Thailand to report 1st local COVID-19 infection since May if inmate retested positive

Thai authorities said Thursday's discovery of an inmate who tested positive for COVID-19, if verified, could end the country's record of 100 days with no local infections.

A male inmate has tested positive for the coronavirus and has been moved from the prison to a hospital run by the Thai Corrections Department, said the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.

It was the first test on the inmate conducted by Mahidol University on Wednesday. He was found infected with the virus and was immediately transferred to the hospital that night, confirmed CCSA spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin.

The Ministry of Public Health's Disease Control Department collected a sample from the patient on Thursday for a second test.

Wednesday marked Thailand's 100th day free from local COVID-19 infection.

The 37-year-old inmate was imprisoned at the Central Special Correctional Institution on drug charges on Aug. 26 with around 30 other prisoners, whose results turned negative, according to a report by the disease control department.