BANGKOK, Aug 23 (TNA) – Thailand logged 17,491 new COVID-19 cases and 242 fatalities over the past 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry reported.
The total cases rose to 1,049,295 and the death toll in the country reached 9,320.
Of the 17,491 new cases, 17,093 were among general people and 398 prison inmates. Over the past 24 hours, 22,134 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals.
Prof Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean of the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital at Mahidol University, said he saw the light at the end of the tunnel because the number of new daily cases started to drop.
Unless there is a big new cluster of COVID-19 patients in mid-September, infections should gradually fall because more people would be vaccinated and the mixed administration of different vaccines in series effectively stimulated antibodies, he said.
Meanwhile, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, spokesman for the Center for Economic Situation Administration, said that after the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration expanded the Phuket Sandbox project and allowed visitors to early travel from Phuket to nearby tourist destinations in the 7+7 program from Aug 16, the accumulated number of foreign visitors to Phuket since the sandbox initiative began rose to 22,810 and local hotel rooms were reserved in the Phuket Sandbox project for more than 400,000 nights in the third quarter of this year. (TNA)
