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Chonburi, Thailand-
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 98 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 this morning in the popular province that includes Pattaya.
The districts that cases were found in are as follows: Mueang Chonburi 24, Si Racha 11, Banglamung (Pattaya area) 49, Sattahip 2, Ban Bueng 4, Pan Thong 2, Bor Thong 2, and 1 case from other provinces brought for treatment.
The details for cases located in the past 24 hours are as follows:
5 cases of COVID-19 from the Flintstone Pub in the Don Hualor sub-district of Mueang Chonburi (since April 6th 2021, a total of 151 cases from this venue).
In the past day, a total of 544 close contacts were tested, and 75 more proactive ones were searched for Covid-19. All are waiting for their test results and currently in isolation.
Authorities are asking for residents to work from home if possible, avoid crowded places, wear masks at all times outside, practice social distancing, limit their contacts with people outside of their household, and follow other Covid-19 precautions.
Additionally, authorities are specifically warning people returning to work from Songkran to work from home if possible for two weeks. If not, they should avoid eating with other staff members, wear masks, keep their distance, and follow other Covid-19 precautions at work.
Yesterday started the first day of stricter precautions and restrictions for the Chonburi area. You can read more about these restrictions here.
Health officials in Thailand's central province of Ayutthaya have expanded COVID-19 screening to 800 people at high risk in Muang district, after 20 people, linked to the central farmers' market, were found to be infected, prompting health officials from the Disease Control Department and Ratchathani Hospital to target screening on traders in the market.
Many other people have, however, applied for the free screening, but there are not enough test queue tickets for all of them, said a health official, adding that authorities have been discussing how to deal with this problem.
The central market is located on a 1.6 hectare plot on the in-bound Asian Highway in Hantra sub-district. It contains over 100 shops and is well known for grilled seafood.
The market remained closed today, as most traders are due for screening.
In the eastern coastal province of Chon Buri, 120 new COVID-19 cases were recorded today (Sunday) as health officials appeal for visitors to entertainment outlets, in Bangkok and its suburbs, to report for screening, to prevent the disease from spreading further.
Cumulative infections in Chon Buri, since April 1st, are 1,185, with 1,176 of them are still undergoing treatment.
More than 700 people are to be screened today.
Thailand may have to push back the reopening of Phuket to vaccinated travelers. Planned for July, Thailand hoped to reopen the popular island to tourists as a part of its pilot scheme. However, with cases rising and not enough vaccines available, the government is now considering pushing back the reopening date.
According to Bangkok Post, Thailand's tourism ministry has signaled that it is looking to push the date of Phuket's tourism reopening. Phuket was all set to reopen on July 1st to vaccinated tourists as a part of a "sandbox" pilot program. However, since then, Thailand has been hit with a double whammy.
Recent days have seen the country's cases soar to their highest ever, with the country seeing over 1,500 daily cases. This is a stunning reversal for Thailand after its success in limiting local transmission of the virus during much of 2020 and battling two waves of cases successfully. However, the rising cases mean that the government must reassess its reopening plans. Currently, Thailand has 42,352 cases and 101 deaths.
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While the cases might seem low by international standards, it has been a huge cause for concern in the country. In addition to the cases, Thailand's vaccine rollout has been slowed as well. While the country originally planned to focus supply to Phuket and vaccinate 70% of the province's population by June, rising cases mean that limited vaccine supply must go to other provinces as well.
Understandably, Thailand is trying to salvage the reopening of Phuket instead of an indefinite delay. In a statement, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said,
"We are concerned about the reopening timeline. We still need to discuss the vaccine administration plan. If the herd immunity goal cannot be achieved, we may have to consider opening only certain areas in Phuket."
While narrowing down the areas open to tourists could help, the government is unsure if travel bubble countries will agree to the proposal. If cases remain high, countries could opt not to form agreements with Thailand, hurting the recovery.
We will know more about the dates and details of the Phuket sandbox following a government meeting next week. For now, the July 1st reopening timeline seems to be in serious danger of being missed.
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2021 was meant to mark a fresh start for travelers and tourism-reliant economies around the world. With vaccines now approved, airlines were excited to roll out busy summer schedules to cater to demand. However, the reality has been far from this optimistic image.
Vaccine supplies remain low and countries globally are battling a new of cases that is proving to be larger than the last. While there have been some glimmers of hope for vaccinated travelers, we are far from a global reopening that was once hoped for.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is establishing field hospitals to meet the rising number of COVID-19 cases. The BMA has already set up field hospitals around the city, with another due to open on 19 April. They are located at Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital, with a capacity of 500 beds; Ratchapipat Hospital in Taweewattana district, with a capacity of 200 beds; Bangkok Arena Sports Complex in Nong Chok, with a capacity of 350 beds; and the 84th Anniversary Stadium in Bang Bon district, with a capacity of 200 beds. Currently, the BMA has plans to add 500 more beds to Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital. Those who test positive for COVID-19 but have yet to find a hospital can call hotlines 1668, 1339, or 1669 for assistance.
Political polarisation is in fact common in most countries, at least on some issues. It becomes a serious problem only when disputes lead to violence.
It's often the case that the leaders of rival groups are to be blamed for inciting hatred and fear. And they do so in the hope it will help them stay on in power.
Thailand has never experienced civil war or violent geographical division, as was the case on the Korean Peninsula six decades ago.
Let us learn from the mistakes of countries that failed to curb conflicts between rival groups that led to armed combat and eventually full-blown civil wars.
If they could turn back the time, certainly most people in such countries would have wanted to see war averted.
War causes sufferings on both sides, and the impacts is worst for the people who have to experience the losses and damages caused by their compatriots.
In war-torn nations of Africa and the Middle East, armed battles have displaced millions of people, in addition to causing deaths, disabilities and exoduses of refugees.
Any severe conflict that threatens to break a country apart will be damaging to the majority of citizens.
Certain families or groups of people might benefit from national division – they can use it to mobilise support from either side or use the division as an excuse to seize political power. So it's a good idea for the conflicting sides to reconcile.
Their leaders should at least come together and try to settle their differences.
There is a good opportunity for Thailand now that the people seem to have seen the "true colours" of the players behind the lingering conflict.
We hope this new attempt to bury the hatchet succeeds. But it will require sincerity and determination on both sides.
If they genuinely consider the public interest and place it over personal benefit, the red and yellow leaders will enjoy widespread support for their causes.
The real benefit for the country as a whole would be peace and wellbeing.
Website The Richest crunched data from hook-up sites and Durex condoms to reveal the nationalities most likely to cheat.
But it seams having a steamy affair is not always as taboo as might be expected and the list shows the countries which are most often cited as having illicit affairs.
Just scraping into the top ten Finland has an interesting view when it comes to having an affair.
The liaisons are called 'parallel relationships' and society is relatively open-minded when it comes to having a bit on the side.
A survey by Match.com found one in five married men had had affairs with at least ten women – seven times the rate among women.
The British aren't traditionally known for their fiery sex lives with other more passionate countries mocking our cooler national
But that may have changed.
In fact the owner of a leading website, Ashley Madison, which helps arrange extramarital affairs claims at least 1 million Brits are interested in cheating on their partners.
It's probably little comfort for concerned partners that Britons who cheat are far more likely to feel guilty than their European counterparts.
The southern European country is associated with having a passionate and fiery temperament so it is perhaps surprising that Spain does not feature higher up the list.
However, while the influence of Spain's Catholic Church is waning, it seems to still hold some sway since extra-marital affairs remain somewhat taboo in the country.
According to magazine New Europe, Belgian married dating website Gleeden boasts 1.1million members, with advisor Chantal Bauwens saying cheating is no longer taboo in the country.
She said: 'It is no longer a "wrong" that allows the injured party to request separating due to the wrongs of the infidel,' she says. 'Is your spouse cheating on you? Yeah, so? Do the same or divorce!'
According to dating website Victoria Milan which caters for married men and women looking to play away, Norwegians are less likely to use the site during the cold winter months.
But when the mercury rises it seems that so does Norwegians promiscuity.
The Gallic people have always been thought of as fairly open-minded when it comes to matters of the heart.
In fact the traditional l'heure bleue refers to the hour after work when men would go and visit their mistress.
France is the only country in which most people believe affairs are morally acceptable and only 28 per cent of adulterers said they regretted their affairs.
When President Hollande was accused of nipping off on a scooter in the middle of the night to see his mistress his poll ratings, rather than take a nosedive, actually went up.
It might come as a surprise that the Germans are more likely than the French to have affairs.
But it seems the French have some frisky neighbours who are perhaps just more discreet about playing away from home.
The country that gave us the original ladies man Giacomo Casanova famed for bedding hundreds of women lays a strong claim to third place in the world ranking.
Italy also elected Silvio Berlusconi known as much for his Bunga Bunga parties as for his politics.
But it doesn't seem like the Italian's adultery is harming marital relations.
Although it has risen in recent years the country still has one of the lowest rates of divorce of any nation.
The Scandinavian country always scores highly on ratings which judge the happiness of its citizens, but it seems they also score highly when it comes to adultery.
Although it seems that the activities of those living in the capital Copenhagen maybe pushing up the average rate.
More than one-third of people residing in Copenhagen have been unfaithful to their partners.
Despite that almost half those who are married admit having an affair.
But it's Thailand which grabbed the top spot with 56% of the population admitting to being unfaithful.
Thailand has a whole host of being unfaithful including the traditional mia noi (minor wife).
The younger generation also enjoys the casual GIK culture where men and women have extra friends they spend time with aside from their partners. Not all of these relationships are sexual.
There has also been a growing sex-for-sale culture which is mainly aimed at men in massage parlours, clubs and brothels.
But in 2012 when a Durex survey suggested women were more adulterous than men they faced a backlash from the Thai media.
Of course just because a country doesn't feature in the top ten it doesn't mean there aren't plenty of men and women sneaking around there.
The third virus wave may be a calamity for Thailand if it manages to keep spreading within the 18 red zones or provinces which are also key centres of population and economic activity. The economic threat looming comes after more than a year of economic contraction. It now presents the government not only with another prospect of lost GDP but also danger as its budgetary room for manoeuvre is limited with a rising deficit, large numbers of asset-backed loans in the tourism sector that have been waiting for a strategically important asset warehousing scheme to be launched at the same time as reopening the country to a large number of foreign visitors again.
'It's too early to say.'
These were the words of Bank of Thailand senior director Chayawadee Chai-Anant even before the extent of this massive third wave became apparent, on Friday, April 9th as she warned the economy may have contracted in the first quarter and that conceivably, this year, 2021 could see another sharp economic setback for Thailand.
There are growing fears for the Thai economy as the scale of this third wave of the virus emerges and the government grapples with its implications.
Senior economists are now openly suggesting that the second quarter of 2021 will see a sharp contraction of the economy as well as what is believed to be a contraction in the first quarter after the loss of the foreign tourism industry hit Thailand particularly hard in January and February 2021 compared to the economy's performance in 2020.
Despite the scale of the disaster, the government has been trying to minimise economic disruption where possible, even though the restrictions announced over the weekend by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) for the 18 red zone provinces will impact that area of the country, accounting for 50% of the economy, hard.
This virus wave has struck at the heart of the kingdom's GDP generating capabilities particularly Bangkok and surrounding provinces as well as the key foreign tourism hotspots.
Schools have been closed for two weeks with large gatherings banned as well as new, limited opening hours for convenience stores and other commercial outlets.
'This is to keep businesses alive,' said Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin as he announced the new measures.
They come into effect from Sunday and according to the National Security Council chief, General Natthapon Nakpanich, Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha is prepared to take further steps.
On Sunday, it was reported the Prime Minister has urged key agencies to locate more vaccine doses from American agencies and from Russia whose Sputnik V vaccine is reported to be 91% effective according to a peer-review study published in the UK medical journal The Lancet.
'I've told the Government Pharmaceuticals Organization and the Food and Drug Administration to coordinate and facilitate them,' General Prayut said.
Over the weekend, Thailand had yet to reach the level of 1% of the population having received the first dose as the figure of 605,279 or 0.87% of the official population was released on Saturday.
The Minister of Public Health, Anutin Charnvirakul, has meanwhile urged the public to cooperate and talked about the ability to bring the third wave under control within two weeks depending on public co-operation
This could be a bit optimistic.
The current situation is particularly dire for the government which had a near ฿500 billion deficit in the opening months of 2021 and which is limited in its borrowing capacity despite its relatively low debt to GDP ratio and the urgings of more progressive economists.
Even before the third wave broke out and as its extent is becoming evident, the consumer confidence index had dipped in January recovering in February with overall consumer spending still off by 3.3%.
Consumer spending may now drop further and by at least ฿100 billion if a new coronavirus outbreak lasts for two months, possibly sinking the economy in the current quarter, the President of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), Dr Thanavath Phonvichai, said earlier in the month.
Consumer confidence fell back to 48.5 in March after a rise to 49.4 in the previous month, according to a survey by the institute.
At the outset of this new wave, Dr Thanavath had already accepted that it could lead to a second quarter of contraction in 2021 and predicted at least a loss of ฿100 billion in consumer spending.
At a press conference, the economist suggested the government and the economy could rebound if the third wave was seen off early.
'Sentiment is expected to drop for at least three months before picking up if the Covid situation eases quickly,' he said.
While Dr Thanavath conceded that a second-quarter contraction may result, he suggested that growth of 2% to 2.5% could be achieved this year if the situation was brought under control within two months.
The senior director at the Bank of Thailand, Chayawadee Chai-Anant has, on the other hand, warned that the threat posed by the virus and its more infectious variants could leave Thailand facing another, even sharper contraction this year if the vaccine rollout fails to take off and if the virus continues to wreak havoc with business operations and consumer confidence.
There is also now a real fear that the planned reopening of the kingdom to foreign tourists from October 1st with a July 1st reopening in Phuket, has been placed in jeopardy.
This was confirmed on Saturday by the Minister of Tourism and Sports Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn who cited a lack of vaccines as a key reason.
Current Finance Ministry projections are for 5 million visitors to be seen in Thailand this year while the Bank of Thailand has been suggesting a figure closer to 3 million.
Respected economic thinkers are beginning to express alarm at the situation that is developing with some suggesting that this third wave has the capacity to inflict far more than the ฿100 billion loss estimated at the outset in recent weeks due to lack of consumer spending.
They point to the level of fear that this third wave is generating as it hits key population centres and areas of economic activity.
Concern is also being expressed about the government's ability to address the third wave without recourse to excessive further borrowing or exceeding a debt limit which it is by law prohibited to do.
It is currently thought that the government debt level is at 53.3% of GDP which is, in fact, below the 57% forecast last year.
However, it is facing higher current deficits due to a depressed economy with higher burdens and a legal borrowing limit set at 60% of GDP.
The government had been planning a strategically important asset warehousing scheme to relaunch the tourism sector and provide support to the thousands of borrowers in the industry and their bankers.
The estimated cost of this scheme was ฿100 billion. In addition, the government had earmarked ฿400 billion to ฿500 billion for soft loans to the business sector.
This is part of the ฿1 trillion fund organised last year to protect the kingdom's economy and to allow for a relaunch this year.
The budgetary pressure now on the government, on a day to day basis, for the next 8 months means, it will have little extra to offer the population or business concerns reeling from the effects of the third wave.
It could well find itself also constrained by a reduced tax take from a still contracting economy.
At the same time, the current situation will further exacerbate Thailand's chronic household debt problem estimated at 90% of GDP at the end of 2020.
The Bank of Thailand Governor, Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, in October last year, identified this as a key concern amid raised unemployment numbers caused by the first wave.
The third wave leaves the economy with a heightened prospect of foreign tourism not rebounding this year.
This will spell heavier economic damage to the already ravaged sector and may make the planned asset warehousing scheme impractical. This may see more permanent closures and fire sales in an industry that has already suffered massive structural change.
The delay caused by this third wave will also aggravate the financial losses incurred by banks and lenders caused by a collapse in asset values.
While many industry insiders suggest that it will take three years for things to fully recover, it may also be the case that we may never see a return to the halcyon days of Thailand's tourism sector that grew from the 1960s on the basis of rising demand and the popular expansion of air travel worldwide which this pandemic has decimated and, in the longer term, left a question mark over.
Some economic thinkers are worried that this wave may be just as devastating as the first wave economically as it is hitting an already damaged economy in addition to the geographical spread of the hotspots which has seen the virus targeting large population centres which will lead to the public quickly curtailing its economic activity.
We have already seen this virus wave hitting the Royal Thai Police and other key state agencies with a sharp spike in hospitalisations.
The government is facing a tight budgetary situation and may not, this time, be able to step in to provide assistance.
Economists have estimated the second round of the virus cost Thailand ฿200 billion while the first wave cost it ฿900 billion.
The cost of this massive third wave might be anywhere between these two figures but with new restrictions announced on Sunday and rocketing rates of infection, things look quite bleak.
We are now entering a situation where knock-on secondary economic effects may become a factor and another ball for the country's economic planners to juggle.
If the country fails to ramp up its vaccine campaign and the growing third wave gets worse, leading to further economic retreat, Thailand may be left facing a crisis even bigger but also more dangerous than last year.
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