THAILAND. Bangkok. A 37-year-old male inmate was tested positive for COVID-19 on 2 Sept, according to the Ministry of Public Health’s press conference.
The case marks the first infection within the country as Thailand has not found any local transmission for over 100 days. The only new cases found in the past months were imported from foreign countries in quarantine facilities, however, the man has no travel record outside of Thailand.
Read also Medical Professional Survives COVID-19 And Warns Fellow Health Workers
According to the timeline released, the man was a new inmate who was imprisoned on 26 Aug on drug-related charges. He worked as a DJ at places on Khaosan Road, Phra Ram 3, and Phra Ram 5 before the imprisonment. His symptoms, including dry cough, started on 29 Aug, and he was tested through the routine testings of the prison.
He has been moved to the Department of Corrections’ Hospital after that.
Contact tracing is underway
A Corrections Department official said his case had no effect on other inmates as there were designated space for new inmates to quarantine for 14 days. 34 inmates who shared the room with him were all tested negative.
On the day he was imprisoned, 20 people — including his lawyer and prison officers — had contact with him. They will be put in quarantine.
Five members of his family are considered “high-risk contacts,” and they are now being quarantined. His workplaces will be closed for sanitization for three days. Health officers will also trace down people who had contact with him to put them in quarantine.
