The government is thinking of tightening anti-Covid measures on Valentine's Day and around Songkran after a rapid increase in new infections.
The government is worried about the rise in daily case numbers over the past several days. The country registered 15,242 new coronavirus cases and 23 more Covid-19 deaths during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry said on Friday.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will chair a CCSA meeting today to consider tougher measures to curb the spread of the virus on Valentine's Day and during the Songkran holiday period, a source said.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is also handing out 2 million free condoms in a campaign for safe sex ahead of Valentine's Day, with sexually transmitted infections on the rise among the young.
Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he will provide an update on the Covid-19 situation at the CCSA's meeting on Friday.
The meeting will revise measures to deal with the increasing number of daily infections, he said.
Despite the steep increase in new cases, the number of fatalities and people with severe symptoms remains low, Mr Anutin said.
"People who have been fully vaccinated and still test positive are mostly asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, as predicted by medical experts," he said. "However, they are still required to follow precautions strictly and get their booster shot as quickly as possible. It may take about a month and a half before case numbers go down. We have to try to co-exist with Covid."
