19,983 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand reported on Sunday
While the country’s Public Health Ministry is reporting an end to record daily Covid-19 cases in Thailand today, it is still too early to celebrate.
Particularly as, even though today’s number of new Covid-19 cases in Thailand stands at 19,983, so 1,855 lower than the previous day’s numbers, case numbers can climb again quickly.
Just as they have in other countries that have reported lower numbers of cases, and then seen them rise again.
Meanwhile, the total number of Covid-19 cases in Thailand since the Covid crisis began now stands at over 750,000.
Of the latest cases, 350 were in the prison population with the other 19,633 cases in the general population.
138 new deaths were reported on Sunday.
Covid-19 deaths in Thailand compared to other causes of death
With only 6,204 deaths connected to the virus since early 2020, however, Covid is still responsible for only a fraction of the total deaths in Thailand in the last 18 months.
For comparison, over 44,500 people die of the flu in Thailand every year, more than 60,300 die of coronary heart disease, almost 24,000 people die in Thailand every year due to diabetes and, of course, in 2018 (the latest WHO data) 22,543 people died in traffic accidents on Thailand’s infamously dangerous roads.
Meanwhile, the Thai government has mandated more than 40% of the entire country be in almost total lockdown for possibly the entire month of August due to Covid-19 *cases (*cases, and not severe illness or deaths).
Restrictions this economically devastating could result in the permanent closure of thousands more small businesses, and the loss of livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.
All in a country that now has the worst economy in southeast Asia, where millions of Thais are already struggling to survive economically, and which is expected to suffer a double dip recession in coming months.