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The Department of Disease Control reveals that Thailand has found the NB.1.8.1 COVID variant as the main strain, with no increase in severe symptoms reported. Today (May 24), Montien Kanasawat, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, spoke about data from the Communicable Diseases Agency Singapore as of May 21, 2026, regarding the COVID-19 infection situation. It was reported that between May 10-16, 2026, there were 12,700 new cases, an increase from about 8,000 cases the previous week. The average daily hospitalized patients increased from 56 to 73, with ICU patients averaging about 1 per day. The main circulating variant is NB.1.8.1, found in more than half of the detected cases in the country. Regarding the situation in Thailand in 2026, data from the Disease Surveillance System (DDS) as of May 23, 2026, shows a cumulative total of 3,642 COVID-19 cases and 1 death. Most patients are aged 30–35 years, followed by those aged 60 and above, and then 20–29 years. In the past month, there has been an increase in reported cases, but still below the 5-year median. For the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in Thailand, data from the Public Health Research Institute, Department of Medical Sciences, between January 1, 2025, and April 23, 2026, shows that NB.1.8.1 is the main circulating variant in Thailand, accounting for 50.95% of detected samples, followed by JN.1 (24.97%) and XEC (9.14%). "In 2025, the number of cases and cluster outbreaks increased significantly from April to June. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Thailand found NB.1.8.1 as the main variant spreading during the same period. NB.1.8.1 has mutations in several spike protein sites beyond those in JN.1, enhancing its transmissibility and immune evasion, but there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease." Direk Khamphaen, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, added that the COVID-19 situation in Thailand is now endemic or seasonal. Although disease severity and spread trends have decreased, important measures must still be maintained, focusing on social measures balanced with the new normal lifestyle, and emphasizing strict adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures, especially personal hygiene, as follows: ⚈ Wash hands frequently with soap and water or use alcohol-based gel before eating or drinking, after using the restroom, or after touching commonly shared surfaces such as doorknobs and handrails. ⚈ Cover mouth and nose with a cloth or tissue every time when coughing or sneezing. ⚈ Avoid entering crowded or congested areas; if unavoidable, wear a mask at all times. ⚈ Avoid close contact with people showing respiratory symptoms to reduce infection risk, especially the 608 risk group: elderly and those with underlying conditions, who may face fatal outcomes if infected. ⚈ If experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, or runny nose, perform an initial test with an ATK and avoid close contact with others, especially young children, the elderly, and those with underlying conditions, to prevent transmitting the virus to at-risk groups at home. If positive, promptly see a doctor. The public can inquire further by calling the Department of Disease Control hotline at 1422. #TheStandardNews

The Department of Disease Control reveals that Thailand has found the NB.1.8.1 COVID variant as the main strain, with no increase in severe symptoms reported. Today (May 24), Montien Kanasawat, Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, spoke about data from the Communicable Diseases Agency Singapore as of May 21, 2026, regarding the COVID-19 infection situation. It was reported that between May 10-16, 2026, there were 12,700 new cases, an increase from about 8,000 cases the previous week. The average daily hospitalized patients increased from 56 to 73, with ICU patients averaging about 1 per day. The main circulating variant is NB.1.8.1, found in more than half of the detected cases in the country. Regarding the situation in Thailand in 2026, data from the Disease Surveillance System (DDS) as of May 23, 2026, shows a cumulative total of 3,642 COVID-19 cases and 1 death. Most patients are aged 30–35 years, followed by those aged 60 and above, and then 20–29 years. In the past month, there has been an increase in reported cases, but still below the 5-year median. For the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants in Thailand, data from the Public Health Research Institute, Department of Medical Sciences, between January 1, 2025, and April 23, 2026, shows that NB.1.8.1 is the main circulating variant in Thailand, accounting for 50.95% of detected samples, followed by JN.1 (24.97%) and XEC (9.14%). "In 2025, the number of cases and cluster outbreaks increased significantly from April to June. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Thailand found NB.1.8.1 as the main variant spreading during the same period. NB.1.8.1 has mutations in several spike protein sites beyond those in JN.1, enhancing its transmissibility and immune evasion, but there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease." Direk Khamphaen, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control, added that the COVID-19 situation in Thailand is now endemic or seasonal. Although disease severity and spread trends have decreased, important measures must still be maintained, focusing on social measures balanced with the new normal lifestyle, and emphasizing strict adherence to COVID-19 prevention measures, especially personal hygiene, as follows: ⚈ Wash hands frequently with soap and water or use alcohol-based gel before eating or drinking, after using the restroom, or after touching commonly shared surfaces such as doorknobs and handrails. ⚈ Cover mouth and nose with a cloth or tissue every time when coughing or sneezing. ⚈ Avoid entering crowded or congested areas; if unavoidable, wear a mask at all times. ⚈ Avoid close contact with people showing respiratory symptoms to reduce infection risk, especially the 608 risk group: elderly and those with underlying conditions, who may face fatal outcomes if infected. ⚈ If experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, or runny nose, perform an initial test with an ATK and avoid close contact with others, especially young children, the elderly, and those with underlying conditions, to prevent transmitting the virus to at-risk groups at home. If positive, promptly see a doctor. The public can inquire further by calling the Department of Disease Control hotline at 1422. #TheStandardNews

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Anthropic agrees to pay SpaceX about $1.25 billion per month for compute usage from the Colossus data center . This deal will run until May 2029 with Anthropic using compute from both the Colossus data center in Tennessee and SpaceX's new Colossus 2 data center . SpaceX's S-1 filing states Anthropic will receive special rates in May and June and either party can cancel the contract with 90 days' notice . If this deal runs through the full term SpaceX will earn more than $40 billion from Anthropic . An Anthropic spokesperson confirmed the $1.25 billion per month figure to Business Insider with this compute set used for inference or running AI models to serve customers . The S-1 document also states SpaceX expects to make similar deals in the future viewing this as a way to monetize unused compute capacity . However, SpaceX's AI infrastructure costs are very high The document notes losses from AI operations last year rose to over $6 billion and nearly $2.5 billion loss in the first quarter this year . The main causes are cloud costs, GPU expenses, and chip depreciation . Interestingly, SpaceX also states in the document one of their major investment plans is to produce their own GPUs . If realized, SpaceX could move to compete with NVIDIA which is currently a key player in the advanced GPU market . In the S-1, SpaceX also categorizes AI Infrastructure as a key market and estimates this market could be worth around $2.4 trillion