A marine official shows resorts suspected of illegally encroaching into the sea at Koh Lan island off Pattaya, Chon Buri. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
The Pattaya marine office has vowed to take action against the operators of 39 resorts that encroached into the sea on Koh Larn off Pattaya if the court approves it.
Ekkarat Khantharo, director of the Pattaya marine office, said on Saturday that although the island in tambon Na Klue of Bang Lamung district was a popular tourist destination which generated a large income for Pattaya, many resorts there had encroached into the sea.
Since strict enforcement of the law against sea encroachment had proven difficult and affected traditional ways of life of the local people, the NCPO issued an order in 2017 to exempt from punishment those who had built structures for residential purposes and other non-commercial uses prior to 1994.
The order also applies to other similar areas in the country.
The Marine Department has been empowered to decide which structures should be exempted under the order.
They found 39 privately owned resorts which have not shared their spaces with local residents, said Mr Ekkarat.
The office already notified the operators but is giving them some time to appeal.
Mr Ekarat said the office had filed a suit against those resorts 1-2 years ago and the case was now being considered by the Supreme Administrative Court.
His office would comply with a court order, he added. – Bangkok Post
Govt expects 140 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines this year
In this handout photo taken on June 5, 2021 and released on June 9 by Thai Airways, airport personnel handle the shipment of 500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines for the Covid-19 coronavirus from China on arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok. (AFP PHOTO / THAI AIRWAYS)
As many as 140 million doses of coronavirus vaccines are expected this year as the country ramps up inoculation to fight its biggest wave of infections, which shows some signs of easing, a government spokesman said on Sunday.
The country is struggling to tackle the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus, which has seen a record infections of over 23,000 earlier this month. On Sunday, the government announced another 16,536 new cases and 264 deaths.
While new cases remain high, they are likely to decline further, Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said in a statement.
With new cases slowing, the government on Friday announced it will ease some of the strictest containment measures in Bangkok and other 28 high-risk provinces, allowing more travel, and malls and restaurants to reopen from Sept 1, to help revive the flagging economy battered by the outbreak.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand is expected to soon issue a statement on the resumption of local flights to and from those areas as well as outbreak control measures.
However, airlines, including Thai Air Asia and Bangkok Airways, have already announced the resumption of some local flights from next week.
The country started its mass vaccination drive in June, but so far only about 11% of the more than 66 million population has been fully vaccinated.
Phuket marks 210, new COVID cases, care centre patients jump above 700
PHUKET: The latest Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) daily COVID situation report has marked a record 210 new local infections across the island yesterday (Aug 28), bringing the total number of people recognised as infected with COVID-19 in Phuket since Apr 3 to 3,656.
The PPHO report, marked as accurate as of 10:20pm last night, also marked two new cases of Phuket Sandbox tourists being confirmed as infected.
The report also marked zero new deaths attributed to COVID-19 for yesterday, leaving the total number of deaths in Phuket attributed to COVID-19 since Apr 3 at 19.
The 210 new local infections bring the total number of new local infections on the island to a new record of 1,103 in the past seven days, as follows:
Aug 22 - 124 new cases
Aug 23 - 73 new cases
Aug 24 - 156 new cases
Aug 25 - 189 new cases
Aug 26 - 169 new cases
Aug 27 - 209 new cases
Aug 28 - 210 new cases
The current total of 3,656 people infected in Phuket since Apr 3 does not include 10 infected with COVID-19 in other provinces and 23 returning from other countries and testing positive.
The current Phuket tally also does not include 42 COVID patients brought back to Phuket under the "Bring Phuket people home" policy, or the 77 Phuket Sandbox arrivals who have tested positive for the virus after landing on the island since the Sandbox scheme began on July 1.
According to the PPHO COVID report for yesterday, 1,538 people were under medical care or supervision, an increase of 127 from the 1,411 reported the day before.
The report also marked 2,290 people in total being discharged from medical care for COVID infection since Apr 3 ‒ 76 more patients than the 2,214 reported for Friday.
The report posted last night recorded 59 new cases of people suspected of being infected with COVID-19 after testing positive by antigen test kits (ATKs) yesterday (Aug 28).
While recording 59 new suspected cases, which have yet to be confirmed by RT-PCR tests, the total number of people reported as currently being held at 'COVID-19 Care Centers' across the island rose by 225, from 492 to 717.
The report did not confirm how many people who tested positive by ATKs were confirmed infected by RT-PCR tests or how many people had been released from ATK detention at 'COVID-19 Care Centers' and allowed to go home.
The PPHO daily COVID situation report posted last night also reported that Phuket currently has in total 1,640 beds available for COVID patients (+41 from yesterday).
The total number of hospital beds occupied by COVID patients in Phuket now stands at 1,234 (+130), or 75.24% of the total number of beds, with 406 (-89) hospital beds in Phuket still available.
The report also marked that of the COVID patients in care 34 were designated as 'Red patients' (+2); 316 were designated 'Yellow' patients (-8) and 388 were 'Green' patients (-32).
The latest map released by the PPHO showing the locations of the new infections across the island was released yesterday (Aug 28), but marked as accurate as of 6pm Friday (Aug 27), as follows:
No.1 wish in Covid era: good governance, says poll
People receive a Covid-19 vaccine shot at the Mall Bang Kapi shopping mall in Bangkok on Aug 26. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
A large majority of people desire quality vaccines against Covid-19, want 100% of the population to be fully vaccinated and have very little trust in the government to solve their problems, according to the result of an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.
The poll was conducted online on 1,510 people throughout the country between Aug 23-26. The respondents were allowed to choose more than one answer to each question.
Asked to choose five things they most want to happen amid the Covid crisis, a large majority -- 84.12% of respondents wanted quality vaccines and 100% of people in the country be fully vaccinated; 50.47% wanted all people to have an equal right to get treatment when infected; 43.24% wanted medical personnel and frontline health workers to get proper recognition; and 34.12% wanted people to be provided with medications and Covid-19 test kits.
Asked what they wanted most and thought they could probably get, 67.44% cited bags containing survival kits, food and drinking water; 63.64% subsidies for tuition fees and equipment for studying; 60.92% knowledge about Covid-19; 57.66% recognition and help for medical staff and frontline workers; and 48.23% reduction of utility prices, particularly water and electricity.
Asked to choose five wishes they thought were unlikely to materialise, 90.64% a government free of corruption that sincerely tried to solve problems without playing politics; 89.29% visionary leaders who listened to people's opinions; 88.27% equality in society without big gaps between haves and have-nots; 85.94% a government capable of team work; and 77.71% proper state assistance for all groups of people.
Asked whom they could rely on in this situation, 68.39% pointed to themselves; 53.80% society as a whole; 46.06% medical personnel; 27.96% the government; and 25.04% the minister of public health.
Majority see current Covid lockdown as unsuccessful: poll
The Mall Bangkapi is deserted as shopping centres are closed during Covid lockdown measures on Aug 26. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday eased restrictions, allowing shopping malls to partially reopen from Sept 1. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
A majority of people think the partial lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic has not been successful but want it to continue with certain tweaks, according to a survey conducted by the National Institute of Development administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted via telephone interviews on Aug 23-26 with 1,312 respondents aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country to compile their opinions on the current Covid-19 lockdown.
Asked whether they thought the lockdown was successful, a majority, 64.68%, said "no". Of them, 35.67% said it was a complete failure because only some areas were put in lockdown and the measures taken were not strict, causing new infections to continue, while 28.81% said the lockdown was not very successful because some people did not fully comply with the government's measures and some had not received a Covid jab.
On the other side, 26.83% said the partial lockdown was fairly successful as people had strictly followed the government's guidelines, thus reducing transmissions, and 6.17% said it was a big success, reasoning that the movement restrictions helped reduce the number of infections.
The rest, 2.52%, had no answer or were not interested.
Only 24.16% of the respondents thought the lockdown should be lifted, reasoning it was preventing people from making a living and the virus was spreading regardless. They said the government should instead acquire quality vaccines for the people.
The remaining respondents, 2.29%, did not answer or were not interested.
"After the Bang Sue fiasco, you'd have thought the government would have learnt a little about organisation and staggering time slots, if not individual appointments – but we were sent emails by MedPark at 10.40pm on Thursday, promising a Pfizer shot… "anytime between 8am-4.30pm on 28th OR 29th Aug".
We were immediately suspicious because as far as we know, there hasn't been a second delivery of Pfizer after the US donated 1.5m of (soon-to-be-expiring) doses about 6 weeks ago, which themselves, were distributed rapidly (& opaquely)… so where have these precious Pfizer shots come from?
Nevertheless, the slim to vanishing chance of getting the "good stuff" was enough for us to at least go to MedPark this afternoon and see if it was worth the risk.
The attached photos show the initial queue outside, filing towards umpteen rows of screening checkpoints, before 'customers' are sent inside to wait their turn.
We didn't even join the queue, but I suspect the brave souls who did, would have spent many high risk hours waiting, only to be finally told the promised Pfizer vac had run out & they were to be given SinoVac or Thai-produced AZN instead."
(Name supplied)
What are your thoughts on the Thai government's vaccine roll out? Have you been vaccinated yet? Gone smoothly? Or had some problems? Or not even heard back after registration? Tell us in Thaiger Talk.
Chonburi reports 762 new Covid-19 cases with 14 deaths, lowest cases in five weeks
PHOTO: 77kaoded
Chonburi, Thailand –
Highlights:
762 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Chonburi today
1,453 people recovered and were released from medical care
14 new deaths
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 762 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today with 14 new deaths, August 29th. This is the lowest number of new Covid-19 cases in the province in five weeks roughly, since June 24th.
This makes a total of 60,935 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 16,851 people still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 379 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April. The details on yesterday's 14 new deaths were not given, which is standard for the health department.
Additionally, 1,453 people were also released and recovered yesterday in Chonburi. 43,705 people in total have now been released from medical care and recovered in Chonburi since this current wave of Covid-19 began.
The district-level new cases were as follows today:
Mueang Chonburi 169, Si Racha 239, Banglamung (Pattaya) 115, Panat Nikhom 35, Sattahip 10, Ban Bueang 55, Pan Thong 72, Bor Thong 3, Ko Chan 6, Nong Yai 8, and 50 new cases transferred from other provinces for medical care.
2 Cluster, Thai Fountain of Life Company Limited, Sriracha District, 5 cases, 3 Cluster Songsol Hi-Tech Co., Ltd., Sriracha District 4 cases 4 Cluster, Thai Samsung Electronics Company Limited, Sriracha District, 4 cases 5 Cluster Camp for construction project workers, The indeed Condo, Phan Thong District, 4 people 6. A risky occupation, meeting a lot of people-16 cases (customer-facing roles) 7. Provided a history of traveling from provincial risk areas 7.1 Rayong Province 3 cases 7.2 Chachoengsao Province 1 case 7.3 Samut Prakan Province 1 person 8. 56 enterprises in Rayong province 9. Close contacts of confirmed patients 9.1 in 219 families 9.2 out of 102 workplaces/co-workers 9.3 20 close people/friends 9.4 Joined an illegal party, 3 people 10. Close contact of confirmed patients (under investigation) 143 cases 10. 157 cases are under investigation in general as to the cause of the disease.
A total of 941 close contact searches were received today, and 586 proactive search reports are pending.
There are currently clusters of outbreaks in 61 establishments and five markets, 10 construction worker camps, and four communities
Restaurants say latest reopening rules impractical for staff and increase costs
Restaurant operators slammed the government's latest round of Covid-19 measures for eateries and restaurants, saying the requirements are impractical and will only serve to increase their financial burdens.
On Friday, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced the easing of Covid-19 restrictions on certain businesses in dark-red zone provinces from Wednesday onwards.
Restaurants are allowed to resume dine-in services, at 75% capacity in outdoor dining spaces and 50% in air-conditioned locations.
But all service staff must have two doses of vaccine and be tested with antigen test kits every 5-7 days.
The guidelines also require customers to show proof of vaccination before entering restaurants.
Panumas Ruamsuk, president of the Food Business Operators Association in Samut Songkhram, said the measures will be damaging to some business operators as they will have to fork out to cover the cost of the test kits.
Workers at eateries have mostly received only one shot, although in some shops, their workers have not received a single shot, he said, adding that Samut Songkhram is a small province which has a small share of vaccine allocations.
"We have called for adequate vaccine allocations several times, but we are still ignored,'' Mr Panumas said. Easing the curbs will be of little help to businesses in Samut Songkhram, he added.
Many eateries in the province are expected to remain closed as they cannot comply with the CCSA's latest directives, he said.
However, Thaniwan Kulmongkol, president of the Thai Restaurant Association, said the latest easing was agreed upon at a meeting attended by the association's representatives last Tuesday, as well as the public health minister and senior public health officials.
She said the decision was reached in light of signs of improvement, with more vaccines supplies expected to arrive. Originally, the CCSA planned to ease the curbs in October, but operators could not wait until then, she said.
Ms Thaniwan said the CCSA had provided only a broad picture of the latest requirements, but detailed guidelines will be issued by the Department of Health.
She added that Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told the meeting that more antigen test kits will arrive soon.
They would be handed out free of charge as soon as there are enough for all those who need them.
A widespread lack of understanding of the Covid-19 pandemic in the far South has caused concern among disease experts.
Muhammad Fahmi Talae, epidemiology expert and nursing lecturer from the Prince of Songkla University Pattani Campus, said many people in the deep South have not yet approached officials to get Covid vaccinations.
"That's not about religion, but they have limited health literacy," he said. "They believe that getting vaccinated would only have short-term advantages, or might make them ill later."
Speaking at an online media workshop, sponsored by the US Agency for International Development (Usaid), Mr Muhammad said a survey of Covid-19 information in the southern border provinces, conducted by his university from May 31 to June 4, some 49% of far southerners remained unsure about whether they should get a jab.
A second survey, conducted from Aug 9 to 15, showed 61% of respondents were unjabbed and 60% of these unjabbed people had hesitated to get vaccinated.
"The results came despite the soaring cases in three provinces; both deaths and infections are witnessed every day," he said.
"It might be that they do not believe the vaccine could help to save their lives and are afraid of the side effects."
Community Rights Strengthen Association chairman Donya Salaemae said he had gone on a field trip to villages around the South and saw many villages had sealed themselves off to prevent virus transmission, which could be hazardous for them.
"The villagers used huge cement blocks to enclose the entry points, which meant people inside cannot go out -- and no one can get in. If there was an emergency, no one in the village could escape," he said.
He said many households lost their income from lockdowns between provinces as they could not go to work.
Suwara Kaewnui, social work lecturer from Prince of Songkla University Pattani campus, said the government needed to be careful in implementing measures in the South which may ignite local resentment as some measures may be quite sensitive for them.
She said local people had still agreed to protect themselves from the pandemic.
She raised the top five issues that people agreed with in a survey, showing that 97.6% wore masks, 95.3% supported active virus searching, and 95.1% approved of a 14-day quarantine period.
A street-food vendor struggles to push his cart along an almost deserted road near Nonthaburi's main pier at night on July 24, 2021. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)
When Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on June 16 that the country was gearing up for reopening in 120 days, many wondered if he had set himself an unattainable goal.
The country was languishing in the throes of the Covid-19 crisis and prognoses about the pandemic were not encouraging. The daily caseload was spiking at a time when the government had fumbled over vaccine procurement as it tried to figure out when the next batch of vaccines would come from.
It is now half-way through the 120-day deadline that falls in mid-October. Daily infections which peaked at more than 23,000 have retreated to around 18,000 in recent days. More vaccines have arrived with more than 120 million doses promised by the government by the end of the year.
The government is pinning its hopes on the success of the tourism sandbox programme underway in Phuket and Samui to lure back overseas visitors.
At the half-way mark to the government's mid-October reopening promise, politicians and stakeholders interviewed by the Bangkok Post cautiously agreed the deadline must be honoured as the economy cannot stay shut any longer.
Economy needs room to breathe
The economy has been in free-fall for long enough as a result of intermittent lockdowns and public health restrictions. It must be allowed room to breathe come the middle of October, said Kla Party secretary-general Atavit Suwannapakdee.
He predicted the pandemic will still be lingering in October although reopening the country should be the rule, not an exception.
"We've reached a point where we can't keep shutting our door. We must also face the fact the government's centralised approach to handling the pandemic is out of place," he said.
"The reopening plan must go ahead. If we delay it, what the country has planned will be ruined and the country as a whole will lose its credibility," Mr Atavit added.
The government's fight against the pandemic has been less than successful with the latest lockdown and restrictions proving an exercise in futility to contain the virus.
"Many won't die from the disease but from being unable to make a living," he said.
The chance of the country getting back to business in October depends on its "saviour", the vaccine.
Mr Atavit noted a strong public health sector has been the reason for an effective vaccine rollout.
Also, Thais are charitable by nature. They have rallied behind the health workers and offer them all kinds of assistance whenever they can. This has further ramped up national efforts to distribute the vaccine.
In his view, the vaccine should not be subject to authorities' approval. Registration should suffice as it can hasten imports and open up a competitive playing field that can bring down prices of the vaccine.
Questions hang over reopening
While the mid-October reopening may be feasible, it begs several questions, including how well prepared the businesses are to resume trade and welcome foreign visitors, according to Prinn Panitchpakdi, deputy leader of the Democrat Party and head of its economic team.
There is also the question of whether the reopening of businesses will progress in phases and if a larger quantity of alternative vaccines, for which people must pay, will be made available.
"But we must appreciate the fact that 'reopening' is subject to interpretation. Right now, Thailand is not completely closed. It's only that we imposed a lockdown which is unnecessarily intense," he said.
Mr Prinn said authorities must weigh carefully which visitors will be welcomed back in the early stage of reopening. "If we overlook precautions, we will be at risk of inviting a new wave of infections, as has happened in some other countries," he said.
Mr Prinn said the goal of achieving herd immunity in time for the reopening may not be realised.
Admitting it difficult to assess the country's readiness to return to business, he said the economic cost from the protracted pandemic was becoming nearly impossible to bear for people on the street.
Other repercussions in terms of mental anguish and social distress must be taken into account. A gradual reopening must be accompanied by a higher inoculation rate while public health safety measures must enforced and practised.
He expected that from mid-October, the government will expand the sandbox tourism programme to major tourism provinces served by airports. If by then Bangkok is reporting many fewer infections, it would likely join the ranks.
Number of vaccinations crucial
The longer the lockdown persists, the more damage the economy will suffer, although reopening success hinges on the number of people vaccinated, said Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC).
The possibility of reopening should be assessed closer to the mid-October deadline to obtain the most realistic pandemic situation, he said. The outlook for the vaccine stockpile is promising as 120 million doses are expected before the year is out.
Health safety is a pivotal factor in getting the country back on track. However, it should not come at the hefty expense of the economy. The TCC has warned that economic losses brought on by the pandemic have amounted to a staggering 800 billion baht since the start of the year. The figure could top a trillion baht if Covid-19 shows no sign of improvement before the end of year.
"It would be helpful if the reopening can be launched as planned," the TCC chairman said. The business sector and the public must learn to live with Covid-19. What economic activities should resume first is not a one-size-fits-all decision.
Herd immunity not far off
The Public Health Ministry says herd immunity is within reach. Mass inoculation was making headway with at-risk groups -- the elderly, people with underlying diseases and pregnant women -- being immunised in large numbers each day, said ministry spokesman Rungrueng Kitphati.
However, vaccines are no magic bullet. People will also have to abide by health safety measures, practise social distancing and wear face masks where necessary.
"Reopening the country will be done step-by-step by suitable measures. State quarantine is still needed. Visitors should be fully vaccinated with papers to confirm they are Covid-free," he said.
Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DoDC), said vaccination goals are being met with 124 million doses to be procured by year-end and the daily inoculation capacity exceeding 600,000 doses.
More than 17 million doses are being acquired next month: 6.5 million of Sinovac, 7.3 million of AstraZeneca, two million of Pfizer and two million of Sinopharm. Another 24 million doses (six million Sinovac, 10 million AstraZeneca and eight million Pfizer) arrive in October.
Confidence hinges on jabs
Natdanai Kulthatyos-anan, vice president of the Federation of Street Vendors, said the government will push hard to have the country back on track by October.
However, the overseas visitors will be wooed back only if they feel confident that enough residents are immunised with vaccines which have high efficacy against emerging Covid-19 variants.
He said the federation has about 1,000 members, less than half of whom have received he jabs.
Julajira Kampong, secretary of the Chiang Mai Guide Association, said everyone in the service, hospitality and tourism-related sectors was keen to return to work.
However, the only thing standing between them and the middle of October is the low vaccination rate for workers in the tourism industry. She said about 10% of them have had vaccine shots in the province.
Doubts over reopening
Pannathat Chomwong, 44, said he used to earn at least 90,000 baht a month as tour guide mainly for American tourists in Chiang Mai. Now, his life has turned upside down because of the pandemic.
He said he was happy to hear of the government's plans to reopen in mid-October. However, he was still sceptical about it.
Covid-19 has killed thousands of Thais and infected half a million, but the pandemic has also brought immense economic hardship and both physical and emotional suffering across all walks of life – nowhere more than in Bangkok. (Video: Jetjaras Na Ranong)
Natthathida Anilbol, 29, said her family business on Koh Samui in Surat Thani has been closed since the first outbreak early last year. The current third outbreak has cost her business 5,000–10,000 baht of its daily revenue.
"My mother is running a buffet restaurant for Koh Samui locals to make do," she said.
Ms Natthathida said the resumption of businesses in October might be more beneficial to large hotel chains than smaller proprietors.
Sa-nga Ruangwattanakul, the Khao San Business Association president and Buddy Group CEO, said Khao San Road, an entertainment spot popular with mostly young foreign visitors, has a plan to go "white", or Covid-safe, at its reopening.
"Khao San road is ready as we have given the first jab to almost every business owner on this road and the area nearby. We have requested the vaccine from the Public Health Ministry," he said.
"Vaccination has not covered even 50% of the population. So herd immunity is a long way off and the jabs remain unavailable to many. Given this, it will be hard for the Tourism Authority of Thailand to devise a marketing plan to promote our country as a health-safe destination," he said.
A POPULAR medical technician who goes by the name Doctor Lab Panda said in a Facebook post today (Aug. 28) the tough requirements for people to dine at restaurants after Covid curbs are eased on September 1 mean this policy is unlikely to work at the initial stage, Sanook.com said.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) executive committee stated that restaurant customers have to either have received two Covid jabs or show a negative antigen test certificate dated no longer than seven days.
On this Mr. Pakpoom Dejhasadin, who is better known as Doctor Lab Panda, said this plan may not work in the beginning because currently only around 7 million people in this country have received both jabs with many people having not even got their first jab.
As for the antigen test, this is still expensive, he pointed out.
As he calculates on the assumption that a test costs 350 baht, with this much money being enough to buy a lot of food for one day, a family of five that has to undergo this test every seven days would be spending 350 x 5 = 1,750 baht a week.
Testing four times a month takes the bill to 7,000 baht, which is in fact enough to comfortably buy food for the whole family for a month.
However in the long run when almost the whole country is vaccinated and the price of antigen test kits come down this strategy would work.
He also pointed out that some countries are able to implement this strategy because they are distributing these test kits free of charge.
Earlier the Public Health Ministry said there were 17,984 coronavirus cases and 292 deaths over the past 24 hours with 17,660 being among the general public and 324 in prisons and detention centres.
The cumulative confirmed total since the start of the pandemic has now reached 1,157,555 and in the current wave 1,128,692.
The 292 additional deaths raised the death toll to 10,879.
Another 20,535 patients have been cured taking total recoveries in the ongoing wave to 936,893 while 182,357 patients are still undergoing treatment.
South Korea is likely to provide Covid-19 vaccines to Thailand at the end of September, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said
Ministry spokesperson Tanee Sangrat said that discussions were held with South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong during his visit to Thailand from August 26 to 28.
This was the first visit by the South Korean after he was promoted as minister, Tanee added.
Chung met Don Pramudwinai, his Thai counterpart, on Friday and both discussed collaboration on Covid-19 vaccine.
The South Korean said that his country could provide vaccines to Thailand at the end of September, after fully vaccinating 70 per cent of its population.
PHUKET
208 new Covid infections recorded in Phuket today. But despite the high new case numbers, the Provincial Health Office appears determined to carry on with the Sandbox and current low restrictions. The numbers on the island, over the past week, per capita, are well in excess of Bangkok which was plunged into curfews and harsh restrictions at the end of June. National report here…
The New York Office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says that Americans who are fully vaccinated are looking to travel to destinations without complex restrictions. American travellers are looking away from previously popular destinations like Europe and Canada, and when they look for tropical beach destinations, quarantine-free destinations like the Maldives and the Caribbean are drawing the customers that might have previously chosen Thailand.
The director of the TAT's New York Office says that travellers and tour operators are forgoing countries that have Covid-19 restrictions, strict regulations about who can come in and complicated procedures in order to enter. Instead, they are focusing their efforts and travel on countries that are fully open to travellers without requiring any time in quarantine.
Many see news of lockdowns and assume that Thailand and other countries in Asia are not open for tourism, so some tour operators have suggested they avoid the region. Thailand has tried to stand out with its Phuket Sandbox programme and Samui Plus scheme, and the hopes that the Sandbox 7+7 Extension will attract more customers with the ability to travel to several destinations around the country in their first 2 weeks.
Much like the UK that is moving Thailand to its red list of restricted countries that will require a 10-day quarantine on return, from August 9, the US classified Thailand as warranting a Level 4 Travel Advisory which tells Americans not to go to the country due to Covid-19 safety concerns. But the director of the New York TAT says that citizens can still travel.
In fact, 3,222 Americans were the largest demographic in the first 24,000 international travellers to arrive in the Phuket Sandbox as of August 24. But while Certificate of Entry applications are increasing, they are not growing at a fast enough scale to really reinvigorate the Thai tourism industry. Restrictions on entry, and expensive and frequent Covid-19 tests are proving to be a bigger deterrent than even home country travel warnings.
The TAT director also looked at Canada's situation and concluded that the difficult entry process has driven that market away from Thailand as well. The country has seen long lockdowns and a Covid-19 resurgence despite very high vaccination rates, and travellers are hesitant to travel within the next few months. A survey showed that only 38% of Canadian travellers plan to travel in the next 3 months while 79% said they'd travel within the next year to destinations that welcome vaccinated travellers.
Chonburi reports 972 new Covid-19 cases with 15 deaths, 1,261 people recovered
PHOTO: Covid-19 Center
Chonburi, Thailand –
Highlights:
972 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Chonburi today
1,261 people recovered and were released from medical care
15 new deaths
The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 972 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today with 15 new deaths, August 28th.
Courtesy Chonburi Public Health Department
This makes a total of 60,173 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 17,556 people still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 365 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April. The details on yesterday's 15 new deaths were not given, which is standard for the health department.
Additionally, 1,261 people were also released and recovered yesterday in Chonburi. 42,252 people in total have now been released from medical care and recovered in Chonburi since this current wave of Covid-19 began.
The district-level new cases were as follows today:
Mueang Chonburi 256, Si Racha 207, Banglamung (Pattaya) 156, Panat Nikhom 49, Sattahip 34, Ban Bueang 77, Pan Thong 60, Bor Thong 20, Ko Chan 11, Nong Yai 8, Koh Sichang 1, and 93 new cases transferred from other provinces for medical care.
The details on the cases are as follows:
1. Cluster, Vanda Pack Company Limited, Mueang Chon Buri District, 22 cases 2. Cluster Acushnet Footjoy (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Sriracha District, 7 cases 3. Cluster, Thai President Foods Co., Ltd., Sriracha District, 6 cases 4. Cluster Phanat Assembly Co., Ltd., Kut Ngong Subdistrict, Phanat Nikhom District, 5 cases 5. A risky occupation, meeting a lot of people-19 cases (taxi drivers, customer-facing) 6. 1 medical personnel 7. Provided a history of traveling from provincial risk areas 7.1 Chachoengsao Province 2 cases 7.2 Bangkok 1 person 7.3 Rayong Province 1 person 8. 42 business enterprises in Rayong province 9. Close contacts of a previously confirmed Covid-19 patient 9.1 in 266 families 9.2 out of 118 workplaces/co-workers 9.3 19 friends of previous cases 9.4 Joined an illegal party, 1 person 10. Close contacts of a confirmed patient (under investigation) 185 cases 10. Currently under investigation in general as to the source of the infection of Covid-19- 277 cases.
A total of 1,172 close contact searches were received today, and 365 proactive search reports are pending.
