On Tuesday, the government said that the COVID-19 Delta variant, first detected in India, had been spreading rapidly across Thailand, especially in Bangkok, after health officials reported 57 more coronavirus-related deaths and 5,420 new transmissions on Monday.
The Department of Medical Sciences revealed Monday that 487 cases of the Delta variant had been found in the capital from July 28 to 2.
The figure represents 52% of the infections logged during that period, where the Alpha variant was reported in 447 (47.8%) of the cases and the Beta strain in only two infections (0.2%). Outside Bangkok, the center found 1,011 cases of the Alpha variant, accounting for 77.6% of the current case toll, and 234 of the Delta variant, which is 18% of the total.
The department’s director-general, Dr. Supakit Sirilak, said that cases of the Delta variant had risen sharply while Alpha and Beta infections are declining.
Meanwhile, health authorities said that Monday’s daily figures brought the accumulative total to 2,333 coronavirus-related deaths and 294,653 new cases. The new infections included 5,383 cases among the general population and 37 in prisons.
Once again, Bangkok recorded the highest number of fatalities and new transmissions, with 33 people killed by COVID-19 and 1,492 new patients.
Taweesilp Visanuyothin, a spokesperson for the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), confirmed the warning from the Department of Medical Sciences and the Public Health Ministry, saying that the Delta variant had overshadowed other strains after dominating Bangkok.
“Other regions are following the same pattern as Bangkok,” Dr. Taweesilp stated.