Bangkok is bracing for a sixth wave of Covid-19, as Covid cases in the capital hit over 10,000 new cases per day, threatening the city's public health system.
The spread of the new BA.5 Omicron subvariant has yet again put Bangkok back on high alert for another Covid-19 outbreak.
While the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says it is ready to cope with another wave of Covid, Bangkok could be faced with tens of thousands of Covid patients by the time this outbreak peaks in late August.
Since the number of new Covid infections has been steadily rising during recent weeks, especially in Bangkok where half the nationwide Covid cases are reported, Dr Yong Poovorawan of Chulalongkorn University said this is the sign of another approaching wave of Covid-19 outbreak.
"As the BA.5 subvariant has the ability to elude protection from the virus, produced after vaccinations and infections, it is by far the most infectious Covid strain, because it can infect those who are already vaccinated or previously recovered from a Covid infection," he said.
"Thailand will face a sixth wave of outbreak, in which we will see a higher infection rate than previous waves."
The BA.5 subvariant was first identified early this January in South Africa. Since then, it has spread quickly and become the main Covid variant in many countries throughout the world and has been in Thailand since April.
As Covid infections continue to rise, Dr Yong estimated tens of thousands of new infections are likely per day by the end of August.
Meanwhile, BMA figures on Covid infections in Bangkok during the past week show there are about 2,000–3,000 new Covid cases via RT-PCR test a day, while around 5,000–6,000 more cases were identified by ATK test.
However, as the BA.5 Omicron subvariant generally causes mild sickness among healthy people, a large number of infected people are not reported.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged the people to strictly follow Covid-19 prevention measures, including wearing facemasks in public areas.
