Two-month-old baby is youngest Covid death in Thailand
BANGKOK: Both Thailand and Malaysia reported record daily Covid-19 deaths yesterday with 35 and 47 respectively.
Thailand also reported its youngest coronavirus victim, a two-month-old baby with a heart condition.
The country yesterday announced 2,473 cases, taking the total to 113,555.
Bangkok, the epicentre of the outbreak, recorded 876 new infections on Monday, the highest among the provinces. The authorities have yet to start a mass immunisation drive, although there are 1.52 million recipients of the first dose of a vaccine, mostly front-line workers or members of high-risk groups.
A mass vaccination drive is expected next month, as Thailand aims to inoculate 70 per cent of adults among its more than 66 million population.
Malaysia's 47 deaths yesterday surpassed the previous day's 45 deaths.
The country's death toll is now 1,994.
Malaysia recorded 4,865 cases yesterday, taking the country's cumulative total to 479,421 infections.
With the rising number of virus cases and deaths, the Health Ministry is urging people to impose a "self-movement control" by limiting their daily travel as much as possible.
Health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry is highly concerned about the spread of variants of concern (VOC) within the community.
"The ministry is expecting the number of daily Covid-19 cases to surge, like what is happening in other countries.
"This is because VOCs are linked with higher infectivity and fatality rates.
"The ministry is urging the public to enforce a 'self-movement control', especially during the movement control order period, in order to break the chain of Covid-19 infection in the country," he said. - REUTERS, THE STAR
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