COVID: Thailand records highest daily increase

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said no new fatalities were reported over the last 24 hours and the death toll remains at 97.

Of the 967 new cases, it said 964 were local transmissions including 530 seeking treatment at hospitals and 434 through active case detection.

It said there were three imported cases reported comprising one each from Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and France.

"A total of 53 patients were discharged today while another 4,314 patients are still hospitalised," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn said the nightspot cluster in Bangkok is spreading fast to other provinces in the kingdom.

"The situation in our country is worrying," he said as quoted by the Bangkok Post.

Despite a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases, local media reported that about 50,000 people from Bangkok left for home provinces on Friday ahead of next week's annual Songkran festival from April 13 to 15.

The Bangkok Post reported that about 7.3 million vehicles are expected to stream onto interprovincial roads from today until April 16.

Meanwhile, a senior virologist from Chulalongkorn University Dr Yong Poovorawan has warned the number of daily new cases could jump from 'tens to hundreds' per day after Songkran festival.

The Thai government has not issued a blanket travel restriction for Songkran holiday this year. However, some provincial authorities have set quarantine rules for people traveling from high-risk provinces such as Bangkok in a bid to halt the spread of COVID-19.