BANGKOK, March 2 — A 35-year-old Thai retail worker became Thailand’s first Covid-19 fatality on Saturday, the Department of Disease Control said.
Its director-general Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoen said the man had been down with dengue fever since late January and was later diagnosed with Covid-19 and transferred to Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute on Feb 5.
He was tested positive for Covid-19 on February 5 but cleared of the virus on Feb 16.
“The patient had tested negative for Covid-19 since February 16 and the infection had weakened his health condition, causing multiple organ failures and his death,” he said at a daily briefing on Covid-19 here yesterday.
The man died at the Disease Centre of Chulalongkorn Hospital at 6.25 pm on Saturday.
The National Communicable Disease Committee will further examine his cause of death.
Meanwhile, Suwanchai said a 70-year-old tuberculosis (TB) patient diagnosed with Covid-19 was reported to be in critical condition.
The man, who is a bus driver, tested positive for Covid-19 on Feb 4 and remains hospitalised at the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute.
“The doctors are closely monitoring his condition,” he said.
To date, there are 42 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 30 of them having fully recovered and been discharged from hospital while 11 are still undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, the Football Association of Thailand ordered all Thai league matches in Divisions 1 to 4 to be played at stadiums without fans from March 7 to 31 to curb the spread of Covid-19. However, all matches will be televised live.
Its spokesman Patis Supapong said the decision was made after Thailand’s Public Health Ministry declared Covid-19 as a dangerous communicable disease.
— Bernama
