thailand health organizations have signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of a vaccine for the coronavirus (COVID-19).
• The Ministry of Public Health recommends those persons returning to Thailand from the above listed countries, and who do not have fever and symptoms, to place themselves under self-observation, at home for 14 days, avoiding public areas during this period.
• COVID-19 has been added to a list of dangerous infectious diseases giving the Government authority to respond quickly under the Communicable Diseases Act B.E 2558 (2015). Listing gives authorized government officers legal authority to test, treat, and quarantine people infected with COVID-19 if needed.
• WHO reiterates that health screening and surveillance systems in Thailand – at points of entry into the country as well as nationwide - are robust and capable of tracking suspected cases quickly, allowing health authorities to implement protocols to ensure isolation, contact tracing, testing and treatment of symptoms.