Thailand’s National Communicable Disease Committee has agreed on the conditions which must be met for COVID-19 to be categorised as endemic disease in Thailand, said Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today (Thursday).

To meet the criteria, new COVID-19 infections must not exceed 10,000 a day, the mortality rate must be less than 0.1% of the infection rate, the hospitalisation must less than 10% of the infection rate and more than 80% those at high risk of developing serious symptoms must have received at least two doses of vaccine and the general population must have developed sufficient immunity.

If such conditions are met at an appropriate time, he said the Public Health Ministry will update the public.

Anutin said that the committee also agreed to the principles and guidelines for clinics to provide vaccinations to those aged 18 or over as part of the plan to boost population immunity.

Currently, new COVID-19 cases are being diagnosed at the rate of between 7,000 and 9,000 per day. The majority are the Omicron variant, of which potency is less than that of Delta, resulting in a reduced mortality rate and fewer people needing ventilators to aid their breathing.