"Dr. Yong" reveals the outbreak of "COVID-19" this year is unlike previous years and is expected to decline in October during the school holidays.
On 5 Sep 2026 GMT+7, Professor Dr. Yong Poovorawan, head of the Clinical Virology Specialty Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, posted a message titled "The COVID-19 outbreak this year is different from previous years." He stated that
"In each year since the COVID-19 pandemic began, now entering its sixth year, COVID-19 typically starts spreading after Songkran (Thai New Year), through the rainy season, and gradually declines from August onward. However, this year is clearly different from the past two years.
COVID-19 cases this year were very low until two months ago when the outbreak began, currently at its peak, and it is expected to decline in October during the school holidays.
The seasonal pattern of COVID-19 increasingly resembles that of influenza. Influenza this year spread early in the year during winter and began spreading again in the past two months, slightly later than usual, coinciding with the COVID-19 season this year. However, total influenza cases are three times higher.
Moreover, the death rate relative to the number of cases for both diseases no longer differs significantly. COVID-19 has caused 16 deaths out of approximately 100,000 cases, while influenza has caused about 50 deaths out of 350,000 cases. This shows COVID-19 is not more severe than influenza."
Thanks to Facebook Yong Poovorawan