A prison inmate in Thailand has tested positive for the coronavirus in the country's first confirmed locally transmitted case in 100 days, health officials say.
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They identified the inmate as a 37-year-old man arrested for drug abuse who was brought to prison in Bangkok on August 26 and tested positive on Wednesday at the prison's health centre.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on Wednesday had congratulated the country for having achieved 100 days without any confirmed local cases of the coronavirus.
The last person to test positive was on May 24.
Thailand has sustained relatively light health damage from the pandemic, even though in January it was the first country outside China to confirm a case.
But its economy has been devastated by the absence of foreign tourists, who are banned from entry, and by a drop in exports.
The country finds itself in a position similar to that of New Zealand - which had a 102-day streak without local transmissions - and Vietnam, which had 99 days.
Australian Associated Press
