Covid-19 will be treated as a typical respiratory disease from now on as the number of cases keeps shrinking and the symptoms are becoming less severe, says Chulalongkorn University virologist Dr Yong Poovorawan.
It is clear that this year’s caseload is in decline, Dr Yong wrote on Facebook on Monday.
Covid-19 patients accounted for up to 30% of the 6,000 patients suffering from respiratory diseases at the start of the rainy season, but the figure had dropped to just 5% in August, he said.
The number is expected to keep declining until November before it picks up again over the New Year holiday and peaks in January or February, said Dr Yong, who heads the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the university's Faculty of Medicine.
The peaks will not be as high as those recorded at the beginning of this year’s rainy season, which is the usual time when Covid-19 spreads. The level of severity has also decreased steadily.
“Therefore, it’s game over for Covid-19 overall, and the number of deaths shouldn’t be more than 300 this year and should keep dropping in the coming years,” said Dr Yong.
“Covid-19 will be like a seasonal respiratory disease,” he said, adding that the best ways to prevent it are much the same as for any other respiratory disease.
The strains now spreading include XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16, with the former having replaced BA.2.75, which was spreading early this year. All are sub-variants of Omicron. The newer variants are less severe than the older ones by over 90%, said Dr Yong.
Most of those who die from Covid-19 belong to high-risk groups, such as people aged 60 and older, those with underlying health conditions and pregnant women.
