COVID-19: Thailand implements 'seal and bubble' strategy to curb transmission in factories

Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Natapanu Nopakun said for factories providing on-site accommodation for their workers, the "seal method" would be used to prevent the workers from leaving the factory compound.

For workers staying outside the factory compound, the "bubble method" would be used to allow officials to regulate the workers' movements between their dormitories and workplace to prevent them from wandering off to other locations.

"The 'seal and bubble' strategy is expected to bring local transmission under control within 28 days," he said at a daily COVID-19 briefing here today.

Besides that, Natapanu said Public Health officials would scale up active case detection in Samut Sakhon.

To date, he said, more than 140,000 workers at 845 factories in Samut Sakhon had undergone COVID-19 tests.

Samut Sakhon, a province south of Bangkok, has recorded 18,897 cases and 19 fatalities since it was hit by the pandemic in mid-December .

Over the last 24 hours, Thailand recorded 490 new COVID-19 cases and zero deaths, bringing the cumulative figures in the kingdom to 23,134 cases and 79 fatalities.

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) assistant spokesman Dr Panprapa Yongtrakul said 412 of the new cases were confirmed through active case detection, with 410 in Samut Sakhon and one case each in Samut Songkhram and Samut Prakan.

She said 67 new cases were from those seeking treatment at hospitals and another 11 cases were imported, including one illegal entry.

"After the fresh wave of COVID-19 in Thailand since mid-December last year, 14 provinces are still free from COVID-19 while 47 provinces have not reported new cases for at least seven days," she said.