NONTHABURI, Dec 20 (TNA) – Seven hajj pilgrims tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID-19 after returning from Saudi Arabia and they have been admitted to a treatment system.
Preeda Chueaphudee, advisor to the country’s Muslim spiritual leader Chularatchamontri, said the Omicron cases were among the 31 Thai pilgrims who had left for Saudi Arabia on Dec 1 for a 15-day-long pilgrimage. They then had a fever and possibly contracted the disease during the activity that gathered hundreds of thousands of pilgrims worldwide, he said.
They returned at Suvarnabhumi airport on Dec 15 and 14 of them tested positive for COVID-19. All the infected people had received three shots of COVID-19 vaccines. Besides, there were six high-risk people who were in close contact with the infected pilgrims, Mr. Preeda said.
Dr. Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, said that officials continued to conduct proactive tests to identify Omicron cases. There would be a press conference on the Omicron situation in the country at 11am on Dec 20. New COVID-19 fatalities still resulted from the Delta variant, he said. (TNA)
