Thailand Records its First Death Related to the Omicron Variant

A public Health Ministry official said on Sunday that Thailand has reported its first death from the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant.

An 86-year-old woman who was bedridden and suffered from Alzheimer’s in the southern province of Songkhla died while being infected with the Omicron variant a health ministry spokesperson said.

According to Songkhla’s provincial public health officials, the woman lives in the Hat Yai district and was infected when her grandson got back from Phuket.

According to the report, the woman was given two Pfizer shots at Na Mom Hospital in Hat Yai.

The government spokesperson also said Covid-19’s situation during the past 14 days has remained under control as the government tries to provide enough field-hospital beds for the increasing number of patients.

Officials have urged the public to get vaccinated on the advice of public health officials in order to limit the spread of covid-19.

Currently, home isolation is the main strategy for treating Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, as these patients account for about 90% of patients in the current wave of cases.

Thailand reported 8,077 new infections and nine deaths on Sunday. Taking the kingdoms covid-19 tally to more than 2.3 million cases and nearly 22,000 deaths since the pandemic started in early 2020.

About 66% of the estimated 72 million people in Thailand have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, but only about 14.9% have received booster shots.

A Bank of Thailand statement said the economy will suffer a 0.3% hit from Omicron, although it should be managed by the first half of the year.