The daily COVID-19 death toll reached a year high today (Sunday) with 108, breaking the 100 mark for the first time this year, with 25,139 new confirmed infections recorded in the past 24 hours.

According to the Disease Control Department, there are currently 1,993 cases of lung infection undergoing treatment in hospitals and, of these, 848 are on ventilators. 250,973 others are being treated in hospital and at other facilities.

Head of Siriraj Hospital Faculty of Medicine, at Mahidol University Professor Dr. Prasit Watanapa predicts that, after the Songkran long holidays, the daily infection rate could surge to between 50,000-100,000 cases.

He expressed hope, however, that the death toll would not exceed more than 200 a day, otherwise the existing treatment facilities will not be able to cope with severe cases.

The daily death toll so far this month (April) is:

92 cases on April 1st

96 on April 2nd

97 on April 3rd

97 on April 4th

91 on April 5th

94 on April 6th

91 on April 7th

89 on April 8th

98 on April 9th

108 on April 10th

Although Songkran celebrations are yet to start, people have been leaving Bangkok and other cities for their home provinces or to tourist destinations since Friday evening.

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Dr. Nitipat Jiarakul, director of the Thoracic Society of Thailand, noted that, in the past two days, the number of severe cases has jumped to over 2,000.

He said that this trend will persist for a while, before it stabilises and starts to decline.

He also expressed concern over the increase in severe cases among children under 5, who are not vaccinated, as he urged all medical facilities to be prepared to cope with this problem.

Unlike adult patients, he said infected children need special equipment and personnel to take care of them, adding, however, that the best way to protect the children is to prevent them from getting infected in the first place, especially by family members and their elders.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service