Thailand recorded the highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases with new clusters emerging in Bangkok’s prisons, complicating the fight to quell the worst outbreak to hit the nation that’s triggered curbs on businesses and travel.
The Covid task force reported 4,887 new cases in the past 24 hours, with nearly 60% of them coming from two jails in the capital. Cumulative cases rose to 93,794, while 32 new fatalities took the total death toll to 518, official data showed Thursday.
The prison clusters pose fresh challenges to Thai authorities trying to curb the third wave of infections that started from Bangkok’s night entertainment venues and spread to the city’s crowded slums. The worsening outbreak has weighed on investor sentiment with the benchmark Thai stock index and the baht heading for a third straight day of losses.
