The Department of Disease Control warns of rising Covid-19 cases—nearly 50,000 last week—and expects the outbreak to continue for 2–3 months. Flu cases are steady with 300,000+ infections and 33 deaths. The Nation

The Department of Disease Control warns of rising Covid-19 cases—nearly 50,000 last week—and expects the outbreak to continue for 2–3 months. Flu cases are steady with 300,000+ infections and 33 deaths.

Dr Jurai Wongsawat, an expert physician and spokesperson for the Department of Disease Control, provided an update on the current situation of Covid-19 and influenza outbreaks. As of May 21, 2025, Covid-19 cases are still on the rise. Over the past week (May 11–17), there were 49,065 new cases reported, while from May 18 to the present, 12,524 new cases have been recorded.

Meanwhile, the influenza situation remains steady. New cases for the week of May 11–17 totalled 6,837, and for this week so far, about 1,447 cases have been reported. The number of new flu cases is notably lower than Covid-19, as there was already a significant flu outbreak before the Songkran festival. Since then, the trend has stabilised but remains at around 6,000 to 8,000 cases per week.

Covid-19 and Influenza Fatality Rates

"Although Covid-19 cases are increasing, the mortality rate this year has not been as high as during the initial outbreak. The current death rate stands at 0.02%, down from 0.14% earlier, and slightly higher than the flu's fatality rate of 0.01%. This may be because antiviral treatments and vaccines are available for influenza," Jurai explained.