Warning of COVID-19 spread during Songkran water festival in Thailand

People participate in the Songkran water festival or Thai New Year on the first day. The image was recorded on Silom Road in Bangkok on April 13 - Photo: AFP

According to the Nation (Thailand) on April 14, a reputable virologist from Chulalongkorn University warned that people with underlying medical conditions in Thailand need to prepare mentally to deal with the risk of COVID-19 infection, as a new outbreak could occur during the long Songkran water festival holiday.

Dr. Yong Poovorawan, head of the department of clinical virology at Chulalongkorn University, predicts that the number of COVID-19 cases in Thailand is likely to increase after the Songkran festival.

The prediction was based on a study his team conducted of more than 8,000 COVID-19 cases last year, which showed a spike in COVID-19 cases in Thailand after the Songkran holiday that year.

The cause is believed to be due to close contact between many people gathering in narrow spaces to splash water, along with large-scale travel of people across the country.

Dr Yong noted that COVID-19 does not spread in a cyclical manner like common respiratory diseases, such as influenza, which often flare up during the rainy season, or after the start of a new school year.

Instead, COVID-19 cases typically appear in early April and spread rapidly during the Songkran festival.

Thai scientists say that although the virus that causes COVID-19 is more contagious than the flu, it is less life-threatening, and the severity of the disease is currently comparable to that of the common flu.

Treatment is therefore mainly symptomatic, except in vulnerable cases such as pregnant women, obese people or immunocompromised people – who may require antiviral drugs and close monitoring to prevent complications.

According to Dr Yong, JN.1 Omicron remains the dominant sub-variant, accounting for 64.97% of COVID-19 cases in Thailand, followed by sub-variants XEC and LP.B.1.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/canh-bao-lay-lan-covid-19-dip-tet-songkran-te-nuoc-tai-thai-lan-20250414222241818.htm