7 Thai Workers Simultaneously Infected with Alpha and Delta Variants

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Seven cases of simultaneous infection with the Alpha variant from the UK and the Delta variant from India have been confirmed in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

According to local media on the 13th, the Thai Ministry of Public Health announced that seven workers at a large construction site in downtown Bangkok were simultaneously infected with two variant viruses.

At the construction site, 1,327 out of 1,737 workers tested positive for COVID-19. Among them, 23.3% were infected with the Alpha variant, and 73.7% with the Delta variant.

The patients simultaneously infected with the two variant viruses are currently in good health and reportedly show no concerning symptoms.

Supakit Sirilak, Director of the Medical Department at the Ministry of Public Health, explained, "Being simultaneously infected with variant viruses does not mean the symptoms are more severe than being infected with just one." However, he expressed concern that "if cases of infection with multiple variant viruses increase, it could lead to mixed or new variants."

Director Supakit noted that in Thailand, the Delta variant is in the process of replacing the Alpha variant as the dominant strain. The Delta variant currently accounts for 24.1% of all confirmed cases in Thailand. In the capital, Bangkok, it accounts for 57.1%, already becoming the dominant strain.

This is not the first case of infection with two variant viruses. In Belgium, a 90-year-old woman was reported to have died in March after being simultaneously infected with the Alpha and Beta variants from South Africa.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.