The Latest: Thailand passes 1M cases as latest surge drops

Published Friday, Aug. 20, 2021 | 1:06 a.m.

Updated 21 hours, 53 minutes ago

BANGKOK — Thailand passed 1 million total coronavirus infections Friday as its latest surge dropped below 20,000 daily cases for the first time in 10 days.

Over 97% of the cases counted since the pandemic began have been since April.

The outbreak connected to Bangkok entertainment venues and travel during the traditional new year in mid-April grew more serious when the delta variant was detected in crowded construction worker camps and spread into markets, communities, and families.

The government closed public places and imposed other restrictions last month, but infections and deaths remained high.

On Friday, however, the Disease Control Department’s daily statistics report showed the average number of COVID-19 tests has fallen over the past seven days.

Thailand reported 19,851 new cases on…