Thailand's daily COVID-19 cases drop below 15,000 for 4th day

Thailand's COVID-19

BANGKOK, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Thailand logged 14,653 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, the fourth consecutive day of infections below 15,000, data from the country's Center for COVID-19 Administration (CCSA) showed.

With the new infections, the number of cumulative cases in Thailand rose to 1,249,140, of which over 97 percent recorded since April 1, when the third wave quickly spread across the country.

Bangkok recorded the highest infections at 3,428 cases, followed by neighboring Samut Prakan with 1,237 cases. The CCSA warned that the number of new infections is still high in the capital and other high-risk provinces.

Another 271 deaths were reported on Friday, taking the total fatalities to 12,374, according to the CCSA.

Thailand's Ministry of Public Health said they will closely monitor the COVID-19 situation in the country for the next couple of weeks and further ease the social distancing rules if the situation continues to improve.

Meanwhile, the popular tourist island of Phuket will open for fully vaccinated domestic travelers from Sept. 8 onwards.

As of Thursday, Thailand administered 865,074 doses of vaccines, increasing the accumulated number of vaccinations to over 34.2 million doses. Around 11.3 percent of the country's 69 million population have been fully inoculated.