BANGKOK, 1 March 2020:
A 35-year-old Thai retail worker became Thailand’s first Covid-19 fatality yesterday, the Department of Disease Control said.
Its director-general Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen said the man had been down with dengue fever since late January and was later diagnosed with Covid-19 and transferred to Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on Feb 5.
He was tested positive for Covid-19 on Feb 5 but cleared of the virus on Feb 16.
“The patient had tested negative for Covid-19 since Feb 16 and the infection had weakened his health condition, causing multiple organ failures and his death,” he said at a daily briefing on Covid-19 here today.
The man died at the Disease Centre of Chulalongkorn Hospital at 6.25pm yesterday. The National Communicable Disease Committee will further examine his cause of death.
Suwanchai also said a 70-year-old tuberculosis (TB) patient diagnosed with Covid-19 was reported to be in critical condition.
The man, who is a bus driver, tested positive for Covid-19 on Feb 4 and remains hospitalised at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute. “The doctors are closely monitoring his condition.”
To date, there are 42 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 30 of them having fully recovered and been discharged from hospital while 11 are still undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Thailand ordered all Thai league matches in Divisions 1 to 4 to be played at stadiums without fans from March 7 to 31 to curb the spread of Covid-19. However, all matches will be televised live.
Its spokesman Patis Supapong said the decision was made after Thailand’s Public Health Ministry declared Covid-19 as a dangerous communicable disease.
Four more positive cases of Covid-19 have been reported, bringing the number in the country to 29.
In Malaysia, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the 26th case is a 52-year-old man who had visited Shanghai, China in mid-January.
He said the man came down with fever and sore throat on Feb 27 and received outpatient treatment at a private hospital on the same day.
“Covid-19 detection screening tests conducted on him turned up positive yesterday and he was admitted to the isolation ward of Sungai Buloh Hospital for treatment while the source of the infection is being investigated and tracing of close contacts is being carried out,” he said in a statement today.
Dr Noor Hisham said the 27th case is a 20-year-old trainee nurse who was on short-term attachment to a private hospital which treated case 24.
“While contact tracing activities were conducted by the District Health Office, she was identified as one of the close contacts of that case.
“On Feb 21 and 22, she handled that case without wearing any personal protective equipment (PPE) and on Feb 27 she came down with cough and was confirmed Covid-19 positive yesterday. She has been admitted to the isolation ward of the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.”
He said the 28th case is a 45-year-old man who is a colleague of case 25.
“He, case 25 and another colleague have travel history to Milan, Italy from Feb 15 to 21. When close contact tracing was done, he was found to have symptoms since Feb 26 and Covid-19 tests were confirmed positive on Feb 29.
“He has been admitted to the isolation ward of Sungai Buloh Hospital for treatment and further monitoring.”
Dr Noor Hisham said case 29 is a 35-year-old woman who was admitted to a private hospital on Feb 21.
“She shared a room with case 24, who at that time was not known to have contracted Covid-19 yet. On Feb 25, she was allowed to return home and on Feb 27 she began to feel unwell but did not seek treatment.
“She was identified as a close contact of case 24 and was confirmed Covid-19 positive and has been admitted to the isolation ward of Sungai Buloh Hospital.”
Dr Noor Hisham said 22 of the 29 Covid-19 patients in the country had recovered and been discharged while the remaining seven are still receiving treatment.
Meanwhile, a national-level meeting on the management of suspected and confirmed Covid-19 patients at private hospitals and clinics was held today.
The meeting was to update private medical practitioners on the latest situation of Covid-19 to ensure that they would be better prepared to respond to any unexpected developments, he said.
The public can get further information on COVID-19 by calling the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre infoline at 03-8881 0200 / 03-8881 0600 / 03-8881 0700 or emailing [email protected].
– Bernama