37 Thai provinces, out of 77, have now imposed a 14 day quarantine on travellers from Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathum and Samut Prakan – basically Bangkok and surrounding provinces. These provinces are now considered Red Zones under maximum control . Expect more provinces to follow with restrictions for people from these provinces around Bangkok, and the Capital itself.
Songkran, officially, is tomorrow, April 13. But the annual exodus started on Saturday.
The provincial restrictions, in some cases, will accept a negative Covid test as an alternative. But you expect some delays whilst travelling between provinces over the next week of Songkran celebrations. The annual migration to home provinces by Thais is the biggest movement of people in the country each year, the exact opposite to what you would want during a potential outbreak of new infections.
Here's the full breakdown of new local Covid-19 infections for Monday, April 12 from the NBT…
Out of the 980 local infections in today's announcement, most were in the northern city of Chiang Mai (246), followed by Bangkok (137), Chonburi (92), Samut Prakan (83) and Prachuap Khiri Khan (52).
10 new Covid infections announced in Phuket today. Total 74 since last Monday when the first case was announced involving the 3 big parties on the previous weekend. These are not included in the government's official tally as announced this morning.
Although several schools and universities on the island have taken their own independent precautions, the provincial government has been silent about any new restrictions or changes to the status quo. Flights for Songkran, and road traffic, continue to pour into the island for Songkran.
5,265 people still in care or under observation in Thailand, there has been a total of 97 deaths in January 2020. 28, 248 people have fully recovered.
The Defence Ministry has set up field hospitals with room for more than 5,000 Covid-19 patients as the third wave of the virus rolls across Thailand.
"The ministry has set up field hospitals in Bangkok and its vicinity with total capacity of 3,195 beds, while field hospitals in other provinces have around 2,000 beds," ministry spokesman Lt General Kongcheep Tantrawanich said on Monday.
Kongcheep added that the Army has set up 12 hospitals with a total 2,200 beds at its training facilities nationwide. Meanwhile, the Navy has set up three hospitals with 726 beds in Chonburi and Chanthaburi provinces, while the Air Force has set up a hospital in Nakhon Pathom province with 100 beds.
"The field hospitals will treat the infected and also help prevent the spread of Covid-19 to nearby communities," said the spokesman. "The ministry will ensure that strict disease control measures are employed in these hospitals for the safety of the public."
Health authorities reported 985 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, the highest number seen in Thailand this year. The latest outbreak emerged in Bangkok late last month and has since spread across the country.
Govt mulls visa rule overhaul for expats, tourists, investors
The online filing system for 90-day reports has been down for more than a month. (Screenshot from www.immigration.go.th/)
The government could revamp immigration rules this year to make it easier for expats and long-term tourists to stay in the country, part of a strategy to boost investment and tourism revenue once the pandemic eases.
The proposed changes could mean foreigners would no longer have to file 90-day reports of their whereabouts -- a deeply deeply unpopular requirement, particularly now that the online filing system has been down for more than a month.
Expats trying to file online have been greeted with a flashy animation painting the immigration service in a glamorous light, followed by a simple text message that the system is "temporarily closed for maintenance". No further information is given, including when the system might be repaired. Hotel staff have also been frustated because the TM-30 reporting system has also been down.
"Immigration rules are the key pain point" for foreigners working in Thailand, Chayotid Kridakorn, 54, a former head of JPMorgan Securities (Thailand) who's leading a government task force to smooth investment into Thailand, said in a phone interview from Bangkok. "We want to make it easier for foreigners to live and work in Thailand."
Authorities contend that making it easier for foreign companies to bring in skilled workers and for western retirees to stay in Thailand will boost the economy, which suffered its biggest contraction in more than two decades last year. Gross domestic product growth won't return to pre-Covid levels until the third quarter of 2022, according to the Bank of Thailand.
A detailed framework to boost investment and tourism will be proposed to the government's economic panel within a month, Mr Chayotid said. Plans include improving regulations on immigration, visa applications and work permits for foreign experts, including relaxing the requirement for foreign workers to report their whereabouts to authorities every 90 days.
The framework also will include inducements for foreign investors such as corporate income-tax cuts, relaxed property-holding rules and incentives for retirees and start-up companies.
Retirees, Pensioners
Mr Chayotid, an adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, said he aims to attract one million retirees or pensioners to Thailand in the next few years, who he claimed could contribute as much as 1.2 trillion baht to the economy each year.
Thailand has seen foreign direct investment tumble more than 50% in the past five years to about 361 billion baht in 2020 as investors were deterred by factors including periodic political uncertainties, low growth prospects due to an aging society and a labour shortage. Foreign tourist arrivals into Thailand plunged to 6.7 million last year, the lowest level in at least 12 years, after the country closed its borders to contain the pandemic.
Areas that need immediate improvement include visas and regulations that prevent Thailand from gaining more value from foreigners and foreign workers, Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in a March speech that was posted recently on the central bank's website.
Other points from the interview with Mr Chayotid:
The task force will talk to foreign manufacturers in Thailand, especially in the auto and electronic industries, about how to upgrade their technology or bring research and development functions to Thailand
The team will recommend the government offer more incentives and develop infrastructure for use of electric cars, which could encourage local producers to meet rising demand locally
The team will approach new investors when Thailand reopens its borders later this year
"If we don't fix this now, it will be too late to upgrade our investment," Mr Chayotid said. "We don't want to be left behind and die with old technology."
Virus outbreak throws Thailand's re-opening plans into doubt
Thai Buddhist monks wear face shields to prevent the spread of COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, during morning alms in Bangkok
A growing outbreak in Thailand, where local Covid-19 cases hit a new daily record on Sunday, threatens to undermine the nation's plan to welcome back tourists.
The country saw daily infections surge to 789, bringing its total tally to over 31,600 cases, according to the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration.
Cases have spiked every so often since the start of the year, and the latest figures suggest the coronavirus spread has yet to be contained in the Southeast Asian nation.
This could jeopardize the tourism-reliant country's efforts to boost the local travel industry.
Thailand is already planning to reopen Phuket from July and waiving quarantine for vaccinated tourists heading there.
It's using the resort island as a testing ground before expanding similar measures to other tourist hotspots such as Koh Samui.
As part of its tourism efforts, it has already approved a list of eight Covid-19 vaccine makers, including Sinovac Biotech Ltd. and Pfizer Inc., for foreign visitors seeking to shorten a mandatory quarantine on arrival.
Tourism has never been more important to Thailand. It's betting on a return of overseas visitors to rescue the country from its worst economic performance in more than two decades.
Tourism contributed to a fifth of its economy before the pandemic.
Foreign tourist arrivals into Thailand plunged to the lowest level in at least 20 years after the country closed its borders.
A guide to the UK variant fuelling Thailand's third wave of COVID-19
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After wreaking havoc overseas, the highly-contagious UK variant of COVID-19 has entered Thailand and sparked a fresh nationwide outbreak centred on nightspots in Bangkok's upmarket Thong Lor area.
This latest wave of COVID-19 transmissions has triggered even greater alarm, as evidence shows that the UK variant is 1.7 more contagious and deadlier than other strains.
What is the UK COVID-19 variant?
The world first heard of this variant, also known as B117, in December when the United Kingdom identified a new genome responsible for infections that were spreading fast in Kent despite national restrictions. Further research suggested the variant may have emerged in September 2020 but initially spread at very low levels.
By the time B117 was reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it had already spread quickly through the UK and, by last month, it was responsible for most of the country's new COVID-19 cases.
Researchers believe the new variant is also responsible for a higher mortality rate. According to one study, deaths from B117 infections were between 30 and 100 per cent higher than deaths from earlier variants.
The UK variant contains 23 mutations – 14 non-synonymous mutations, three deletions, and six synonymous mutations.
How is B117 spreading in Thailand?
People demanded to know how the UK variant could have spread in Thailand given that all arrivals from overseas are forced to quarantine for 14 days. However, the mandatory 14-day quarantine was only imposed until March 31; from April 1, the quarantine period was shortened to 10 days for most arrivals.
Dr Yong Poovorawan, a renowned virologist at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine, said the UK variant may have arrived in Thailand via Cambodia, judging by similarities in genetics and infection spikes in the two countries.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, director-general of the Medical Sciences Department, said a detailed analysis should provide crucial information about the exact origin in the next few days.
Thailand is the 42nd country to have reported an outbreak caused by the UK variant.
Thailand's new wave of COVID-19 infections has raised the economic risk level, but a clear picture of the impact will only emerge after the Songkran break. The Thai economy contracted 6.1 per cent amid the first wave last year, and following the second wave in December and third wave just last week, many people are worried that Thailand's recovery will be further delayed.
Can vaccines control B117?
While vaccine brands such as Moderna, Pfizer and Sinopharm have shown impressive efficacy against the UK variant, they are not available in Thailand right now.
The two brands currently available in Thailand are Sinovac and the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccines. The Sinovac jab is barely 50 per cent effective against normal strains and its efficacy reportedly drops further in the face of a mutated version. The AstraZeneca vaccine's ability to prevent symptomatic infections also reportedly drops from 81.5 per cent to just 70.4 per cent when faced with the UK variant. Worse yet, Thailand has so far just acquired 117,600 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Thailand's next step
Dr Opart Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said on Saturday that the vaccines allocated to Thailand meet WHO standards.
"They rank among the best and will help our country control the COVID-19 situation efficiently," he said.
Thailand has already acquired 2 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine – including one million doses that arrived on Saturday. More than 530,000 doses have been administered so far in Thailand, up till April 5.
Opart did not elaborate, however, on how his department plans to curb the ongoing spread of the UK strain, as hundreds of new cases are reported on a daily basis in Thailand.
He only said that about 10 million shots will be administered every month from June onwards thanks to local production of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
COVID-19 has already claimed almost 3 million lives globally and 97 in Thailand.
A member of the military (right) and a worker carries a bed frame during a media tour at a Covid-19 field facility set up at Ratchaphiphat Hospital in Bangkok on Saturday. (Bloomberg photo)
More than 28,000 people could be infected by Covid-19 per day over the next month if no disease control measures are put in place during the current spike, which is thought to be more severe than the previous two rounds, a senior public health official warned on Sunday.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported 967 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the most ever diagnosed in 24 hours in the kingdom.
Sopon Iamsirithaworn, the deputy director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), said its epidemiology division in collaboration with the International Health Policy Program had come up with a mathematical model to predict the number of people who could become infected per day if safety measures were not observed. In a worst-case scenario with no disease control measures in place, 28,678 people could be infected per day, he said.
However, the average number of daily cases under this scenario would be 9,140, Dr Sopon added, while noting the lowest number could be 1,308 if people do not comply with safety measures.
As of Saturday, for the most recent phase of the outbreak, Bangkok had recorded an accumulated number of 1,114 infections. Of that number, 823 were linked to night entertainment venues in the capital, and the rest detected during proactive mass testing in communities, Dr Sopon said.
According to CCSA data, infections have been linked to 140 pubs in 15 provinces. Bangkok topped the list with 85 nightspots, led by the Krystal Club in Thong Lor, where 211 infections had been detected since the beginning of this month. Chon Buri recorded 11 infections, Prachuap Khiri Khan recorded nine, Pathum Thani seven and Chiang Mai six.
Dr Sopon said most of the kingdom's new transmissions were linked to pub clusters that have now spread to 70 provinces in the kingdom.
He said entertainment venues in 41 provinces have been ordered to close for two weeks, and nightspots in the other 36 provinces could be ordered to close as well if they were hit by the pandemic.
Operators of pubs in the 36 provinces must follow disease control protocols, including mask-wearing and strict screenings, Dr Sopon said.
"The situation is still worrying because the disease has now spread to several provinces, though the situation is still manageable if all involved join hands," he said.
Bangkok plans to install 10,000 field-hospital beds, a health official said, as the country strains to cope with a third wave of Covid-19 infections. (Reuters video)
Meanwhile, health officials in Chiang Mai reported hundreds of new Covid-19 infections and said they had been forced to cancel some of the planned celebrations of this week's Songkran festival.
The provincial public health office said 281 new cases had been detected, bringing the total number of confirmed cases since the beginning of this month to 662.
Sunday's figures were not included in the CCSA's daily updates on Sunday and will be reflected in Monday's nationwide report.
Chiang Mai's new caseload its highest since the outbreak began seven days ago in the province, a favoured destination for Thai and international tourists, particularly over Songkran.
Many tourists had already cancelled their trips there.
Chiang Mai has ordered people travelling from Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Nakhon Pathom to register through the CM Chana app and observe self-quarantine for 14 days. It also closed all entertainment venues until April 23.
The province decided to cancel some of the functions planned for Songkran festivities and scaled down others. The alms-offering ceremony planned for tomorrow at Tha Phae Gate was among the events scrapped. "We have to boost confidence for residents in the province and try to curb the spread of the virus," deputy provincial governor Rattaphol Naradisorn said.
Health authorities have asked people who recently visited 10 places connected to the latest outbreak to get tested for Covid-19.
The venues are Warm Up Cafe Chiang Mai, DC Chiang Mai, Ground Consol's Garden, Phor Jai bar, Valentine's karaoke, Tha Chang cafe, Infinity Club, Living Machine, Tawan Daeng and Too Nice Nimman.
Chon Buri entertainment venues closed after surge
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) in Chon Buri yesterday ordered the closure of all entertainment hangouts after the province reported 141 new cases, while Chiang Mai saw a daily spike of almost 200 in one day.
The website of the Chon Buri provincial public health office reported that the 141 new cases included three clusters — two of which were linked to entertainment venues in Pattaya and in Bangkok.
The first cluster which emerged at the Flintstone pub had 54 new cases, bringing its tally to 90. The second cluster had two new cases contracting the virus from a family who had been to the Bangkok International Motor Show. This cluster's total number of cases was 15.
The third cluster which involves a Japanese national contracting the virus at Krystal Club in Thong Lor area of Bangkok had one new case. This cluster had 43 cases as of April 10.
The provincial public health office is searching for all 872 people who have been in contact with the infected people.
The re-emergence of Covid-19 in the eastern province of Chon Buri this month has resulted in 225 cases. (continues below)
A spike in cases there has dampened the atmosphere at the province's famous Bang Saen beach despite the festive Songkran holiday, causing concerns among local businesses about a possible loss in profits during Songkran.
In Chiang Mai, authorities have confirmed 186 new Covid-19 cases, raising the total from the recent outbreak this month to 381.
Many people who visited the places appearing in timelines of the infected people have reportedly travelled to hospitals to take a Covid-19 test.
The new infections were believed to have been linked to entertainment venues, the source of most of the infections that have been spreading throughout the country in recent days.
Timelines showed many infected patients had travelled to several nightspots.
The province has started building a field hospital since Friday and plans to increase the beds up to 1,000. – Bangkok Post
Visitors to Thailand will need to upload copies of the vaccination certificates on the website of the nation's foreign ministry prior to arrival to reduce the quarantine period to seven days.
Those without vaccinations will still need to undergo 10 days of isolation and visitors from countries including South Africa will be subject to a two-week quarantine.
The list of approved vaccine makers are Sinovac, AstraZeneca Plc, SK Bioscience Co. Ltd., Pfizer, BioNTech SE, Serum Institute of India, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc. and Sinopharm Group Co.
Thailand is betting on a return of foreign visitors to rescue its economy from its worst performance in more than two decades.
The nation, famous for its palm-fringed beaches, temples and backpacker culture, shortened the quarantine this month after the requirement was seen as the biggest hurdle to potential travelers.
Phuket, a resort island, is also working to completely waive the quarantine from July for vaccinated tourists.
Foreign visitors will still need to present a certificate of entry, a valid visa, health insurance and Covid-19 test results along with their vaccine certificate, according to the Foreign Ministry rules.
Those seeking shorter quarantine should have taken their shots no less than 14 days before travel date.
The COVID mismanagement has devastated Thailand's tourism industry, which provided more than $60 billion in revenue from about 40 million foreign visitors in 2019.
While Thailand has been largely successful in containing the outbreak, a fresh wave of infections tied to entertainment venues in Bangkok has prompted authorities to order closure of pubs and bars in the affected areas.
The Ministry of Public Health has clarified that it has no policy of allowing Covid-19 patients to be treated at home.
If hospital beds are full, they have a forwarding system with a field hospital and a hotel semi-hospital system (hospitel) to treat patients with mild symptoms.
Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, confirmed that unlike many other countries Thailand had no policy of people infected with Covid-19 being confined to their homes.
Infected persons must be hospitalised.
Dr Opas added that the majority of infected people in this new wave have relatively few symptoms, so a hotel system is adapted to be a hospitel, with a medical and public healthcare system. There is a referral system if the symptoms are more severe. There are now thousands of rooms available and if there are many infected people, field hospitals will be set up in Bangkok, he said.
He added that Thais or foreigners with suspected symptoms can detect the infection free of charge as the government subsidises the examination fee for everyone by providing a budget to the National Health Security Office of Bt3 billion, which is sufficient as of now.
THE Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said via its Facebook page at 11 a.m. today (April 11) that there were 967 cases over the past 24 hours while a Hua Hin doctor revealed that the number of cases linked to Maya exclusive pub has risen to 141, Sanook.com said.
The new batch of cases takes the cumulative confirmed total to 32,625 with 28,214 patients having been cured while 4,314 are still undergoing treatment. There was no additional fatality with the toll remaining at 97.
Of this total three were foreign arrivals who have either been hospitalized or quarantined. Domestic cases were divided into two groups with 530 voluntarily going to hospital to get tested while 434 were found through proactive testing in communities.
Meanwhile Dr. Suriya Kuharat, Prachuap Khiri Khan province's public health doctor, said the number of cases in Maya pub cluster where the infection first appeared on April 1 continues to rise and has reached 141 so far.
The infection from this pub has not just spread to many areas of Hua Hin district but also other districts in neighbouring provinces.
Of the 141 cases, the oldest is 82 and the youngest just two with the average age being 30.3 years. There are 90 females and 51 males in the group.
Many people say they plan to skip activities to celebrate this year's Songkran festival or are uncertain whether to join them while the number of Covid-19 infections is on the rise, according the result of an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted online on 1,324 people throughout the country from April 3-9 to sound out their opinions after the government announced that while the traditional aspects of Songkran should be maintained, the "new normal" practices to prevent the Covid-19 spreading must be observed.
Asked whether they would take part in acitivities organised locally, 43.88% said "no"; 33.31% were uncertain; and 22.81% said they would join in.
Asked what they would do to maintain the Songkran tradition during the pandemic, with each respondent allowed to choose more than one answer, 64.82% would perform a "rod nam dam hua" ceremony for elderly people in their families only; 63.28% would stay home and spend the time with familiy members; 53.66% would make merit by giving alms to monks; 52.50% would bathe their own Buddha statues; and 37.64% would conserve Thai traditions.
On individual spending during this year's Songkran, 55.86% said it would not be over 3,000 baht; 25.49% said it would be 3,001-5,000 baht; and 18.65% said it would be over 5,000 baht. The average expected expenditure was 4,183.57 baht.
PHOTO: Police warn selling chips at your bar doesn't make you a restaurant
Following the closure of entertainment venues in 41 provinces for 2 weeks (starting Friday night at midnight), Pattaya police have warned that bars acting as restaurants and restaurants acting as bars would be punished. Police have been patrolling heavily, according to The Pattaya News, to check in on venues and remind them of the penalties and fines for breaking shut-down rules. Just selling fries or chips isn't going to cut it, according to police.
The current outbreak of Covid-19 throughout Thailand has been disproportionately spread by patrons of nightclubs and bars, including many pubs in Chon Buri and Bangkok. While the CCSA has called for a 2 week closure, the Chon Buri edict is currently open-dated, expected to be in effect until conditions improve. Patrolling police stressed that, while restaurants are allowed to stay open and sell alcohol, abusing that exception will be punished.
In previous entertainment venue shutdowns during the pandemic, many businesses took advantage of the restaurant loophole. As there's no exact wording in the law saying people have to order food and not only drinks, many restaurants served drinks and allowed dancing and socialising without any social distancing.
Some bars were even seen hastily adding a quick food menu of easy snacks in an attempt to skirt the rules and operate as a restaurant serving alcohol. But this time Pattaya police warn that restaurants using these sneaky tricks won't be tolerated. Even businesses with multi licenses will need to take measures to make it clear they are not operating like a bar as police will have the discretion to make judgement calls on venues.
The 2 week closure of entertainment venues went into effect on Friday at midnight and banquet halls, movie theatres, saunas and soapies are all closed. Restaurants are allowed to stay open, but with a 10 pm curfew on dine-in services. Takeaway food is allowed after 10 pm until 5 in the morning. Officials hope this latest shutdown on entertainment venues will slow the outbreak enough to avoid the dreaded full lockdowns, travel restrictions, and domestic quarantines.
This weekend saw the start of the annual mass migration of Thais back to their homes for the annual Songkran. Although the government have banned water splashing activities, the exodus from the Capital and movement around the country of millions of people has authorities nervous about the potential of Songkran to spread Covid out to the provinces.
The provincial restrictions, in some cases, will accept a negative Covid test as an alternative. But you expect some delays whilst travelling between provinces over the next week of Songkran celebrations. The annual migration to home provinces by Thais is the biggest movement of people in the country each year, the exact opposite to what you would want during a potential outbreak of new infections.
