Death toll triggers action

Cause for concern: Medical staff on standby at the Elegant Airport Hotel, a hotel converted into a field hospital in Bangkok to accommodate a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. — AFP

The country set a record for the daily number of Covid-19 deaths for the second consecutive day, as authorities step up the response to a rapid third wave of infections after about a year of relative success slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Thailand will slow down issuing travel documents for foreign nationals from India due to the outbreak of a new coronavirus B.1.617 variant, said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a spokesman for the government’s Covid-19 task force.