Thailand aims to declare COVID-19 endemic by year's end
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry plans to declare COVID-19 an endemic disease by the end of 2022, using its own criteria and with or without World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmation.
COVID-19 vaccination in Bangkok, Thailand (Source: Xinhua/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Public HealthMinistry plans to declare COVID-19 an endemic disease by the end of 2022, usingits own criteria and with or without World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmation.
Local media reported that health permanent secretary Kiattiphum Wongrajit announcedthe intention after a meeting of the ministry's National Communicable DiseaseCommittee on January 27.
Kiattiphum said the committee plans the declaration before theend of the year on its own academically acceptable criteria, which are no morethan 10,000 new cases a day, the fatality rate not exceeding 0.1 percent andmore than 80 percent of at-risk people receiving two doses of vaccine.
He informed that the Public Health Ministry is of the view thatCOVID-19 has spread for over two years, and trends show that the disease is undercontrol and is now not too severe.
According to him, local officials will take action to speedup the process towards the announcement, rather than waiting for the disease tonaturally become endemic by itself, or for the WHO to declare it an endemicdisease. After the declaration, the Thai government would treat patientsaccording to their individual needs and may require everyone or only patientsto wear face masks.
On the morning of January 27, Thailand confirmed 8,078 newcases and 22 deaths over the past 24 hours, raising the total caseload and deathtoll to 2,407,022 and 22,098, respectively./.
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COVID-19 vaccination in Bangkok, Thailand (Source: Xinhua/VNA) 
