Thailand Reports First Death from Omicron COVID Variant

A health worker takes swab samples from a student for a rapid antigen test, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at a school, in Bangkok, Thailand, January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
A health worker takes swab samples from a student for a rapid antigen test, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at a school, in Bangkok, Thailand, January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
TT
20

Thailand Reports First Death from Omicron COVID Variant

A health worker takes swab samples from a student for a rapid antigen test, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at a school, in Bangkok, Thailand, January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
A health worker takes swab samples from a student for a rapid antigen test, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak at a school, in Bangkok, Thailand, January 13, 2022. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Thailand has reported its first death from the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant, a health official said on Sunday.

The death, a 86-year-old woman from the southern province of Songkhla, came after Thailand detected its first Omicron case last month that led to the reinstatement of its mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for foreign visitors.

"The woman is a bed-ridden, Alzheimer patient," health ministry spokesman Rungrueng Kitphati told Reuters.

Such a death was expected as the country has so far reported over 10,000 Omicron cases, he said, adding that Thailand would not need further containment measures.

Thailand reported 8,077 new infections and nine deaths on Sunday, taking the tally to more than 2.3 million cases and nearly 22,000 deaths since the pandemic started in 2020.

About 66% of an estimated 72 million living in the country have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccines, but about 14.9% have received booster shots.

On Jan. 11, the central bank said Southeast Asia's second-largest economy would take a 0.3% hit from Omicron, although it should be managed by the first half of the year.



Türkiye Says 5 Soldiers Killed by Methane Gas during Cave Search in Northern Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
TT
20

Türkiye Says 5 Soldiers Killed by Methane Gas during Cave Search in Northern Iraq

A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier walks next to a Turkish military vehicle (File photo/Reuters)

Five Turkish soldiers have died after exposure to methane gas on Sunday while searching a cave in northern Iraq for the remains of a fellow soldier killed by Kurdish militants in 2022, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

Soldiers were searching a mountain cave when 19 of them were exposed to the gas, which is colorless, odorless, flammable and can cause asphyxiation in sufficient concentration.

“They were immediately transported to the hospital (but) despite all interventions, five heroic personnel were martyred,” the ministry said in a statement, The AP news reported. “Rescue operations in the area continue.”

The ministry did not give a specific location for the incident other than the “Claw-Lock Operation region,” a reference to an operation launched against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, in north Iraq in April 2022.

The Turkish unit affected by methane gas was searching for the remains of an infantry officer killed by “terrorist gunfire” during a search-and-clear operation in May 2022, the ministry said. For the last three years, teams have been hunting for his remains.

The cave was at an altitude of 852 meters (2,795 foot) and was known to have been used as a hospital by the PKK in the past, although it had since been cleared by Turkish soldiers.

The office of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the soldiers were “exposed to a high concentration of accumulated methane gas.”

Türkiye and the PKK have waged a 40-year conflict which has often spilled over into Iraq and Syria. Türkiye has set up a series of bases in northern Iraq, where the PKK has been established for decades.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Türkiye and most of the West, announced in May that it would disband and renounce armed conflict as part of a new peace initiative with Türkiye.

Its fighters are expected to begin handing over their weapons over the next few days in the first concrete move toward disarmament.