NONTHABURI, April 13 (TNA) — Active case finding detects patients of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) soon after their infection and leads to quick quarantine and effective disease control, said Dr Sopon Iamsirithavorn, director of the Bureau of General Communicable Diseases.
Active case finding was impressively applied in Phuket province as it targeted the areas where people worked closely with crowds and tourists and COVID-19 infections had been reported, he said.
The approach found 9% of local people in targeted areas contracted the disease. Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients detected with other case finding approaches formed only 3.9% of ill people with unclear symptoms and only 1.1% of general people, Dr Sopon said.
Active case finding identified newly infected people who were quarantined immediately in the way that reduced transmission risks. Consequently, Phuket showed effective disease control and the declining number of new COVID-19 cases although it had been among top five provinces with high infection rates.
Dr Sopon said the country recorded 2,551 COVID-19 cases. Of them, 1,295 remained at hospitals and 1,218 recovered and were discharged from hospitals. Only 51% of all cases were at hospitals and the death rate was only 1%. Thailand was in the world’s top group of the recovery rate, he said.
Those at hospitals had mild symptoms while those who were discharged fully recovered and many of them had the immunity which could help others, he said.
According to Dr Sopon, Thailand received the A2, B1 and B1.4 strains of COVID-19 from China, Europe and the United States and the first 25 cases were returnees from Wuhan, China.
He warned that the traditional activity of splashing water in the Songkran festival could spread the disease if people shouted at one another and did not wear a face mask. (TNA)
