COVID-19 Cases Surge in Thailand, but Severity Now Comparable to Flu

COVID-19 cases in Thailand have surged in recent months after remaining relatively low for much of the year. However, a senior virologist from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine, Prof Dr Yong Poovorawan, stated that the severity of COVID-19 is now comparable to influenza, no longer posing the same threat as during the pandemic's peak. According to Prof Dr Yong, the seasonal pattern of COVID-19 this year has differed noticeably from previous years. Since the pandemic began, COVID-19 in Thailand has generally started spreading after the Songkran holiday, continued through the rainy season, and gradually declined from around August. This year, however, infections remained low during the first part of the year before increasing over the past two months. Thailand is currently near the peak of this year's COVID-19 wave, Prof Dr Yong said, adding that he expects infections to begin declining in October when schools close for the term. He noted that the seasonal pattern of COVID-19 is increasingly resembling that of influenza. Influenza also spread early in the year during the winter season before rising again over the past two months, slightly later than usual. Consequently, the two respiratory diseases are now showing similar seasonal patterns. However, influenza has infected about three times as many people this year. Despite the difference in case numbers, Prof Dr Yong said the fatality rates of the two diseases are now broadly comparable. Thailand's Department of Disease Control reported 99,691 COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths between January 1 and August 31, with the case fatality rate falling to about 0.02 percent. For influenza, approximately 350,000 cases resulted in about 50 deaths during the same period. These figures indicate that COVID-19 is no longer more severe than influenza, he said. Health authorities continue to advise people at higher risk of severe illness to take precautions, particularly in crowded or poorly ventilated places. The latest figures suggest that COVID-19 has increasingly settled into a seasonal respiratory illness pattern in Thailand, with its health impact now closer to that of influenza than during the height of the pandemic. Source: Pattaya Mail