BANGKOK, Nov 10 (TNA) – Thailand's mandatory quarantine period remains at 14 days, affirmed Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
Speaking about the case of the Hungarian foreign minister, who tested positive for Covid-19 on arrival in Bangkok, Anutin said it is expectable and the ministry has effective screening system. It is likely that he had contracted the disease in the origin country.
Even though passengers are required to undergo Covid19 testing and travel with Fit to Fly certificates, many test positive for the virus during the quarantine.
The ministry will maintain the quarantine period at 14 days to allay concerns among the public, he added.
The authorities earlier discussed reduction of quarantine period to 10 days for businesspeople and tourists from low-risk countries.
Asked if the 14-day quarantine period will affect the reopening plan for foreign tourists, the minister said it is necessary to maintain it as the infections were found among foreign arrivals.
The safety of the people is the top priority, he added. (TNA)
Representatives of Muslims hold the portraits of His Majesty the King and the Queen Mother during their gathering to show support for the royal institution at the Central Islamic Council of Thailand in Nong Chok district, Bangkok, on Tuesday. (Photo by Varuth Hirunyatheb)
Islamic organisations conducted an event on Tuesday to show support for the royal institution.
The event occurred at the Central Islamic Council of Thailand in Nong Chok district. Muslim spiritual leader Aziz Pitakkumpon, who is the president of the council, presided over the gathering of Muslims from provinces who wore yellow clothes representing the traditional birthday colour of His Majesty the King.
Mr Aziz said the royal institution had played important roles in maintaining the peaceful Thai society that comprised Thai people of all religions and origins. He hoped the event would remind people of the necessity to maintain unity and compromise for national peace.
Pol Maj Gen Surin Palarae, secretary-general of the Central Islamic Council of Thailand, said there were more than 10 million Muslims in the country and they would not tolerate offences against the royal institution.
The royal institution had contributed greatly to Muslims and provided them with justice, he said.
Prasarn Sricharoen, vice-president of the council, said the activity on Tuesday complied with Islam which called for a show of gratitude for people who offered help.
Arun Boonchom, another vice-president, said the royal institution had always supported equal rights to conduct religious affairs. The council, as well as Islamic organisations at all levels, viewed that differences of political views had created severe impacts on the country.
Pro-democracy demonstrators flash a three-finger salute as a royal motorcade drives past during a Thai antigovernment mass protest, on the 47th anniversary of the 1973 student uprising, in Bangkok, Thailand on October 14, 2020. Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
In recent months, protests and counter-protests in Thailand have pushed the country closer to dangerous conflict between pro-democracy demonstrators, who also increasingly have called for monarchical reforms, and the royalist military and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, himself a former general who launched the 2014 coup in the kingdom.
Protests have been building for months, and have shifted from just focusing on constitutional reforms and calls for a new election to demanding reforms of the monarchy, which historically has been a taboo subject in Thailand and protected by lèse majesté laws.
Despite regular arrests of protest leaders, the demonstrations show no signs of abating. In recent days, the standoff has become much more serious.
Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn lives primarily in Germany but recently returned to Thailand, as the German government warned him not to be conducting state business from Germany.
On Wednesday, protestors gathered in downtown Bangkok, confronting military and police and counterprotests.
The demonstrators are infuriated by the king's growing influence over Thai politics, the military, and Crown Property Bureau funds, his unwillingness to actually live in Thailand, and his often-chaotic personal lifestyle.
In fact, the king is so much more willing to openly wield power than his predecessor father, and as a result he has made himself more open to public criticism.
The situation remained mostly calm, but when the motorcade of Queen Suthida traveled down a main road this week in the capital, following a ceremony at the Grand Palace, it was confronted by protestors waving the three-finger Hunger Games sign, now a symbol of protest in Thailand.
They heckled the royal motorcade, making fun of the royals' lavish, and state-supported, lifestyle, although there was no effort to commit violence by the demonstrators.
Still, open heckling of royals shows how far Thailand has come, in just months, to abandoning the taboo about critiquing the monarchy—and directly showed the monarchs, from inside their cars, the anger of some Thais.
(The demonstrators say they did not intend to hinder the royal motorcade, although the government says they did.)
Still, even though the protests had not swelled into violence, the government cracked down hard by Thursday morning Thailand time, declaring a severe state of emergency.
The state of emergency bans gatherings of more than five people, and the government also arrested multiple protest leaders.
Now, the potential for real violence looms. Protestors continue to turn out in the streets, on Thursday defying the government's orders not to gather in large numbers in public.
The authorities arrested more protestors, but they do not seem to have stopped the demonstrators' willingness to assemble.
So far, the authorities have not resorted to measures like those used against demonstrators in 1976, 1992, and 2010—shooting demonstrators and committing other bloody acts.
But this remains a real possibility. – Council on Foreign Relations
Thailand to accept Chinese tourists WITHOUT QUARANTINE
The COVID-19 pandemic has hit tourism hard, and many countries expect tourists all around the world to come as soon as possible.
Thailand is talking with China about a quarantine-free travel corridor by January to rescue its ailing tourism industry, the Bloomberg reported.
In the absence of COVID-19 re-outbreak, Chinese tourists will not have to undergo mandatory quarantine and can use coronavirus testing and a mobile tracking application instead.
According to Thailand's long-term tourist visa program, the first batch of Chinese tourists arrived in Bangkok on October 20 and have now cleared quarantine.
Thailand plans to issue 1,200 visas a month to help ease foreign tourists' loss over the past five months as tourism is severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said.
About 11 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand in 2019, bringing in about 17 billion U.S. dollars in revenue, according to official figures.
"Thais don't have enough money to boost the industry, so either way we have to find a way to bring in foreign tourists," Phiphat said.
"If we don't receive any foreign tourists, our economy will suffer a heavy contraction."
Foreign tourism: Could be 2022 before Thailand sees improvement, business media
Image: Bangkok Biz News
Thailand's business media reported that it would be the end of next year or into 2022 before the country would see any appreciable return to making money from foreign tourists.
Bangkok Business News said that promotions aimed at Thai people to rescue the ailing tourism sector that relied on foreign tourists were clearly not enough to make up the shortfall.
Their article principally concentrated on what is known as the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) that encompasses Chonburi (the location of Pattaya) Chachoengsao and Rayong.
This area has been the apple of the eye of the Thai government but one like Phuket and Koh Samui that has been devastated by the lack of foreigners that made up 80% of visitors and the great bulk of revenue in the past.
The media said that the "Thai Thiaw Thai" (Thais visit Thailand) promotion was inadequate. They noted that coronavirus cases were still increasing throughout the world with no end to the pandemic in sight.
Chonburi would normally generate 200 billion baht in tourism revenue per year.
In the period of April to October it should have been about 120 billion baht but due to the pandemic the figure was just 33 billion.
Thais were even spending less per head than they normally do.
Figures showed that last year a Thai on a trip would spend 5,515 baht on average - in September the average spend was just 3,978 baht per head and of course there were far fewer of them travelling as well.
Hotel occupancy in Chonburi is just 29% while it was 80% last year.
The media said that the special tourist visa scheme was a start and could help to inspire confidence in Thais receiving foreigners into the country once again.
But it was just a start and much more was needed to encourage Thais at this time to visit places such as the EEC, Phuket and Koh Samui.
Their estimate was that no appreciable return of foreign tourism would occur until the end of 2021 at the earliest and possibly into 2022.
I flera månader har SRF och stora delar reseindustrin lobbat för en fond som skulle komplettera paketreselagen och Kammarkollegiets resegaranti. Regeringen har varit kallsinnig till riktade stöd mot olika branscher. Men på dagens pressträff när fortsatta korttidspermitteringar och omställningsstöd presenterades kom också nya hoppfulla besked för reseindustrin.
Finansminister Magdalena Andersson sades sig vara positiv till att göra något åt situationen. Tiotusentals människor i Sverige väntar fortfarande på ersättning för inställda resor på grund av pandemin.
– Regeringen ser allvarligt på situationen i paketresebranschen. Det finns en del resenärer som inte fått tillbaka pengar för resor som ställts in på grund corona. Vi ser över möjligheten att stödja paketresearrangörer så att de kan återbetala dessa resenärer. Här jobbar vi med ett flertal olika lösningar. Vi tittar på de rättsliga förutsättningarna nationell och på EU-nivå. Vi hoppas att kunna återkomma i frågan så snart som möjligt, sa Magdalena Andersson.
– Det är positivt att regeringen nu tittar på ett riktat stöd till resebyråer och researrangörer, men det är väldigt bråttom. Omsättningen i branschen har minskat med 90 procent sedan pandemin slog till, och dagens förlängda reseavrådan sätter många företag i en otroligt svår sits, säger Didrik von Seth, generalsekreterare för SRF.
Pandemin och UD:s avrådan från resor gör att omsättningen hos Sveriges resebyråer och researrangörer har minskat med 90 procent sedan pandemin slog till, enligt SRF:s undersökningar bland reseföretag. Fram till och med oktober hade försäljningen minskat med nästan 40 miljarder kronor, samtidigt som över hälften av branschens arbetstillfällen har försvunnit.
Didrik von Seth, generalsekreterare för SRF.
– Medan många branscher sakta börjar återhämta sig finns det få ljuspunkter för resebranschen. Därför är det bråttom, regeringen behöver snarast återkomma med ett skarpt förslag om stöd till resenäringen, säger Didrik von Seth.
Under måndagen förlängde utrikesdepartementet reseavrådan från ickenödvändiga utlandsresor till alla länder, med undantag för ett 30-tal länder i Europa. Den förlängda reseavrådan gäller till och med den 31 januari.
– Resenärernas säkerhet måste alltid komma i första hand, men vi tycker att det är olyckligt med en generell reseavrådan. En reseavrådan som tar hänsyn till situationen i olika länder skulle ge resenärer en bättre bild över vart det är tryggt att resa. Vi har gett UD exempel på flertalet destinationer utanför Europa där vi bedömer att det är tryggt att resa, säger Didrik von Seth, generalsekreterare för SRF.
Notan för dagens besked är enligt regeringen ungefär 15 miljarder.
SRF:s förslag är ett statligt lån på flera miljarder till researrangörerna med en återbetalning på tio eller tjugo år. Fonden ska finansieras genom en avgift på 5 kronor per flygresa och person, samt 25 kronor per paketresa och person.
De av er som ev tänkt resa med Norwegian till Thailand eller andra långväga
resmål när det blir bättre tider bör nog börja planera för andra alternativ MEN
de har ju varit uträknade tidigare så man vet aldrig......
Norwegian blöder pengar – gör förlust med 980 miljoner
Flygbolaget Norwegian redovisar en förlust på 980,5 miljoner norska kronor, motsvarande 935 miljoner svenska kronor, före skatt i tredje kvartalet. Den fortsatta coronakrisen ledde till ett kundtapp på 91 procent, något bättre än tappet på 99 procent i andra kvartalet.
Trots att Norwegian fick ta del av statligt garanterade lån blödde man pengar. Vid slutet av andra kvartalet hade bolaget 4,98 miljarder norska kronor i kassan. Sedan dess har kassan krympt med 1,57 miljarder, skriver Dagens Næringsliv. I går meddelade den norska regeringen att man avslår Norwegians ansökan om mer direkt stöd.
Bolaget ansökte om stöd på mellan 4 och 5 miljarder norska kronor av den norska staten – men fick nej, uppger två oberoende källor för E24. Varken flygbolaget eller regeringen vill bekräfta siffran, men näringsminister Iselin Nybø (V) har sagt att det handlade om "ett betydande miljardbelopp", skriver sajten.
Därmed är Norwegian tillsammans med British Airways de flygbolag som har fått minst statsstöd, enligt Norwegians egna beräkningar.
Under måndagskvällen meddelade flygbolaget att man tvingas permitterar ytterligare 1 600 anställda efter den norska regeringens besked.
Dessutom ska kapaciteten minskas "avsevärt" och 15 av 21 flygplan som gått under pandemin kommer att parkeras.
Vd Jacob Schram upprepar också att regeringens besked är en "besvikelse".
– Jag ber uppriktigt om ursäkt till alla våra kollegor som nu drabbas, men det finns inget annat alternativ, säger han i pressmeddelandet.
Schram konstaterar samtidigt att bolaget före coronakrisen anställde 10 000 personer, men att bara 600 av dem snart kommer att vara kvar.
Tredje kvartalet Omsättning: 1,29 miljarder norska kronor 2019: 14,4 miljarder norska kronor Resultat före skatt: −980,5 miljoner norska kronor 2019: 2,2 miljarder norska kronor
På tal om karantän så vill jag bara berätta en liten "rolig" och sann historia.
En av er husägare har skickat ner sina husnycklar till mig med STOR hjälp av en bekant till mig som igår kom ner med en av de - vid det här laget mycket omtalade - "repatriation flighterna ".
Planen var att nycklarna - med hjälp av personalen på karantän hotellet skulle lämnas i receptionen på ett angränsande hotell och jag skulle hämta dem nu på förmiddagen.
Men så enkelt var det inte - vilket jag misstänkte från början - utan kuvertet med nycklarna skulle vara i karantän i 5 dagar fram till första testen av "kuriren".
På något sätt lyckades min bekant att få personalen att göra ett undantag så de tog kuvertet och skulle sanera det och innehållet i ett dygn så nu blir det avhämtning i morgon i stället.
Läget i Sverige är oroande och allvarligt men ändå - ha en bra tisdag.
Rörande den avrådan från icke nödvändiga resor till alla länder som beslutades den 14 mars 2020, och som sedermera har förlängts, beslutar UD följande:
1. UD har idag, den 9 november, fattat beslut om att förlänga avrådan från icke-nödvändiga resor till alla länder utanför EU/EES/Schengenområdet samt Storbritannien till och med den 31 januari 2021.
UD har i tidigare beslut hävt avrådan från icke nödvändiga resor till: Andorra, Belgien, Bulgarien, Cypern, Danmark, Finland, Frankrike, Grekland, Island, Italien, Kroatien, Liechtenstein, Litauen, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, Nederländerna, Norge, Polen, Portugal, Rumänien, San Marino, Schweiz, Slovakien, Slovenien, Spanien, Storbritannien, Tjeckien, Tyskland, Ungern, Vatikanstaten och Österrike. Dessa länder är fortsatt undantagna från avrådan från icke nödvändiga resor.
2. För Estland, Irland och Lettland gäller avrådan från icke nödvändiga resor till och med den 18 november 2020.
Svenska resenärer utomlands uppmanas att skriva upp sig på , läsa på Sweden Abroad samt ladda ner appen UD Resklar och i applikationen slå på pushnotiser för det land man befinner sig i.
Svenska medborgare som är bosatta i utlandet rekommenderas att följa lokala myndigheters råd och anvisningar.
Ett flertal länder har infört olika åtgärder för att begränsa smittspridning i landet som får konsekvenser för resenärer såsom utegångsförbud, undantagstillstånd, in- och utreseförbud och karantänsbestämmelser. En del länder inför även begränsningar i möjligheten att transitera via sina territorier. Dessa beslut kan fortsätta att komma med kort framförhållning.
Sveriges ambassader informerar i den mån det är möjligt om spridningsreducerande åtgärder i enskilda länder på .
Thailand on track to open largest rail station in Southeast Asia
By Jonathan Fairfield
Picture: Thailand PRD
Thailand is on schedule to open the largest rail station in Southeast Asia next year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
The Bang Sue Central Station will be fully functional by 2021, with all external construction having already been completed and only interior decoration still to be installed.
The four story Bang Sue Central Station, which will replace the Hua Lamphong Station to become Thailand's national rail hub, spans some 1,280 acres and comprises of 12 platforms and 24 tracks, which will be able to accommodate between 26 and 40 trains at the same time. In terms of passenger numbers, the station has a capacity to handle 600,000 commuters per day - ten times more than Hua Lamphong Station.
Designed to be environmentally friendly, the station will have at least 30% green spaces and according to Voravut Mala, former Acting Governor of the State Railway of Thailand, it will be "pollution free since it will serve only electric trains."
Picture: Thailand PRD
The station will be used for intercity, underground and commuter trains, as well as for the new high speed train line that will link Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, and U-Tapao international airports and which is central to the government's flagship Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project that is expected to bring huge investment and massive infrastructure improvements the Eastern Seaboard.
The high speed airport rail line will also be hugely beneficial for tourists in Thailand, enabling travel from the capital to east of the country with far greater ease than is possible today.
Tipped for completion in 2023, passengers using the high speed train will be able to travel from Bangkok to U-Tapao in Rayong in just under one hour.
The high speed train line will also connect Bangkok with Nong Khai, where passengers will be able to travel from the capital to Thailand's northeast border with Laos in just three hours compared to the 11 hours by train and 8 hours by road the journey takes currently.
The opening of the Bang Sue Central Station will also be a big boost for people living in Bangkok both in terms of generating a new stream of jobs and income for the local economy, as well as helping to ease the capital's infamous traffic congestion.
For consumers, there have been content-led campaigns that included Stay at Home Thai Style with a focus on Thai cultural elements like cooking, wellness and Muay Thai boxing, and the Masterchef Turns Master Tour Guide, which is a new video series hosted by Masterchef finalist Dr. Nawamin 'Boss' who takes the viewer on a journey around his favourite places to stay, eat and visit in Bangkok, Phuket, Samui, Chiang Mai and Phangan Island.
Last but not least , the TAT London Office has joined hands with Rosa's Thai Café to launch the 'Phat Thai' Party to celebrate Thailand's national dish with new DIY Party Kits available for order from Monday, 11 November.
Amid the intensifying political conflict, a group of self-proclaimed royalists have stepped up their calls for a coup. Their wish must certainly not be granted.
The group's representatives yesterday submitted a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and army chief Narongphan Jitkaewtae via official channels, urging the use of "special laws" to end the country's political crisis. With the special laws, they said, the government would be able to "shut down" the country.
They also vowed to confront the anti-establishment movement, which has branded itself as the "People's Movement", in order to "protect the monarchy".
Obviously, their call is a repeat of what the former leader of the now-defunct People's Alliance for Democracy, Sondhi Limthongkul, said earlier this month about the need for a coup to return all power to His Majesty the King, who would then appoint a new government.
The army chief -- who rose to power last month, replacing Gen Apirat Kongsompong -- immediately dismissed the possibility of a coup, saying that the chances were "below zero". When he faced a similar question last month, his reply was almost the same.
Gen Narongphan should realise that another coup won't solve the conflict. On the contrary, such an intervention will only worsen the situation. The coup by Gen Prayut, whose regime has run the country for more than seven years, has been singled out as the root cause of today's crisis. Thailand cannot afford another coup-related imbroglio.
There is a dire need to cool down the political temperature in order to prevent the conflict from escalating.
At a rally on Sunday, demonstrators dropped off letters -- complete with their demands for the PM's resignation, a charter rewrite and reform of the monarchy -- addressed to the King in four replica red postboxes set up near the City Pillar Shrine, about 100 metres away from the Grand Palace. The move, which was widely covered by the media, followed scuffles between police and demonstrators which left at least five people injured.
Parliament president Chuan Leekpai has mapped out a plan for the formation of a reconciliation panel, as agreed by the House and Senate last month. He is to consult with some former prime ministers on a solution to the crisis, and it is understood that one of them is Gen Surayud Chulanont, who is also president of the Privy Council.
All parties must give Mr Chuan a hand. Although the People's Movement has rejected the reconciliation panel, attempts must be made to bring them into the negotiations, albeit informally. Their rejection was based on their lack of trust in the government, so the government has the duty to prove its sincerity, at least by committing to a charter rewrite. Any tactics to delay the charter rewrite must be scrapped.
Well-known scholars have urged the state to pick individuals who are trusted by the demonstrators to take part in the process.
Some academics have also proposed the creation of a safe zone for a discussion on monarchy reform. These ideas should be explored. Such a discussion may ultimately help the highest institution to better adapt to the demands of modern society.
The government needs to understand that reform does not equal destruction. Meanwhile, demonstrators need to refrain from using profanities in pushing their highly sensitive agenda, as it will only undermine their cause.
Last but not least, no matter what happens, the army must stay in the barracks.
Thailand faces an obstacle in reopening to tourists as coronavirus cases in Europe are rising, causing some targeted countries to shift from low-risk to medium-risk classification, preventing their inclusion in the special tourist visa (STV) scheme.
Thapanee Kiatphaibool, deputy governor of tourism products and business for the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said although more than 1,000 foreign tourists have expressed intent to visit Thailand through requests to travel agencies and TAT offices overseas, the STV is limited to those from low-risk countries. Some of these potential tourists will have to apply for another type of visa with a shorter length of stay to travel here, she said.
As of yesterday, the number of STV tourists to Thailand stands at 331, with the majority arriving from China.
The options available have expanded as the cabinet last month approved applications for non-immigrant visa categories O-A and O-X for those aged 50 years and above. This scheme already attracted 501 applicants.
Holidaymakers with short-term plans can also apply for a tourist visa, with 86 requests already approved.
Prior to the recent surges in Europe, TAT's Scandinavian offices reported 163 tourists from the bloc have been granted permission to enter Thailand in November.
Of that number, 15 tourists applied for STV visas and 15 tourists applied to enter via the Thailand Elite Card scheme. Non-immigrant visas were granted to 94 and another 39 opted for tourist visas.
Mrs Thapanee said tourist visas are the most viable option at this point as there is no risk rating based on country of origin for these applicants. The maximum length of stay is 90 days.
"The Foreign Ministry has to update the low-risk country list every 15 days based on the ongoing situation in each areas. Given the spike of new cases in Europe, none are considered low-risk countries anymore, prompting the TAT to encourage visitors from this area to apply for tourist visas instead," she said.
Tourist visa applicants are required to show bank statements with at least 500,000 baht and display health certificates, as well as undergo a 14-day quarantine, said Mrs Thapanee.
To maintain confidence among locals, she said it is necessary to keep the mandatory quarantine in place through the end of this year before entering the next phase in 2021. The travel bubble scheme proposes no quarantines for tourists from low-risk countries.
Disease control officials guide arrivals at Suvarnabhumi airport to a quarantine process last month. (Photo by Varuth Hirunyatheb)
A top Ministry of Public Health official on Monday urged the public to maintain all health and safety practices adopted at the height of the domestic Covid-19 infection period, warning that quarantine alone will not keep the country safe.
Dr Sophon Iamsirithavorn, director of the ministry's Communicable Diseases Division, told media on Monday that infected people will still cross the border no matter how stringent isolation measures for arrivals are.
"The most recent Covid-19 cases in Thailand were among returnees who appear to have been asymptomatic for long periods of time, possibly even the duration of their quarantine," said Dr Sophon.
The department has raised its alert level after two particular cases -- the first a French woman who tested positive a week after leaving her assigned quarantine facility and the second an Indian restaurateur living in Krabi who returned in February.
Dr Sophon said that as restrictions are eased to stimulate the economy, especially for those coming from countries considered low risk, the Communicable Diseases Division is committed to reminding people to remain vigilant as the pandemic is far from over in much of the rest of the world.
Meanwhile, Dr Supakij Sirilak, acting chief of the Department of Medical Sciences, said the test result for the wife of the Indian restaurateur will be known today as efforts continue to trace any potential lines of infection in Krabi, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai, all of which the man had visited recently.
Authorities in Sukhothai on Monday revealed the patient's timeline when he was visiting the province and said he had come into close contact with 32 people during his one-day stay.
Low-risk contacts were advised to observe social distancing and, where possible, self-isolate until doctors give them the all-clear.
According to officials, the resort and the restaurant were found to have complied with disease control measures.
Investigations in the other areas the man had travelled to remain ongoing.
