Officials at the Thai Ministry of Public Health have warned the government that a new "fourth wave" of the Covid-19 pandemic could be imminent unless action was taken, a source told Thai Enquirer on Monday.
Thailand is currently in the midst of the third wave of the pandemic with over 180,000 infections and over 1,500 deaths since it began on April 1.
The government has stepped up its lagging vaccine program and imposed a partial lockdown as a response, but infection numbers remain high.
The third wave began in entertainment venues in the capital and spread throughout Bangkok. It was exacerbated by the Songkran holidays which spread the disease throughout the country.
Now officials are warning that a new fourth wave of the virus, fueled by the extra-transmissible Delta variant of the disease, could spark a new chapter in the pandemic in Thailand.
"We're seeing increased numbers of Delta-type infections in work camps and construction sites across the central region," a public health official told Thai Enquirer by phone.
"If further action is not taken, we can see a fourth wave of this disease and it will spread quickly in these unprotected sites," he said on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, casualty numbers have so far been low in the work camp because the demographics usually skew towards younger patients who were extremely healthy.
"But the Delta variant can spread quickly and if it keeps jumping from camp to camp it's only a matter of time before it hits the general population, then we will have a disaster."
Officials at the Ministry of Public Health have informed the minister and the covid administration centre that restrictions must be put in place at the camp and employers must be pressured to introduce sanitation and safety precautions.
"We are already seeing cases from the camps jump to factories causing several to shut down. This is a problem that we need to address and cooperate on immediately."
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