Health officials in Thailand have confirmed the country's first local cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in the U.K., raising the possibility of a new wave of the pandemicBANGKOK -- Thailand has confirmed its first local cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in the U.K., raising the likelihood that it is facing a new wave of the pandemic, a senior doctor said Wednesday. Speaking at a Health Ministry news conference, Yong described the variant as 1.7 times more contagious than the original coronavirus, still more common in Thailand. The variant was found in Thailand for the first time in January in four members of a family arriving from Britain who had been quarantined. The government’s Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration announced Wednesday that it had confirmed 334 new coronavirus cases, bringing Thailand’s total to 29,905 including 95 deaths. Most of the new cases originated in the Bangkok entertainment venue cluster, with related cases showing up in the north, south and northeast of the country.

Source: ABC News April 07, 2021 13:52 UTC