The number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients in the country stood unchanged at 35 and 17 of them fully recovered as health authorities expanded control measures.

Dr. Sopon Iamsirithaworn, director of the Bureau of General Communicable Diseases, reported the figures and said that the rest 18 patients included two critically ill people who did not have a fever but still required a close watch.

Since early last month, there have been 957 patients under investigation and 857 of them were already discharged. Most of them had a fever.

In response to foreign critics who doubted the stable number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Thailand, Dr. Sopon said Thai health authorities were straightforward in its reports related to the coronavirus and Thailand was the first nation that informed the world of the first patient outside China. The early warning resulted in early control measures that justified the capped number of local patients.

Another reason was that Thailand rarely received Chinese visitors because China banned the outbound trips of its citizens, he said.

Dr. Sopon also said that surveillance measures expanded to fever patients in Bangkok, Chon Buri, Samut Prakan, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai provinces.

Thais and Chinese people formed 45% each of COVID-19 patients and suspected patients in the country while people of other nationalities accounted for the rest 10%, he said.

Source: TNA