Thailand’s yearly Songkran festivities are an event closely monitored by authorities not only because of its history of road accidents but also due to rising COVID cases.
1,004 people were admitted for treatment of COVID-19 infections between April 14 to 20th, according to the director of the Department of Disease Control.
Of this number, three people have died, 292 suffered from lung infections, and 101 there require ventilators due to difficulty in breathing.
Most of the cases were found in and around Bangkok and in neighboring tourist provinces.
The Department of Disease Control said the surge in COVID cases during the Songkran festival is nothing new and predictable.
The JN.1, a lineage of the Omicron variant, remains the most dominant strain in Thailand.
According to the World Health Organization, there is no evidence that this variant of interest causes more severe disease.
Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said JN.1 is either more transmissible or better at evading the immune system than other circulating variants.
The Songkran festival also recorded more than 200 deaths and 1,593 people who were injured due to road accidents from April 11 to 15.
