Asia Today: Thailand reports 250 new coronavirus cases
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has reported 250 new cases of the coronavirus, including 241 local transmissions, as the country grapples with an intensifying outbreak of the virus.
After months of seeming to have the COVID-19 situation under control, Thailand has seen two major clusters developing since mid-December. One has mainly infected hundreds of migrant workers from Myanmar at a seafood market near Bangkok, while in recent days a cluster has grown connected to a gambling den in an eastern province.
Bangkok has been designated a zone 2 area, meaning that more than 10 new cases have been confirmed there, and the the number is likely to increase.
Banglamung district in Chonburi province, southeast of Bangkok, has closed nonessential shops, while restaurants are allowed to serve only takeaway. The province also has shut schools and ordered 24-hour convenience stores to close between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Earlier this week, officials in Bangkok announced new restrictions, including the closure of some entertainment facilities during the New Year’s holiday.
Thailand has confirmed a total of 6,690 cases, including 61 deaths.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
—- A Chinese company says its coronavirus vaccine was found to be 79.3% effective at preventing infection in the final round of testing, in the first official announcement from a Chinese vaccine company of Stage 3 data. The Beijing Institute of Biological Products, a subsidiary of state-owned Sinopharm, has produced a two-dose vaccine that can be stored in normal refrigerators. Its effectiveness is below Moderna’s vaccine, which is more than 94% effective, and Pfizer’s, which is 95% effective. Scientists had cautioned that COVID-19 vaccines might only be about as effective as flu vaccines, which...
