Covid-19 will not be declared endemic in Thailand on July 1

Covid will not be declared endemic on July 1st, according to a TNA Mcot article, but the Bangkok Post gives contradictory information.

Welcome to Thailand, where politicians' statements can change overnight.

Here are two articles, one from the TNA Mcot newspaper published on April 18, stating that Covid-19 would not be declared endemic on July 1 as had been announced , the other published today (April 19) by the Bangkok Post, announcing that the July 1 date was maintained.

A perfect illustration of the expression "Same same but different" used in Thailand.

Covid will not be declared endemic on July 1

The Ministry of Public Health will not declare Covid-19 an endemic disease on July 1, according to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Anutin Charnvirakul said the Health Ministry had planned to officially define Covid-19 as an endemic disease on July 1, but the change would not happen as planned given the number of new cases and deaths so far.

Therefore, the ministry will only prepare the declaration of endemic disease and make it official at the beginning when the situation is promising, he said.

Mr Anutin said he expected the number of new Covid-19 cases not to increase in the two weeks following the Songkran festival.

However, he assured that the Ministry of Public Health had already prepared medical supplies, including the antiviral drug favipiravir, to deal with a possible increase in Covid cases after the festival.

Mr. Anutin also said the government should further ease disease control measures to support economic recovery.

He admitted that mandatory RT-PCR tests for Covid-19 on visitors would eventually be revoked as proposed by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.

If the national health system can handle Covid-19 cases linked to the Songkran festival, disease control measures will then be relaxed to restore business and activities to pre-Covid levels as quickly as possible, Mr. Anutin said.

Source: TNA Mcot

The transition to endemic status is well underway

The Ministry of Public Health is sticking to its original schedule of declaring Covid-19 endemic by July 1, despite forecasts indicating an increase in the number of deaths, mainly among the elderly.

Dr. Chakkarat Pitayowonganon, director of the Department of Disease Control's (DDC) epidemiology division, said it would take two to four weeks before it would be clear whether the number of cases would exceed 100,000 per day under the worst-case scenario projected by the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

“Currently, we are seeing a decline in the number of daily infections, from around 30,000 cases (RT-PCR tests) per day before the Songkran festival to only 16,000 cases per day,” said Dr. Chakkarat.

However, the number of deaths and patients requiring ventilators has increased.

The DDC expects these numbers to increase during the first week of May.

According to the ministry, the average number of people who died from Covid-19 over the past seven days was 107 cases per day, 90% of which were elderly.

“Personally, I am not very worried about infections after the festival, as the risk group is active people who develop fewer symptoms,” said Dr. Chakkarat.

“Many have already received one or two booster doses.

But the problem is that they can transmit the disease to older people in their family.

"We are likely to see more deaths among the elderly," he added.

Dr. Chakkarat said that if there are no other possible risks, such as new variants, then Covid-19 will be declared an endemic disease on July 1.

To prepare for the outbreak, the ministry needs to convince two million people over the age of 60, who have still not been vaccinated against Covid-19, to receive their first injection, he said.

A ministry study found that the two-dose vaccine could reduce the death rate by five times, and up to 31 times if booster shots are also given to the elderly.

It also revealed that half of the population has enhanced levels of immunity against Covid-19, and that this figure is expected to reach at least 70%.

Dr. Chakkarat added that the department has received reports of small clusters of cases in many places, adding that the next round of outbreaks is expected to originate from social gathering places such as military camps, schools, and factories, rather than infections in families.

The ministry has advised working from home for the first week after the Songkran holidays.

People who have to go to the office are asked to take an ATK test before going to work and again mid-week.

Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is set to propose a plan to ease the measures to the CCSA on Friday.

Mr. Anutin also responded to a proposal by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to replace the RT-PCR test with an antigen test for international arrivals.

He said this change would happen one day, but that a study was needed first.

Mr. Anutin said the current number of infections is not much different from that of the past few months.

But infection figures need to be assessed to ensure the country is ready to declare Covid-19 an endemic disease in July as planned, he said.

“Preparation in all areas is the most important thing,” Anutin said.

"It is normal to get infected with Covid-19 due to direct contact in daily life," he added.

“If we were all vaccinated, the prospect would not be so worrying.”

Source: Bangkok Post