New COVID-19 infections logged in Laos, Thailand, Philippines

Hanoi (VNA) – Laos, Thailand and the Philippines recorded new cases of COVID-19 on April 22, with the highest number of infections posted in the Philippines, at 8,767.

Laos logged six new cases, raising its total tally to 94, according to the Lao Ministry of Health on April 22.

Of the new cases, four were detected in Vientiane and one each in Savannakhet and Bokeo province. All patients except for the one in Savannakhet had complicated travel history and interacted with many people.

The same day, Thailand confirmed 1,470 new COVID-19 cases and seven fatalities. All the new cases were local infections reported in 66 provinces, with the capital Bangkok leading the case increase with 446 new cases, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin.

To date, the country's total caseload and death toll have reached 48,113 and 117, respectively.

The new wave of COVID-19 hitting Thailand, which reportedly originated from entertainment venues in Bangkok early this month, has spread to more than 70 provinces of the country and infected more than 10,000 people, some of them with the fast-spreading COVID-19 variant first detected in Britain.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines surged to 971,049 after the nation’s Department of Health reported 8,767 new cases on April 22. The department said that 105 more patients died from the coronavirus epidemic, bringing the death toll to 16,370.

Metro Manila, home to nearly 14 million people, is still the epicenter of the outbreak, accounting for most of the active and new cases reported in the Philippines./.