BANGKOK, July 16 (TNA) – The spokesman of Thailand’s
COVID-19 taskforce has called for confidence in the public health system and
disease control measures after two cases of coronavirus-infected foreigners, an
Egyptian soldier and a daughter of Sudanese diplomat, have generated concerns
over a second wave of infection in Thailand.
The 43-year-old Egyptian soldier, who made a short visit in
Thailand last week, and the nine-year-old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat have
been tested positive for COVID-19 after they were exempted from mandatory
quarantine.
Dr. Taweesilp Wisanuyotin, spokesman of the Center for
COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), extended his apology to the Thai
people about the two incidents that caused fear of a surge of infections.
The spokesman said the CCSA now had verified the data and
timeline concerning the Egyptian soldier and the diplomat’s daughter to
determine the risk of infections. Contact tracing had been complete and
everyone at risk had been identified, he said.
Responding to the public outcry over the potential virus
exposure, Dr. Taweesilp said it would be impossible to have zero new cases
forever because high infection rate continued in many countries around the
world.
He urged Thai people to be confident in the country’s
COVID-19 prevention measures that had prevented local virus transmission for
over 50 days.
The CCSA and other government agencies have been criticized
for its leniency towards foreign officials, by compromising the public
safety. The 43-year-old Egyptian
soldier is one of 31 military crewmen who made a stopover in Thailand between
July 8 and 11. They stayed at a hotel
and visited shopping malls in violation of the conditions for Thailand entry.
Critics also lashed out at the government for allowing the
nine-year-old daughter of the Sudanese diplomat to leave the airport for their
residence in central Bangkok before her test result came out.
The CCSA spokesman also reported four new coronavirus cases
which are all Thai citizens returning from abroad.
Two of them returned from the UAE and one each from Egypt
and the US before being tested positive for the virus at state quarantine
centers, he said. (TNA)
