Thailand reported 35 fatalities from Covid-19 Tuesday, its highest daily death toll since the pandemic began, according to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The country’s total Covid-19 death toll now stands at 649.
Thailand has also reported 2,473 new Covid-19 infections Tuesday, including 680 cases from prisons and detention facilities.
Growing clusters in the country’s overcrowded jails have been driving a surge in infections. On Monday, prisoners accounted for more than 70% of the 9,635 new cases reported, a record daily increase in infections.
Despite being the first to report a Covid-19 case outside of China in January last year, Thailand managed to keep its infection numbers low in 2020 thanks to successful containment measures.
Now, the country is struggling to curb a third wave of infections, which started from a nightlife cluster in the capital, Bangkok. Before the ongoing outbreak, Thailand had reported 28,863 cases by March 31. By Tuesday, that number has shot up more than four times to 127,184.
