Up 70 percent of COVID-19 patients in Bangkok were infected with the Delta variant which was firstly detected in India, according to a leading virus expert of Thailand.

The Delta variant is responsible for 70 percent of people in Bangkok falling sick with COVID-19. (Photo: Bangkok Post)

The findings were revealed by Dr Yong Poovorawan, Director of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University.

He said the centre has run research on more than 700 COVID-19 cases in Bangkok, which confirmed the rapid transmissibility.

The study predicts the Delta variant is set to surge, especially in the capital city.

Thailand confirmed 6,230 new COVID-19 infections and 41 deaths on July 3, raising its national tally to 277,151, including 2,182 fatalities.

Bangkok continued to log the most new cases, with 1,917 infections reported on the same day.

The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said on July 2 that the number of new cases was predicted to increase further next week.

Thailand is expected to receive an additional 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in July. As of July 2, Thailand had given at least one shot of COVID-19 vaccine to 10.3 million people or 15 percent of its population. Of which, nearly 2.9 million people fully received two shots.

Source: VNA