Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says it is ready to cope with another wave of COVID-19 pandemic as the city could face tens of thousands of patients by the time it peaks in late August.

A girl receives a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Bangkok, Thailand on July 19, 2022. (Photo:XINHUA)

Dr Yong Poovorawan, head of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, said the number of new infections has been steadily rising during recent weeks, especially in Bangkok where half the nationwide COVID-19 cases are reported, adding that this is the sign of another approaching wave of COVID-19 outbreaks.

The change of the prevalent COVID-19 strain from the BA.2 Omicron subvariant to the BA.5 subvariant is behind the recent surge, he said.

Facing the BA.5 Omicron subvariant outbreak in the capital, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said he has ordered four initial measures to cope with the surge of COVID-19 infections.

They comprise adding an extra working day for all 69 Public Health Centres under the BMA on Saturdays, opening walk-in vaccination booths at the centres every Friday and Saturday, proactive COVID-19 screening at schools, and a proactive vaccination campaign targeting vulnerable groups.

Source: VNA