THE number of COVID cases has soared anew as millions of tourists flocked to the Land of Smiles during the first half of the year.
As per official data, COVID-19 deaths have soared more than threefold over the past month.
Forty-two people died of COVID-19 in the week of May 21 and 27, while the number of patients on ventilators soared to 253 during the said period.
Moreover, the number of COVID-19 deaths increased by 320% in the last four weeks.
The Department of Medical Services is offering free COVID-19 vaccinations at many of its facilities to encourage people to roll up their sleeves and take booster shots.
Not all of these facilities however are offering bivalent vaccines, which target both the original COVID-19 strain and Omicron, the current dominant variant in the country.
The subvariants XBB.15, XBB.1.16, and XBB.1.9.1 are the three Omicron strains behind the current waves of COVID-19 cases in China and Southeast Asia.
Keeping its borders open is critical for Thailand as the country aims to achieve a revenue of 3 trillion baht by the end of 2023.
