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Updates

(updated #1) The Chinese Embassy in the Phillipines has clarified and announced for 20 of nucleic acid and antibody testing kits for COVID-19. Global Times also made a press release on this matter. However, there is still a skeptical figure of underreporting by China regarding "asymptomatic" COVID-19 infections. Also see technical limitation from rapid-test kits.
(update #2) According to Reuters, Bioeasy’s rapid tests, as well as the tests questioned by Slovak officials, are antigen tests, a method that targets the virus’ protein to detect infection and can deliver results more quickly than the alternative nucleic acid method. But antigen tests require higher level of virus load and therefore could fail to diagnose people correctly when the samples only contain small amount of virus, Dr. Chen Guangjie, an immunology professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University, told Reuters.
(update #3) 400,000 sets of N95 masks and 400,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) suits will arrive from China to Thailand to assist Thai medical workers in fighting #COVID19 #pandemic, said Thai authorities, according to PDChina. See more medical supply problem here.
(update #4) See certified SARS-CoV-2 test kit by Food and Drug Board here. South Korean DiaPlexQ™ Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) Detection Kit CE-IVD Real-Time OneStep RT-PCR based assay system for detection of 2019-nCoV has been also certified. (see news scoop here)
(update #5) According to a briefing by the department of medical science, ministry of health (April 7, 2020), there will be an increasing of testing capacity into 20,000 test per day (via RT-PCR method), half of which will be in Bangkok, and another half will be in upcountries. Test labs will increase to 110 labs. There is a cooperation between the department of medical science and Siam Bioscience to produce RT-PCR test kit to satisfy demand for testing. Siam Bioscience is a biotech company founded by the crown property bureau. Testing cost per unit has been reduced from 4,000 THB (USD 130) to 1,500 THB (USD 45.84).
(update #6) The government has implemented population-based infectious disease surveillance (PBIDS) platforms and Community Active Case Finding in focused area such as in Phuket which has been found more increasing rate of infections recently. (Serological survey might be also needed.) Total test capacity has increased to 10,000 cases daily in Bangkok and 10,000 cases in upcountry. In has enlarged filtering category to relax testing procedure and increasing number of testing for PUI. It has put faith on Epidemiological Investigation and a kind of Contact Tracing instead of doing random sampling. See more on a free enrollment online course of Fighting COVID-19 with Epidemiology: A Johns Hopkins Teach-Out.
(Update #7) According to the German researchers, the data showed that countries have only discovered on average about 6% of all coronavirus infections. They claimed that the true total number of people infected with coronavirus may already have reached some tens of millions of people worldwide.

"These results mean that governments and policy-makers need to exercise extreme caution when interpreting case numbers for planning purposes," said Vollmer, a Professor of Development Economics at the university.

"Such extreme differences in the amount and quality of testing carried out in different countries mean that official case records are largely uninformative and do not provide helpful information," he warned.

Bommer and Vollmer estimated that on 31 March 2020, Germany was likely to have actually had 460,000 infections. Based on the same method, they calculate that the US probably had more than 10 million, Spain more than 5 million, Italy around 3 million and the UK about 2 million coronavirus infections. Source: DW: Millions of coronavirus infections left undetected worldwide – study
(Update #8) About 51 patients classed as having been cured in South Korea have tested positive again, the CDC said in a briefing on Monday. Rather than being infected again, the virus may have been reactivated in these people, given they tested positive again shortly after being released from quarantine, said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director-general of the Korean CDC.

“While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” Jeong said. “There have been many cases when a patient during treatment will test negative one day and positive another.” Source: Bloomberg: Coronavirus May ‘Reactivate’ in Cured Patients, Korean CDC Says
(Update #9) We report development of a rapid (<40 min), easy-to-implement and accurate CRISPR–Cas12-based lateral flow assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2 from respiratory swab RNA extracts. We validated our method using contrived reference samples and clinical samples from patients in the United States, including 36 patients with COVID-19 infection and 42 patients with other viral respiratory infections. Our CRISPR-based DETECTR assay provides a visual and faster alternative to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention SARS-CoV-2 real-time RT–PCR assay, with 95% positive predictive agreement and 100% negative predictive agreement. Source: CRISPR–Cas12-based detection of SARS-CoV-2
(Update #10) It's well-known that the coronavirus targets the lungs, but evidence suggests that the virus may also cause heart inflammation, acute kidney disease, neurological problems, blood clots, intestinal damage and liver issues, the Washington Post reports. (Source: Axios (1)).

Compared to adults, children with the coronavirus are less likely to be hospitalized or show symptoms like a fever, cough or shortness of breath, new U.S. data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show. Why it matters: Those with less serious illness or who are asymptomatic likely play a large role in transmitting the disease. Social distancing is thus important for all age groups, the CDC stressed. (Source: Axios (2))
(Update #11) Thai national vaccine institute has cooperated with China in pre-clinical trial. Source: ไทยคู่ฟ้า (Thai Gov) and BioNet (see former press release and video clip), see คณะแพทยศาสตร์ศิริราชพยาบาล และคณะวิทยาศาสตร์ เป็นสองหน่วยงานที่มีการวิจัยและพัฒนาวัคซีนโควิด-19 โดยมีการผลิตวัคซีนต้นแบบชนิด inactivated คือ การเพิ่มจำนวนไวรัสเพื่อนำไปฆ่าเชื้อเป็นวัคซีนเชื้อตาย จากนั้นจึงนำไปฉีดในสัตว์ทดลอง
(Update #12) Mahidol labs has announced a success in producing LAMP PCR test kit, which is easier for doing a testing procedure. Source: Government PR network, see more press release from the ministry of health.
(Update #13) Two papers confirm lockdown measure to counter Covid-19, see What 2 new studies teach us about our socially distant future. See backup study to support lockdown, The scaling of contact rates with population density for the infectious disease models. See The successful Asian coronavirus-fighting strategy America refuses to embrace and Coronavirus: Germany's COVID-19 infection rate rises after lockdown lifted.
(Update #14) USG has unveiled a massive scale coronavirus testing plan. A nonprofit organized by the founder of recruiting software firm Jibe has launched AllClear, a new website where people across the U.S. can find information about nearby coronavirus testing. See news conference by White House.
(Update #15) A new coronavirus mutation discovered by Arizona researchers mirrors a change that occurred as the 2003 SARS virus began to weaken, the researchers announced. Lead study author Dr. Efrem Lim, an assistant professor at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, and his team use a new technology called next-generation sequencing to rapidly read through all 30,000 chemical letters of the SARS-CoV-2 genome, or genetic code. That technology helps researchers determine how the virus is spreading, mutating and adapting over time. Source: NY POST: New coronavirus mutation mirrors changes of weakening 2003 SARS virus, and see a publishing research at Journal of Virology
(Update #16) Thailand has signed agreements to co-develop Covid-19 vaccines with agencies in both China and US. Domestic development may take more longer time around 24-36 months which will not be ontime. Source: Thaipost: สธ.รับต้องพึ่งวัคซีนจีน-สหรัฐ! ไทยคิดค้นเองต้องรอ2-3ปีไม่ทันการณ์
(Update #17) In Iceland, where a broad testing effort resulted in 5% of the country's population being tested for COVID-19, a lab study suggests that as many as 50% of people who have the disease show no symptoms. A study conducted in Singapore showed that patients with COVID-19 were able to spread the disease without showing symptoms themselves. [...] Asymptomatic spread has not been good news thus far. A growing body of results shows that people who are asymptomatic appear to have the same viral load as symptomatic cases. This means that, whether people have symptoms or not, they carry the same amount of virus inside them. This suggests that transmission is possible equally from both asymptomatic patients and noticeably sick patients. Source: Asymptomatic spread makes COVID-19 tough to contain
(Update #18) The royal gazette has published an easing of the lockdown, or phase II starting on May 17, 2020, see เปิด! ประกาศข้อกำหนด 'ผ่อนปรนเฟส 2' มีผล 17 พ.ค. นี้
(Update #19) See Covid-19 outbreak by country
(Update #20) An AI software provider has created a sprawling new "data lake" of information about the COVID-19 pandemic for researchers around the world. Source: A deep "data lake" for coronavirus information.
(Update #21) The “Chula COVID-19 Strip Test Service” is a preliminary test to screen for COVID-19 infection risks. The test is based on the serology test to detect antibodies (IgG & IgM) in the blood serum or plasma. The rapid diagnostic test kit was first used at Chulalongkorn University Health Service Center, with plans to expand to any network medical centers or hospitals expressing interest. Source: Chula presents COVID-19 Rapid Strip Test to PM for use in Thai society