COVID-19: Thailand Remains Free of Mu Variant

BANGKOK, Sept 8 (Bernama) -- Thailand remains free of the new variant of interest called “Mu” as the highly contagious Delta variant remains the dominant strain in the kingdom. Director-General of Medical Sciences Department Dr Supakit Sirilak said the Delta variant, first identified in India, has spread to all provinces in the kingdom. Data showed the Delta variant making up 97.6 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Bangkok and 84.8 per cent of cases in other provinces, he added. He said there has also been no detection of C.1.2 variant, which appears to be responsible for at least 3 per cent of COVID-19 cases in South Africa, in the kingdom. "The two variants (Mu and C.1.2 variant) have no confirmed evidence of their ability for faster transmission or to reduce the vaccines' efficiency. So please do not panic and we will closely monitor the situation," he said, as quoted by Bangkok Post. Meanwhile, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will vaccinate young Thais in the 12-18 age group with underlying health conditions, starting from Sept 21. Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said students at 437 schools under the BMA’s jurisdiction will receive Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Navamindradhiraj University in the Dusit district. Over the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 13,821 new COVID-19 cases and 241 deaths, bringing the cumulative cases in the kingdom to 1,308,343 -- with 13,283 fatalities to date. -- BERNAMA