Covid-19 cases are rising in children 5 and under, with about 100,000 now infected, health authorities said.
Dr Ekachai Piansriwatchara, deputy director-general of the Department of Health, said on Wednesday that Covid-19 infections among pre-school children were on an upward trend.
During the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant in January, about 1,000 children under six years old had contracted the coronavirus. Last week, about 6,000 children in this age group had Covid-19, said Dr Ekachai.
According to official data, there were 107,059 children infected with Covid-19 from April last year to Feb 17. They accounted for 5% of about 2 million Covid-19 cases in all age groups. Twenty-nine kids had died from the virus, he said.
Most children contracted the disease from family members who caught the virus from outside.
Dr Ekachai urged parents to provide special attention to their children in this age group, as vaccines for them were not yet available.
The department had recently conducted a survey among 6,087 people to gauge their views on the behaviours to prevent household transmission of Covid-19.
According to the survey, 28% of the respondents wanted to assess the risk of being exposed to Covid-19.
"If there are vulnerable groups in their houses, people should assess the risk. If the risk is high, they should take antigen tests. However, they may show no symptoms," Dr Ekachai said.
Health officials suggested that people returning home from work should conduct a risk assessment to protect vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and children.
