Health officials have revealed that up to 38% of returning migrant workers in Champasack Province have tested positive for Covid-19, with high infection rates in Savannakhet as well.
Dr. Phonepaseuth Xayamoungkhoun led the daily announcement by the National Taskforce today, saying that Laos had conducted 1,151 tests over the last 24 hours, confirming 153 new cases of Covid-19.
No cases of community spread have been recorded today.
Of the new cases, Vientiane Capital recorded one case, Khammouane recorded 10 cases, Savannakhet recorded 93 cases, Champasack recorded 36 cases, while Salavanh saw 13 cases.
The total number of cases of Covid-19 in Laos now stands at 3,863
Dr. Phonepaseuth said that among the ten nations of ASEAN, Laos is ranked ninth for number of cases of Covid-19.
She said that while the outbreaks in Vientiane Capital and Vientiane Province appear to have ended, there have been reports of community spread in Champasack.
At the same time, migrant workers continue to return from neighboring countries (Thailand), bringing new variants including the Delta variant with them.
She said that the number of returnees testing positive for Covid-19 this month has been much higher than previous months, with 38% of returnees entering Champasack testing positive for Covid-19, and 30% of returnees entering Savannakhet testing positive.
Dr. Phonepaseuth urged returnees to return home via official channels and to enter quarantine to prevent the spread of dangerous variants in the community.
