Thailand reports 13,897 new COVID-19 cases, 188 more deaths

Bangkok [Thailand], September 16 (ANI/Xinhua): Thailand on Thursday reported 13,897 new COVID-19 cases and 188 additional fatalities, according to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Since the outbreak of the pandemic early last year, Thailand has recorded 1,434,237 COVID-19 cases and 14,953 cumulative deaths.
Out of the new cases reported on Thursday, 5,261 were found in Bangkok and its five neighboring provinces.
The target date of Bangkok's reopening for inoculated tourists, which was earlier set on Oct. 1, will be postponed to Oct. 15, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said on Wednesday.
The minister said that this delay is attributed to the insufficient number of fully vaccinated population in Bangkok, as a large number of the city's residents are still waiting for their second jabs.
At present, around 37 per cent of the capital's residents are fully vaccinated, while another 33 per cent are in their interval between their first and second shots, official data showed.
A total of 42.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country between Feb. 28 to Sept. 16.
Roughly 20 per cent of Thailand's 69 million population have been fully vaccinated so far. (ANI/Xinhua)