BANGKOK, April 9 Reuters Thailands economy may expand less than forecast this year, a central bank official said on Friday, after a third wave of coronavirus infections and concerns about the presence of a highly contagious variant.

The tourismreliant economy suffered the deepest slump in over two decades last year, down 6.1, due to the impact of the pandemic, with the key tourism sector still struggling.

Uncertainties remain, with a risk that growth could be less than the Bank of Thailands 3.0 forecast this year, senior director Chayawadee ChaiAnant told an analyst meeting.

Although the economy will recover this year, there are still soft spots, particularly in the service sector, she said.

The current economic forecast, which was downgraded last month, has yet to include the impact of the new outbreak, she said.

It is too early to say, she said.

However, in the worst case scenario, the economy might contract sharply like last year, if there were issues with variants and vaccines efficacy, Chayawadee said.

The outbreak may take more than two months to control in Bangkok, the health ministry said. It came ahead of next weeks Thai holidays and as the country seeks to reopen to foreign tourists.

In the JanuaryMarch period, Chayawadee said the economy might have contracted from the previous three months and the same period a year earlier, as a second coronavirus wave slowed activity.

Inflation should be close to the lower end of the 13 target range from the…