Deputy chief of the Health Ministry’s Department of Disease Control Sophon Iamsirithaworn said surveillance will be carried out in high-risk groups. The ministry has identified provinces where an outbreak is possible - all are tourist destinations or are dense with migrant workers.

TCOVID-19 vaccination in Bangkok (Photo: AFP/VNA)

These eight provinces will serve as lookouts for the first signs of a possible outbreak. The ministry will also keep an eye on the variants. The information will be updated on a weekly basis because the situation is stable, he said.

Meanwhile, Yong Poovorawan, chief of the Chulalongkorn University's Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology, said COVID-19 is now a common seasonal respiratory illness.

COVID-19 is more likely to spread during the rainy season, or around June to September and it is likely to spread again but at a lower rate during January to March, he added.