Thailand’s government confirmed on Saturday that it had discovered 28 new coronavirus infections bringing the total number of infected to 2,579.
It is the lowest total in over three weeks, with the number of infections in the country decreasing since the government introduced a nationwide social isolation policy.
There were 2 new fatalities bringing the death toll to 40.
70 more patients have recovered from the virus bringing the total number of discharged patients to 1,288.
Phuket
According to government spokesman Dr Thaweesin Visanuyothin, the number of coronavirus cases in the resort island of Phuket was worrying. The disease started with one case, found on the 26 of January, and has skyrocketed to 176 cases as of Monday.
The island has shut down its borders and imposed a 24-hour quarantine to stop the number of cases spiking further and spreading the disease.
Dr Thaweesin said that strict government measures are slowing the disease and that the measures must continue.
Global toll
It is expected that the global number of confirmed coronavirus infections will surpass 2 million cases sometime this weekend as outbreaks in the United States and Europe continue.
The United States now has the world’s largest death toll with 22,115 deaths while Spain and Italy are also both approaching the 20,000 marks in terms of fatalities.
The number of cases in South East Asia also continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace than Europe. Malaysia has the most number of confirmed cases in the region with 4,683 cases with 76 deaths.
Thailand is behind Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia in terms of the death toll and confirmed infections.