The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 63 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 this morning (May 10th), a major drop from yesterday with one new death.
This makes a total of 3,361 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 1,507 still in medical care, with nine recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April.
Additionally, 1,845 people in total have now been released from medical care and fully recovered since this current wave began. 78 people were released yesterday. Yesterday's 63 cases is the fewest number of cases since April 9th, 2021.
The district-level new cases were as follows today:
Mueang Chonburi with 20, Si Racha 16, Banglamung (including Pattaya) 14, Sattahip 2, Ban Bueng 3, Phan Thong 5, and 3 patients from other provinces transferred to Chonburi for medical care.
The details on today's cases given were:
3 confirmed patients from Samut Prakan Province
One person who contacted a confirmed previous Covid-19 patient from Chanthaburi Province.
24 family members of prior Covid-19 patients
6 co-workers of prior Covid-19 patients
Under investigation 29 cases
Today, a total of 485 contacts were searched and 660 more proactive (pending results).
In the last day, a total of 485 close contacts were tested from contact tracing, and 660 people were tested in proactive testing when medical staff goes out into the community.
All are pending results. There were no recorded Royal mobile testing results over the past day and although case numbers are lower The Pattaya News notes the number of tests performed is also lower than the average of 2,000 a day over the past several weeks.
Details on the new fatality were not given. Chonburi Public Health Department officials stated that almost all of the new cases are being driven by private gatherings, primarily small ones with 2-3 people outside of the household having drinks or food together. They continue to urge people to not participate in any activities with anyone outside of their own household at this time and continue to work from home if possible and avoid public places.
A Thai Airways International jet sits parked on the tarmac of Suvarnabhumi airport. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
The Finance Ministry will not recapitalise financially troubled Thai Airways (THAI) of which it is the biggest shareholder, the State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO) chief said.
The remark by SEPO director-general Pantip Sripimol comes amid concerns the carrier will regain the status of a state enterprise through the re-acquisition of the ministry's majority stake in THAI.
The airline lost its state-owned status last year when the ministry decided to reduce its stake to under 50%, to help ease the debt-rehabilitation process.
Several cabinet ministers, however, were concerned the government would need to guarantee a loan worth billions of baht to prop up THAI if it were to come under the state enterprise umbrella again.
Reportedly supporting THAI's reinstatement as a state enterprise were Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith and Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, who is also chief of the government's economic team.
They argued the reinstatement, which would require the Finance Ministry returning as a majority shareholder, would boost the airline's financial strength and its bargaining power with creditors.
Creditors are meeting on Wednesday to decide whether to accept the airline's debt restructuring plan.
Meanwhile, Ms Pantip insisted the ministry would not seek to recapitalise the airline and was prepared to see its stake diluted if other shareholders bought more shares.
The ministry holds a 49.9% stake in THAI. She said if the ministry injected more funds into the company, it would be akin to attempting to divert money to "fill up the sea", a move which be hard to justify to taxpayers.
Now that THAI is operating as a private company, it is no longer entitled to state assistance and the Finance Ministry is under no legal obligation to offer help to a private firm despite the vast shares it owns in the airline.
SEPO director-general declined to say whether THAI should be reinstated as a state enterprise, saying it is a matter of policy yet to be considered.
CCSA spokesman Dr Thavee Visanuyothin revealed that 15,378 people have sneaked across the border into Thailand since the start of the year.
And they continue to come.
These people posed a serious threat for the spread of Covid-19, he said, asking that Thais inform on illegal immigrants.
Of the total 6,072 are from Myanmar, 5,114 Cambodia and 882 crossed from Laos.
Despite PM Prayuth Chan-ocha's policy to shore up the borders they continue to cross over natural land areas with the latest daily figures for those caught being 15 from Myanmar, four each from Laos and Cambodia and one on the southern border with Malaysia.
Thaveesin was giving the latest updates on the world Covid situation and the numbers in Thailand on Sunday as reported by Daily News.
Worldwide the figure stood at 158 million infections and 3.2 million deaths, he said.
The latest daily figures among Asian neighbors were 6,000+ in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines and about 4,500 in Malaysia.
In Thailand there were 2,101 new cases and 17 more deaths.
Those recovered and sent home were more than new cases at 2,186.
Some 29,371 people were still being treated in hospitals in the kingdom and of these 1,142 were in a serious condition with 394 on incubators.
Infections in places like entertainment, from parties, concerts and restaurants in Bangkok were down but spread of the virus was being increasingly seen in markets, communities and at bus stations.
Of the latest number 1,457 cases were in Bangkok and surrounding areas and 629 in 71 other provinces.
Today, May 10th, 2021, marks one month that the bars have been shut, with no sign of opening any time soon as the Thai Government continues to implement stricter and stronger restrictions across the country to attempt to control an ongoing Covid-19 outbreak that is currently seeing around 2,000 infections a day, mostly in and around Bangkok, and infections in Chonburi anywhere from around 75 to over 100 daily.
The Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration is set to make decisions later this week around the current "dark red" provinces, of which Chonburi is one, and the current measures in place. These measures include an unpopular, but what officials call needed, ban on dine-in at restaurants, swimming in pools, and mingling at the beach amongst other restrictions instituted at a provincial level like closures of gyms, cinemas, playgrounds, amusement parks, and essentially anything "fun" that causes people to mingle or socialize.
The Pattaya News doesn't speculate and takes a neutral stance in general to our approach on news, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that based on current caseloads in the province and country a loosening of these measures is unlikely at this point, as cases continue to be steadily announced, primarily driven by close contacts and private gatherings despite all major social places closed for weeks now.
It didn't have to be this way, say many owners and staff online, pointing to what they perceive as delays on the countries vaccine program or lack of preparation in a timely fashion for the future. The Thai Government, however, has countered these claims and stated that this perception is wrong and that Thailand took a cautious approach out of respect for their citizens to see if any major side effects took place from the vaccine rollout in other countries whole maintaining border controls and attempting to keep the virus out of the country.
However, Thailand is not an island like some other successful countries that have kept the virus out, has porous land borders with several nations, and has seen many people pass over the borders and sneak through border patrols and other nets without proper Covid-19 testing and controls. This, combined with many other things, led to the current outbreak and sets Thailand in the difficult position of wrestling with their third (and really first major) outbreak in a year and a shutdown that nobody wanted of thousands of businesses, once again putting millions out of work and causing a dangerous domino effect even on businesses that can open in tourist reliant places like Pattaya, Koh Samui, Phuket, and others.
Thailand is still hoping to open up to vaccinated tourists without quarantine later this year, says the government, and Pattaya is one of several designated "economic priority" zones that will get priority on vaccines in hopes of gaining herd immunity in the resort town that in 2019 was the 19th most visited city in the world and welcomed about 10 million foreign tourists and 7 million domestic, according to the Thai Tourism Authority. Pattaya is reliant on tourism and related events for officially about 80 percent of their GDP, and unofficially it is even higher.
Pattaya officials state that their vaccine allocation and rollout program is still on track and they understand the severity of the situation that has essentially turned the majority of the city into a ghost town for the third time in a year and the sense of urgency to turn the situation around. The current plan, according to the Thai government, is to vaccinate the majority of the local population of Pattaya to allow opening the area to vaccinated tourists from foreign countries without quarantine by October.
The question, of course, remains around when businesses will be allowed to re-open and domestic tourism is allowed to resume, which was keeping many local businesses afloat until the current round of Covid-19 in early April. Indeed, compared to more remote islands and locations like Koh Samui, Pattaya has not been hit as hard, despite rows of shuttered businesses and abandoned buildings in the heart of the city on Second Road and surrounding areas. Some places, like LK Metro and Soi Buakhao, had managed to weather the recent storms fairly well on a mixture of local ex-pats and domestic tourists, especially folks coming down from Bangkok on weekends. Ex-pat and local resident-focused areas on the Dark Side and Jomtien have not been hit nearly as hard as Central Pattaya.
The closure of dine-in restaurants and the entertainment industry, which has thousands of venues still in Pattaya, as well as most "fun" tourist attractions and nearly all popular places like beaches, Koh Larn, Ramayana, and Instagrammable restaurants and locations, however, is causing, just like last year, a horrific "domino" effect on the city that Bangkok and other locations that are deep red zones don't mostly get due to the proportion of regular residents and occupations as to tourism-related ones. Although malls and non-essential shops are allowed to open, they are a shadow of their former selves with very little foot traffic in the past few weeks. Restaurants can open for take-away, but many have chosen not to open at all and the 9:00 P.M. shut down on takeaway has heavily affected the profits of many restaurants as well. That is without even mentioning the loss of revenue at restaurants on alcohol sales, which were forbidden even before the dine-in ban for the past month as according to Public Health Officials it causes people to socialize and gather.
The closure of beaches (Officially, ordered to be open just for exercise, but in reality, this is limited to walking on the paths by the beach in Pattaya and Jomtien), Koh Larn, and most tourist attractions further caused a domino effect and once again hotels sit at almost zero occupancy across the city, the few that remain open, according to local hotel associations. All the business that rely on all these aforementioned businesses and accompanying foot traffic, like security, DJ's, musicians, maids, repair workers, street vendors, food carts, taxi drivers, hair salons, laundry mats, market vendors, tailors, dentists, tour groups, and many, many more are also struggling regardless of being allowed to open "for business" or not.
Unlike many Western countries, where generous furlough packages and business protections were implemented during shutdowns, the general financial aid, especially to informal workers which is an estimated 60% of workers in the country and the majority of the tourism industry and related businesses, has been little to none.
Many businesses were barely hanging on before this current closure, hanging onto the hope of a rise of domestic tourism, more local events, and eventual foreign tourism returning later this year. A proper rollout of vaccines with a huge sense of urgency can still see many saved, but it must become THE top priority to do so. The question is, how long will it take, and how much longer will businesses stay closed and manage to stay afloat.
For now, the city is a sad shadow of its former self and the longer this current round of measures and restrictions lasts the harder it will be to recover. It doesn't help that many ex-pats, as evidenced from our recent surveys and discussions, are considering leaving and returning to their own countries, many that are now well vaccinated or re-opening like the UK and USA. Many of these ex-pat residents kept Pattaya afloat over the past year, but with their departure, things could get worse before they get better. These departures are for a variety of reasons, but generally many fear months of shutdowns.
It is unknown how long this current round of restrictions will last, with officials only stating they are taking it a day at a time and focusing their attention and urgency on a vaccine rollout. Let us hope that goes well, but even in the best-case scenario, a proper rollout will likely take several months. Last year, we had a roadmap of lifting restrictions to follow that, although many felt was slow, at least gave people guidance and things to look forward to.
This year, there is no "threshold" on when restrictions will be lifted,it is unclear what metrics or measures will be made to decide when to open certain businesses or lift restrictions, and this has only caused people to be further upset. Last year, the Thai Government was clearly going for an elimination strategy with a goal of zero Covid-19 infections. That is now unrealistic, but it is unclear what the threshold or goal is to relax measures and get people back to work, other than the vaccine rollout.
Pattaya, its business owners, residents, workers, and many tourists around the world who wish to return someday, can now only wait and see what happens.
The latest Covid-19 outbreak decreases the likelihood of the planned reopening taking place during the peak season, as slow vaccination might derail the ability to open up more broadly, says STR, a hospitality market analyst.
Jesper Palmqvist, area director of Asia-Pacific for STR, said the global situation is still volatile because of setbacks from new outbreaks or variants, causing a delay in recovery. The latest outbreak in Thailand makes the outlook for the final two quarters more precarious, he said.
This third wave is hampering the confidence of tourists and authorities, as well as slowing efforts to reopen the country.
"The Phuket sandbox, which is scheduled to begin 60 days from now, sounds quite ambitious," said Mr Palmqvist. "But this is a long game and we need to be ready for surprises."
Once the latest wave is brought under control, the hospitality business would gradually return for certain groups, such as hotels within driving distance from Bangkok in Hua Hin and Pattaya. Unfortunately little demand is projected for hotels elsewhere, he said.
It is hard to project any noticeable demand in the third quarter, given the speed of the vaccine rollout in Thailand, said Mr Palmqvist.
Forward bookings for hotels in Bangkok saw the occupancy rate stand at 10% in May, with fluctuations between 4-7% until the middle of January next year, with a slight peak during the New Year holidays.
He said the sluggish bookings rate could be attributed to the lack of inbound travel and the third wave of the pandemic, which is reducing interest in hotel accommodation.
However, the rate of bookings is much higher at resort islands such as Koh Lanta and Koh Samui, as tourists want to skip big cities because they have a higher risk of infection.
There are two main strategies countries can take to restart international travel, said Mr Palmqvist. One is the Maldives model, in which isolated islands offer testing protocols in combination with accelerated public vaccination.
"My concern with Thailand is vaccinations, which are the key factor, are taking a long time," he said.
"As a result, it could jeopardise the speed at which international travel returns."
The other strategy is governments offering the tourism industry direct financial support to help retain employment, as seen in Singapore and Australia, as well as tourism campaigns to boost domestic travel, said Mr Palmqvist.
Singapore's government already extended its Jobs Support Scheme, which it started in February 2020, to offer wage support of up to 30% for the aviation, aerospace and tourism sectors until September.
The Australian government introduced the Tourism Aviation Network Support programme to offer 800,000 half-price domestic airfares to selected regions that depend on tourism, running from April to July 31 for travel until Sept 30, he said.
There are no signs the Covid-19 pandemic will leave us any time soon. Thus, it is important for Thailand to stockpile vaccines and let the public choose their own vaccines.
After being criticised for its slow vaccination programme, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on Friday the government would increase its procurement of Covid-19 vaccines to 150-200 million doses from the current target of 100 million doses.
This is the right decision and comes about through bitter experience after the government previously underestimated the pandemic, causing delays in the arrival of vaccines and inadequate supplies on hand to get people inoculated fast.
Apart from that, some virologists say two doses of the vaccine may be not enough for long-term prevention of infection. It is possible people will need to get vaccinated against the coronavirus annually.
That's why the government is racing against time amid high global demand in Covid-19 vaccine market to build up a local stockpile.
But the government should not go it alone in buying vaccines. It should rope in the private sector including private hospitals and corporates, to give the public a choice of jabs.
Unfortunately, the government has not provided enough support to enable the private sector to access the vaccines. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri last week said a committee on the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines had agreed Covid-19 vaccines would be added to the controlled goods list.
Despite that, the committee agreed the private sector can import its own vaccines from manufacturers, though they are prevented from buying the vaccine brands that the government is using for the state vaccination programme. In fact, the private sector should have access to any Covid vaccines that are endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Thai authorities seem intent on putting a lid on access to vaccines, which is a shame. Recently, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reiterated that people cannot choose Covid-19 vaccine options under the government scheme as Thailand has a shortage of supply right now.
But as supplies increase, particularly if the private sector is allowed to import vaccines freely, why would the government block people's opportunity to make their own vaccine choices?
Everyone knows that Covid-19 vaccines are available under emergency conditions. The production process has been shortened from 10 years normally to less than 12 months, without any scientifically proven term-side effects.
The vaccines are produced according to various techniques, with only a small minority linked to blood clot problems which may be fatal.
Policy-makers say these amount to just 1 in 100,000 cases, and the benefits of vaccines by far outweigh the risks.
But for the individual, the risk of becoming the one among 100,000 who gets a fatal blood clot could be off-putting.
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allows people to choose a vaccine suitable for their health condition. The CDC has guidelines and provides information on the side effects.
Thailand might not be able to follow in the US's footsteps just yet, but should take care to avoid any policy that blocks choice. Thailand's vaccination programme must be pro-choice, letting people choose vaccines that are in line with their health conditions.
BANGKOK (NNT) - The Private Hospital Association (PHA) has announced that COVID-19 vaccine shots, provided by private hospitals, will be charged at a standard price, including insurance for any side effects.
PHA president Dr. Chalerm Harnpanich said the reason the price will be set the same nationwide is to get as many people as possible vaccinated, not to make a profit.
As for the manufacturers, the US-based Moderna is in the process of applying for registration with Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), after submitting its application on April 19th.
He said the PHA will gauge the demand for paid vaccinations and inform the Government Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), which purchases the vaccine supplies from manufacturers. The private hospitals should not open vaccination bookings until they secure their supply, to avoid confusion.
Dr. Chalerm said, before the price can be determined, the cost of the vaccine must be known, adding that talks were also being held with insurance firms, and coverage would start right after the first of two doses are administered. The insurance would then be valid for 90 days and would not cost more than 100 baht.
Mr Haav says Bangkok is an important centre for business and finance in Asean.
Estonia has chosen Bangkok as one of four new global destinations where Thai business owners and digital nomads who want to expand their reach to the European market can pick up an Estonian e-residency card following a successful application.
E-residency is a government-issued digital identity offered to foreign nationals.
After signing up for the government's e-residency programme, successful applicants receive a starter kit containing digital identity cards that allow them to establish a company online in the EU and have access to a wide range of Estonia's public e-services, such as business banking and online tax filing.
E-residents can run a business from anywhere in the world, however e-residency does not provide citizenship or physical residency benefits, or the right to travel to Estonia or the EU.
Bangkok, along with Sao Paolo in Brazil, Singapore and Johannesburg in South Africa, have been selected as new destinations where e-residency cards can be obtained.
Almost 50 locations worldwide have been chosen as pick-up points.
"The global pandemic has made it very clear that even with physical lockdowns and travel restrictions, people need digital tools for cross-border business and work," Lauri Haav, managing director of the e-residency programme, told the Bangkok Post.
"We decided to reach out and provide improved convenience for the e-residency process."
Over 80,000 people from more than 170 countries have applied for the e-residency programme, with 16,000 firms established in Estonia, he said.
"We have a strong community of e-residents from all over the world, and about 40% of all e-residents are from other EU nations," said Mr Haav.
He regards Bangkok as an important centre for business and finance in Asean.
"It is also a very vibrant and attractive city for both international and local entrepreneurs," said Mr Haav.
"It was clear to us when we started planning our expansion that we needed to establish an Estonian e-residency card pick-up point in Bangkok. The city is a business hub where entrepreneurs from the whole region visit."
He said making Bangkok a pick-up point is expected to help entrepreneurs in both Thailand and neighbouring countries by providing an opportunity to grow their business.
Kersti Kaljulaid, the president of Estonia, said in a statement that even with the pandemic limiting people's ability to travel for work and do business across borders, "it has also accelerated digital transformations among governments, businesses and freelancers alike".
According to Mr Kaljulaid, Estonia is ready to welcome more freelancers, entrepreneurs, business owners and location-independent workers from around the world to join its e-residency programme.
Many questions remain about the latest tax idea on future tourists.
Thailand's minister of tourism and sports has indicated that the long-heralded 300 baht tourist tax on arrivals has been delayed yet again, this time until January 2022. The reason given is the obvious one: no tourists to tax.
Phiphat Rathchakitprakarn, the minister, said that the tax needed to be collected once foreigners start arriving in big numbers by air, land and sea. In the past the government has justified the idea to offset the awesome costs of foreigners who can't pay their medical bills.
But in reality only about 10 percent of the US$10 imposition is meant to assist Thai hospitals deal with foreign non-payers. The bulk of the fund would be to develop tourism supply chains, repair facilities popular with tourists and act as a general slush fund for "visitor issues".
Most other details are also unclear. If the fee was collected at borders and airports on arrival, the queue chaos would be unimaginable in busy periods. In theory, the cost could be included in the cost of an air ticket – just as the departure tax of 700 baht already is – but this would not separate Thai nationals from the vacationing foreigners.
The tiny pot reserved for non-paying foreigners in hospitals is clearly not meant to insure all foreign arrivals. Hospitals are assuming they would have to bid hopefully to the Thai ministry if a particular patient had left them badly out of pocket. No guarantees though. One could well argue that the high cost of treatment in Thai private hospitals already includes a hidden premium for lost income from non-payers.
Nor is it clear why foreigners who are well-insured already should have to pay more. Government advisers say the 300 baht is really small potatoes in any case and would not be noticed. On the other hand, it would be one more financial hurdle to add to rising airfares, the requirement to have Covid insurance, the need to show pre-visit health documentation and the cost of the 15 nights' compulsory quarantine for all.
So far as is known, the proposed travel tax has been given committee approval following a feasibility study by Naresuan University which studied similar taxes in other countries. But the plan has not yet been endorsed by the Cabinet, nor (of course) sent to the Royal Gazette for public consumption. Whether the ambiguous tax is actually implemented next year remains a 50-50 issue as Thailand's tourist industry remains firmly in the doldrums.
FILE PHOTO: An empty hotel and beach which have opened for visitors is seen in Karon, Phuket Island, Thailand March 31, 2021. Picture taken March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Jorge Silva/File Photo
BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand expects to offer the Moderna vaccine to most of its population soon as it steps up the rollout of its COVID-19 vaccination campaign, a health official said on Saturday.
The latest drive comes amid growing public criticism of the slow rollout of free vaccinations offered by the government, which stands at 1.73 million shots so far - less than 1% of its population.
Health authorities have yet to start mass vaccinations even as the tourism-reliant country struggles with a third wave of infections.
The government expects 61 million shots of AstraZeneca to be produced locally from June. But these vaccinations and those from Moderna will not be offered free.
Moderna last month applied for vaccine registration in Thailand, which should be approved soon, said Withoon Danwiboon, head of the Government Pharmaceutical Organization.
"What we expect from Moderna is its commitment on how soon they will bring in their vaccine," he said.
India's Bharat Biotech has started the application process for vaccine registration while China's Sinopharm has yet to apply, he said.
Thailand has so far approved the vaccines of Sinovac Biotech, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand would try to secure more vaccines, on top of existing orders of about 65 million.
"Our current target is for 100 million doses of vaccines, but Thailand should have 150 million doses or more," he posted on his Facebook page on Saturday.
Thailand's latest outbreak has been exacerbated by the highly transmissible UK coronavirus B.1.1.7 variant, leading to more than 52,000 infections and 288 fatalities in just over five weeks.
On Saturday, 2,419 new coronavirus cases were reported, with 19 new deaths.
($1 = 31.04 baht)
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Panarat ThepgumpanatEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
The new round of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen a surge in the numbers of infections and deaths, has led to feelings of depression in most Thai people, a survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University,or Suan Dusit Poll, reveals on Sunday.
The poll was conducted online on May 3-7 on 1,894 people throughout the country to compile their opinions on ways of dealing with Covid-19.
In terms of risk in the current Covid-19 situation, 41.55% thought they were among the average group of people regarding risk of contracting the virus; 22.18% thought they were in a high-risk group; 21.54% thought they were low-risk; and 14.73% were uncertain.
Asked how they felt while following updates about Covid-19, 82.47% said they felt depressed -- 46.04% to a higher degree and 36.43% at the same level as before. On the other side, 9.66% said they were not worried and 7.87% were less worried.
Asked which of their expenditures had increased since the Covid-19 outbreak began, with each respondent allowed to give more than one answer, 83.94% chose face masks; 73.84% hand sanitising gel; 47.26% water and electricity bills; 45.40% food by home delivery; and 44.07% medicines, vitamins and dietary supplements.
Regarding ways of coping with the new wave of the pandemic, 83.32% said they avoided going to risk areas; 71.96% maintained awareness in daily life; 67.63% followed health guidlines given by doctors or the Public Health Ministry; 65.47% followed information on the pandemic from reliable sources; and 63.15% kept themselves mentally stable.
Asked about their routines to survive the pandemic, 92.12% said they wear face masks while outdoors; 88.27% avoid high-risk areas or crowded places; 87.47% wash their hands frequently; 77.91% stay home and go out only as necessary; and 64.01% take care of their own health by taking sufficient rest and exercise.
