A look at the week ahead in Thailand and Pattaya news: More details on Pattaya reopening plan, flooding being watched, Covid-19 restrictions remain under review Sunday, 3 October 2021. Pattaya News

The following is our weekly feature in which we take a look at the top developing stories and things to follow over the next week. We are focusing on what is happening for the first week of October, ending October 9th, 2021.

Sunday, 3 October 2021, 0:25

PHOTO: Suttipong AL Life Support Pattaya

As we publish dozens of stories a week, this allows our readers to get a quick glimpse of the most important stories taking place in Thailand and Pattaya and to monitor and follow for the week ahead, as chosen by our editorial team.

Let's get right into it:

1. Flooding remains a problem across Thailand, especially in central provinces, Bangkok being closely watched

Thailand has been hit hard, like most years during September, by heavy rains in flooding, especially in Central Thailand, and recently driven by Tropical Storm Dianmu. Some provinces, like Lop Buri, have been particularly hard hit.

There is likely to be more rain on the way and as floodwaters head South from central provinces there are concerns that Bangkok will be able to handle it, with many fearing a repeat of major flooding and chaotic situations a decade ago in 2011.

Thai government officials, including the Bangkok Governor, are stating this will not happen and that they are prepared.

We will see and will be monitoring this closely throughout the week.

National Water Resources Office warns eight central provinces of more flooding in early October due to increased water discharge from two dams

Thousands of households in 17 provinces nationwide severely suffering from major floods since last week

2.  Will we get more firm details on Pattaya "reopening" in November to foreign vaccinated tourists?

Despite all the buzz on many media outlets, especially foreign international media, Pattaya (and Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and other places) opening in November to foreign vaccinated tourists is NOT set in stone, NOT official, and NOT guaranteed.

It is growing increasingly more likely to happen as the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, or CCSA and Tourism Authority of Thailand get on the same page and make major announcements about the "reopening". However, these are still proposals and have not been given final…or even preliminary…approval by the CCSA and Thai Cabinet, who would need to do so before any plan takes effect.

Now, this isn't unusual. The Phuket Sandbox and recent opening of Krabi literally made it official days…in Phuket's case hours…before the set opening date. It's important to note that it is "from" November 1st and not "on" November 1st with authorities using this as a guideline but not a firm date. We would advise potential visitors not to book those plane tickets, as cheap and enticing as they might be, just yet.

Keep in mind, even if Pattaya does open without a strict quarantine to foreign vaccinated tourists in November, there is no guarantee the cities biggest draw-its nightlife and entertainment industry would be allowed to open by the government, which has now been closed for six months basically with no set plan or roadmap to open.

Pattaya Mayor confirms city "reopening" to vaccinated foreign tourists delayed to November, cannot guarantee opening of entertainment venues soon

3.  Covid-19 restrictions to be reviewed the second week of October as current easing carefully watched

Just a few days ago cinemas and gyms were allowed to reopen in "dark red" provinces, which includes Chonburi. Cinemas have been closed for about half a year and gyms have been opened and closed multiple times over the past six months. A few other things were also allowed to reopen and the CCSA is carefully watching things to see how everything works out.

As discussed above, for Pattaya, the economically important and controversial nightlife industry remains force shut. It is unknown when the CCSA will allow it to open or even what an opening will look like but the pressure is rising from business owners and the estimated tens of thousands of unemployed bar workers.  Indeed, other than Phuket and certain venues on Koh Samui, alcohol is still officially banned at even restaurants nationwide as the CCSA continues to state that alcohol-related gatherings is a major spread of Covid-19.

The CCSA, aware of this, and also aware the industry is one of the last things still firmly shut at this point (along with pool halls, snooker halls, and places kids and teens congregate and go like schools and playgrounds) says they will evaluate restrictions at the next major meeting on October 11th. Smaller CCSA sub-panel meetings are likely to take place next weekend before this meeting and should give some clues to what-if any restrictions will be eased.

Oh, and of course, the current 10:00 PM to 4:00 A.M. mandatory curfew remains a source of distaste for many who also hope it will be lifted sometime this month.

Analysis: Thai Covid center says will evaluate more Covid restrictions around October 11th as pressure from entertainment industry to open ramps up

That is all for this week, thank you for your readership and attention!

Reopening poses global dilemma. Thailand and other tourist-dependent nations in the Southeast Asia region now find themselves caught in a dilemma. These nations decided to leave behind their "zero-Covid" policies and started charting a path towards living with the virus -- despite experts' warnings that it may be too early to consider Covid-19, and its ability to mutate into newer, deadlier strains, manageable. Bangkok Post





Reopening poses global dilemma

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced on June 16 that his government would reopen the country within 120 days, falling in October.

To show he is a man of his word, the government last week announced the partial reopening of many businesses and activities. Yesterday, many of the nation's venues, businesses and activities began their journey on what remains a long road towards a "new normal".

The reopening was met with an encouraging sign. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) yesterday reported 11,375 new infections, with 87 fatalities -- the first time in the past few months that the fatality rate has dipped below three digit figures.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thailand and other tourist-dependent nations in the Southeast Asia region now find themselves caught in a dilemma. These nations decided to leave behind their "zero-Covid" policies and started charting a path towards living with the virus -- despite experts' warnings that it may be too early to consider Covid-19, and its ability to mutate into newer, deadlier strains, manageable.

In July, the World Health Organization's head of emergencies, Mike Ryan, criticised the speed with which some countries were preparing to reopen and suggested that low Covid-19 vaccination rates, combined with the lifting of restrictions, threatened a "toxic mixture" at a time when the WHO had just announced the "tragic milestone" of four million recorded Covid-19 fatalities.

Reopening is easy, but harder is the question of its sustainability, which many Southeast Asian countries are unlikely to achieve in coming months: they must ask if they have given sufficient vaccinations to warrant the "new normal" lifestyle.

As it struggles to enhance jab rates, the Thai government is rushing to halve its mandatory quarantine to seven days for fully vaccinated visitors starting next month and remove any isolation period for such travellers in 10 key provinces including Bangkok in November to help revive its tourism-dependent economy.

Tourism is finally waking up and travellers have started making their journeys. The problem is they haven't come to Thailand, but other destinations that have lower infections, more vaccination rates and don't have quarantine or Covid restrictions.

For instance, Malaysia, with more than 56% of its population having been fully vaccinated, reopened Langkawi -- a cluster of 99 islands and the country's prime holiday destination -- to domestic tourists last week. Singapore last week opened the country for tourists from Germany and Brunei, without imposed quarantine.

The Thai government and others in this part of the world needs to tread carefully. The reality is the infection rate in this region -- with a few exceptions such as the case of Singapore -- remains high, despite the encouraging downward trajectory.

Johns Hopkins University data shows the Philippines is still reporting nearly 20,000 cases a day, with Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia all hovering around the 10,000-15,000 cases mark every 24 hours.

In many ways, Southeast Asia is doing little more than following in the footsteps of western nations which have already gone much further in loosening restrictions and returning freedoms to their citizens. Nevertheless, there is one key difference. In most of those countries, most people have been vaccinated. The figure currently stands at 65% in the United Kingdom, and nearly 70% in Canada.

That's more than double the proportion of people on the streets of Thailand (26%) who are walking around having been doubled-jabbed with a certificate to prove it, despite nearly 51.5 million Covid-19 vaccinations having been given in the kingdom between Feb 28 and Sept 29.

Worries still abound over the types of vaccines being offered by the government with many parents cautious over giving consent for their offspring to receive Chinese-made vaccines. Some studies show that Sinovac is considerably less effective than both Pfizer and Moderna. Predictably perhaps, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has dismissed criticism of the country's vaccines' efficacy as a "bias-motivated smear".

Despite criticism and uncertainly surrounding the country's vaccination plan, the Prayut government does not have any choice left but to move towards a "new normal". To be fair, it may be easy to criticise the regime over many points of policy or apparent fallibility, but it mustn't be forgotten just what an interminably difficult period this has been for almost every administration in the world.

When cases rise, governments are labelled as weak and when cases are low, people notice their empty pockets that much more vocally. So, let's hope October marks the start of a safe and swift revitalisation of the country for everyone's sake.

Bangkok Post highlights 3/10



🔴 #COVID19 on Sunday: ⬇️ 10,828 new cases ⬇️ 77 deaths. Richard Barrow



PM outlines vision for 'Phuket transformation'. Prayut: Fresh plan to lure visitors The government is gearing up to promote Phuket as a world-class destination, hoping to lure one million foreign visitors over the next six months and generating at least 60 billion baht in revenue. Bangkok Post

PM outlines vision for 'Phuket transformation'

Prayut: Fresh plan to lure visitors

The government is gearing up to promote Phuket as a world-class destination, hoping to lure one million foreign visitors over the next six months and generating at least 60 billion baht in revenue.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha shared the "Phuket transformation" initiative on his Facebook on Friday as fresh easing of coronavirus restrictions took effect that saw cinemas reopen and shortened spells in curfew and mandatory quarantine.

He said the programme aims to attract up to a million high-quality foreign travellers and those who are on "workation" during the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2022, or an average of 5,000 visitors per day.

Some 500,000 tourists travelling via chartered flights from England, Russia, Germany and Nordic countries are likely to visit Thailand from October to March, he said.

Gen Prayut said the government will develop online registration systems including health screening and vaccination certificates to help ease their travel.

He also shared data involving the Phuket Sandbox reopening scheme which was launched on July 1, stressing the scheme was a strategy to restart the hard-hit tourism industry amid the public health crisis.

The Phuket Sandbox was followed by Samui Plus and Phuket Extension, all of which had contributed 2.33 billion baht to the economy as of Sept 27, according to Gen Prayut.

The Phuket Sandbox generated 2.25 billion baht while Phuket Extension brought in 12 million baht. Samui Plus contributed 66 million baht to the economy.

Gen Prayut hailed the sandbox programmes as a success, saying they helped stimulate the economy and had not set back the country's Covid-19 containment measures.

He said the government is also speeding up economic relief including compensation paymements, debt relief and loan programmes.

According to Gen Prayut, a new measure to retain jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) is in the pipeline.

Under the scheme, SMEs will be provided with a subsidy to help them retain employees.

He said that now the outbreak has eased and more businesses can reopen, the government can refocus on the economic recovery.

Gen Prayut said the vaccination drive is vital in helping the country survive the outbreak and move ahead with the reopening plan.

By the end of this year, the country will have secured 178.2 million doses, an increase on the original 100 million-dose estimate, and will also see the rollout of home-grown vaccines next year, he said.

With sufficient vaccine supplies and various types of shots available, he said people will receive vaccines suitable for their age and health conditions.

Gen Prayut expressed confidence that if containment measures go as planned, Thailand will see further reductions in Covid-19 cases and avoid further lockdown.

Vaccination update 2/10



Thailand’s Ministry of Interior says the new rules came into effect on October 1st, and are valid until September 30th next year, in a bid to boost the tourism industry. Read more: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/foreign-tourists-can-now-apply-to-stay-for-up-to-nine-months-in-thailand/ . PBS World

The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 638 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today with 6 new deaths, October 2nd. There are currently clusters of outbreaks in 79 establishments and five markets, 10 construction worker camps, and four communities. Pattaya News

Chonburi new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 drop to 638 with 6 new deaths

Saturday, 2 October 2021, 10:57

Highlights:

• 638 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Chonburi today

• 855 people recovered and were released from medical care

• 6 new deaths

The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 638 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today with 6 new deaths, October 2nd.

Additionally, 855 people were also released and recovered yesterday in Chonburi. 77,133 people in total have now been released from medical care and recovered in Chonburi since this current wave of Covid-19 began.

This makes a total of 88,691 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 10,937 people still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 621 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April. The details on yesterday's 6 new deaths were not given, which is standard for the health department.

The district-level new cases were as follows today:

Mueang Chonburi 165, Si Racha 109, Banglamung (Pattaya) 113, Panat Nikhom 34, Sattahip 66, Ban Bueang 25, Pan Thong 37, Bor Thong 7, Ko Chan 6, Nong Yai 8, Soldiers in Sattahip 36, and 32 people transferred from other provinces for medical care.

The details on the cases are as follows:

1. Cluster, Soldiers in Sattahip, 36 cases
2. Cluster, worker camp at Soi Bon Kai in Sattahip, 4 cases
3. A risky occupation, meeting a lot of people, 25 cases
4. 3 medical staffers
5. Back from risky areas in Rayong, 2 cases
6. Many establishments in Rayong Province brought to Chonburi for medical care, 20 cases
7. Close contacts of confirmed patients in the family – 201 cases, in workplaces – 109 cases, close friends – 32 cases and joined parties – 5 case
8. Close contacts of confirmed patients (under investigation), 51 cases
9. 150 cases are under investigation in general as to the cause of the disease

There are currently clusters of outbreaks in 79 establishments and five markets, 10 construction worker camps, and four communities.

VACCINATION IN THAILAND The total of vaccinations in Thailand has now reached 53,784,812 as of yesterday. • 45.2% 1 vaccine dose • 27.5% 2 vaccine doses. The Thaiger



Bangkok Post highlights 2/10



🔴 #COVID19 on Saturday: ⬇️ 11,375 new cases ⬇️ 87 deaths. Richard Barrow



🇹🇭 The quarantine period for entering #Thailand has now been reduced from 14 days to 7 days for fully vaccinated tourists. People can also now enter from any country. Here is the chart by TATNews.org and the link to their press releases: https://www.tatnews.org/thailand-reopening Richard Barrow



Analysis: Thai Covid center says will evaluate more Covid restrictions around October 11th as pressure from entertainment industry to open ramps up. Pattaya News

Analysis: Thai Covid center says will evaluate more Covid restrictions around October 11th as pressure from entertainment industry to open ramps up

Friday, 1 October 2021, 23:35

Bangkok, Thailand-

Representatives from the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) have stated that even as Thailand eases some restrictions effective today, October 1st, around Covid-19 that they plan to take another look in close to two weeks.

First, if you have not been following, here are the eased restrictions as of today in Chonburi, home of Pattaya.

Although of great relief to both customers and employees of venues like gyms, spas, and cinemas, Pattaya's so-called "bread and butter" entertainment and nightlife industry remains shuttered, closing in on six months straight as of October 10th. Indeed, the city is still under a 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM curfew to "discourage" parties and gatherings.

Additionally, alcohol remains banned at restaurants locally, for the same amount of time, and the recent relaxing of Phuket for Sandbox tourists has irked many business owners who normally depend on the extra profit and margin from alcohol to make significant revenue. The Thai Restaurant Association has been pushing for some time now to lift the ban on alcohol in restaurants, but the CCSA has held off, citing low vaccination levels and concerns about people treating restaurants as bars or bars pretending to be restaurants.

Pattaya (and Sattahip) is planned to open to foreign vaccinated tourists in November if the current plan proceeds forward (although it is important to note it is not yet final.) This of course has begun to drive renewed pressure from the entertainment, restaurant, and alcohol industry to allow their venues to open in time for foreign tourists, let alone domestic tourists. Many Pattaya business owners have been approaching city hall and the Mayor's office according to city house representatives, presenting plans and ideas for opening and sets of rules they claim they would follow. However, the ultimate decision on opening Pattaya's nightlife and entertainment industry rests with the CCSA and not with local or even regional leaders.

Indeed, domestic tourism has already begun to increase nearly every weekend as you can see from this article here. This is only further making local business owners continue to plead with the powers that can be for any chance to open, even if the rules are extremely strict.

Pattaya is also planning a series of major events from November which will be bringing even more domestic tourists to the city-and if entertainment owners are not allowed to open their venues under any set of rules will cost them even more money after, combined, close to a year of closures. (Last year, entertainment venues were closed almost four months, this year they were closed for all of January and now for six months straight. This has been with, according to multiple business owners, little to no financial aid or support for the mandated no-opt-out closures.)

It remains to be seen and is not guaranteed if the CCSA will allow entertainment venues, even perhaps just alcohol at restaurants or open-air bars, allowed when the city "opens" in November. The CCSA has continually shown to be overly cautious around alcohol-related gatherings and has on several occasions placed the blame on super-spreader events, whether warranted or not, on the nightlife industry. Additionally, at about 27% percent nationally double vaccinated as of today, October 1st, the country has a long way to go. However, Pattaya proper is around 70% and the Mayor says will be at 80% by the time the city reopens. Bangkok, where a majority of the domestic tourists come from, is expected to be not far behind.

That being said, based on comments on social media, many regular foreign Pattaya tourists, although pleased that they could wander anywhere in the city and not be stuck in a hotel, would find it unacceptable if the nightlife and entertainment industry was shuttered by mandate and would not plan on returning until it was allowed to resume. Many domestic Thai tourists, however, are not very bothered with the nightlife scene but would prefer alcohol to be legal at restaurants once more.

We will see if the CCSA lifts any further restrictions in the middle of the month, although many are not expecting any major changes until November. It's also important to remember the Emergency Decree is scheduled to run until the end of November and things could always change if cases increased, even though hospital capacity has been much better over the past few weeks. As for most of our readers, we think they would accept at least a first step of lifting the curfew and allowing alcohol at restaurants.

As always, we will keep you updated right here at TPN media. Thank you for supporting local news media.

P.S. Open or not, Wednesday, October 20th, is the end of Buddhist Lent as the past several years will be a "dry" day overall. Be prepared. This includes store-bought sales.

Thailand’s vaccine ambitions. Some math needs to be done here. As of today, some 32.7 million first doses have been given to Thais. To get to 50% requires only a few million more doses. On the other hand, the second doses have amounted to just over 20 million in Thailand. As far as “fully vaccinated” goes, the government needs to vaccinate some 15 million more Thais (second jab) to reach the targeted 50% coverage. PBS World

Thailand's vaccine ambitions

views  256

October 1, 2021: The Prayut government hopes to vaccinate 50% of the population by the end of this month, and achieve even higher percentages in selective areas.

That's what was announced today amid the good news of increasing vaccine supplies and bad, lingering news of the possibility that the coronavirus is working tirelessly to outsmart all vaccines being used at the moment.

Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson on the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said each Thai province's vaccination should cover 50% of its population at the end of October. That means at least half of the entire Thai population would have been vaccinated within four weeks, whereas it took more than half a year to reach just over 40% (first doses only).

Some math needs to be done here. As of today, some 32.7 million first doses have been given to Thais. To get to 50% requires only a few million more doses. On the other hand, the second doses have amounted to just over 20 million in Thailand. As far as "fully vaccinated" goes, the government needs to vaccinate some 15 million more Thais (second jab) to reach the targeted 50% coverage.

To get 50% of Thais to be fully vaccinated, it means the first dose needs to reach 50% first, which is currently not the case. Therefore, if the government wants 50% of Thais to be fully vaccinated, it will require a few million more first doses plus some 15 million more second doses.

Supplies do not seem to be a big problem lately, and neither does the capability to administer a large amount of doses daily. But fears have been persistent among many international health experts that a variant might emerge to render current vaccine useless. The theory about this new, invincible variant, however, is highly dependent on the number of "hosts" of the current variants. The higher the number of hosts, the higher the chances for meaningful mutations.

Apisamai said at least one district in each Thai province would get a 70% vaccine coverage, whereas any district earmarked for economic pioneering push would get 80%.

Banks say it like it is - TAT's figures for Thailand reopening don't match their forecasts. By the end of the year TTB Analytics said they expected only 100,000 foreign tourists to have visited Thailand in 2021. Krung Sri went for around 150,000. Yutthasak was predicting 5,000 a day in the high season. ASEAN NOW

Picture: Brand Inside Asia

 

A report on Brand Inside Asia on the state of foreign tourism in Thailand presented a stark contrast to TAT chief Yutthasak Suphasorn's latest prediction about a million visitors to Phuket in the high season.

 

By the end of the year TTB Analytics said they expected only 100,000 foreign tourists to have visited Thailand in 2021. Krung Sri went for around 150,000.

 

Yutthasak was predicting 5,000 a day in the high season.

 

TTB said that tourism was 79% down on 2019 figures and 3.55 trillion baht had gone missing.

 

Two out of every three baht is down to the lack of foreigners.

 

This amounted to 2.38 trillion for foreigners and 1.17 trillion in the domestic market.

 

The slow vaccine rollout, confusion among potential tourists and fears about the Covid numbers in Thailand all contributed to the bad forecasts.

 

One area the media highlighted was the need for quality vaccine in Thailand.

 

They took a snipe against Chinese vaccines noting how easy it had been for them to come in and get approval as opposed to other vaccines seen as better. 

 

Pattaya Hits 70% Vaccination Target by Oct. 1, Still Isn’t Reopening. Sin City has until Nov. 1 to bring down stubbornly high new coronavirus cases, hospitalizations. Bangkok Herald

Pattaya Hits 70% Vaccination Target by Oct. 1, Still Isn't Reopening

1 October 2021

Friday was supposed to be the start of Pattaya's rebirth. And even though 70 percent of the city is now fully vaccinated, Pattaya is not reopening to foreign tourism.

City and business leaders already have come to terms with the one-month (or more) postponement of Pattaya's reopening imposed by the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration. But the fact that officials met the major original deadline for welcoming back fully vaccinated international travelers is a bitter pill to swallow.

Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome said Sept. 29 that the crucial threshold for vaccinating city residents was passed when the last 1,600 of 100,000 legally registered Pattaya adult residents received their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

While Pattaya has far, far more residents, they don't count toward the 70-percent metric because their household is registered elsewhere. Children ages 12-18 also don't count. So, in fact, Pattaya is commonly known remains far, far from 70 percent vaccinated, but the numbers always are what politicians want to make them.

People may grouse about Pattaya not reopening despite reaching the 70-percent mark by the original Oct. 1 deadline, but vaccination was not the only benchmark the city had to reach.

The government said Pattaya and Chonburi Province also need to show a substantial drop in new daily coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Neither have been met.

Chonburi on Friday reported 820 more cases, 132 of which were in Banglamung District, which includes Pattaya.

Daily cases in the district have failed to decline, even as the province's overall caseload trended downward through the beginning of this week. But Chonburi has seen case increases for four consecutive days.

Two more deaths also were reported and 11,483 remain hospitalized.

Sonthaya and doctors from Pattaya Hospital on Sept. 30 visited two hotels converted into coronavirus-care facilities: the OZO North Pattaya and D Varee Jomtien Beach hotels.

The two hotels have a total 1,600 beds for coronavirus patients showing no or mild symptoms. Currently, only 1,100 of those beds are filled, Sonthaya said.

While the number of those placed in the "hospitels" are declining, Pattaya's overall cases are not. The difference is that new cases – most found with antigen test kits – are being allowed to isolate at home.

Sonthaya said Pattaya will spend October getting ready for reopening and continuing to vaccinate the public. Between 2,000 and 3,000 doses are being administered each day, but October's immunization focus will be on students – in preparation for the reopening of schools in November – and booster shots for those inoculated with the Chinese-made vaccine from Sinovac Biotech, which is seen as less effective against the coronavirus delta variant.

Bangkok Flooding Begins, Water May Rise 3 Meters by Tuesday. Bangkok Herald

Bangkok Flooding Begins, Water May Rise 3 Meters by Tuesday

1 October 2021

Flooding in Chaiyaphum continues. The government said water should receded in two weeks, barring no new big storms. Locals say it could take months.

Flooding will impact Bangkok communities along the Chao Phraya River starting today, with water continuing to rise through Tuesday, city hall said.

Nine Central Plains provinces also were warned about imminent flooding after the Pasak Jolasid Dam increased its water discharges.

The Thai Meteorological Department has forecast that a monsoon trough will move across the lower Central and upper South regions, bringing heavy rain and runoff that will flow into the Chao Phraya Dam in Chai Nat.

Water will rush into the dam at 3,200 cubic meters a second (cms), outstripping usual dam-discharge rates. To preserve dam integrity, the Royal Irrigation Department has been forced to increase the amount of water it vents into the river and divert into irrigation canals.

Bangkok Gov. Aswin Kwanmuang said the hope is that water diversion can allow the discharge rate to return to a more manageable 2,700 cms.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha claimed on Thursday the situation was still manageable.

More runoff, however, is pouring into Lop Buri's Pasak Jolasid Dam, which is now dumping up to 1,200 cu. meters a second and rushing into Ayutthaya's Bang Sai District at a white-knuckle 3,200 cms.

The result? Downstream rivers and canals will rise 2.3-2.9 meters through Tuesday, Aswin predicted.

He said city hall is monitoring the situation, checking the strength of 79 kilometers of embankments on both sides of the river and piling sandbags even higher. All 97 water-pumping stations along the Chao Phraya also are ready.

However, residents along the Chao Phraya and the Bangkok Noi and Mahasawat khlongs had better prepare to be inundated.

A total 239 homes in 11 communities sit outside embankments in Bang Sue, Dusit, Phra Nakhon, Samphanthawong, Bang Kho Laem, Yannawa, Klong Toei, Bangkok Noi, and Klong San districts, the governor said. All have been warned to move their valuable to higher ground.

Flooding in Chaiyaphum continues. The government said water should receded in two weeks, barring no new big storms. Locals say it could take months.

Central Plains Soggy

Meanwhile, nine provinces in the Central Plains have been told to prepare for flooding from the Pasak Jolasid Dam discharges.

Samroeng Saenphuwong, secretary to the National Water Command, said riverside communities in Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Lop Buri, Ayutthaya, Saraburi, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, and Bangkok all are in peril of flooding.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha claimed on Thursday the situation was still manageable. But he also said earlier that flooding this year wouldn't be a concern.

Flooding has affected more than 200,000 households in 31 provinces over the past week and persists in 18 provinces to the north of Bangkok. It will take another two weeks for water levels to return to normal, but only if no more major storms roll in during the last, and heaviest, weeks of rainy season.

Chonburi new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 rise to 820 with 2 new deaths. Friday, 1 October 2021, 11:03. Pattaya News

Chonburi new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 rise to 820 with 2 new deaths

Friday, 1 October 2021, 11:03

Highlights:

• 820 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Chonburi today

• 938 people recovered and were released from medical care

• 2 new deaths

The Chonburi Department of Public Health announced 820 new and confirmed cases of Covid-19 today with 2 new deaths, October 1st.

Additionally, 938 people were also released and recovered yesterday in Chonburi. 76,278 people in total have now been released from medical care and recovered in Chonburi since this current wave of Covid-19 began.

This makes a total of 88,053 cases of Covid-19 in the current round of infections, with 11,160 people still under medical care/supervision, and with a total of 615 recorded deaths in Chonburi since the start of this recent round of infections in early April. The details on yesterday's 2 new deaths were not given, which is standard for the health department.

The district-level new cases were as follows today:

Mueang Chonburi 176, Si Racha 167, Banglamung (Pattaya) 138, Panat Nikhom 30 Sattahip 73, Ban Bueang 16, Pan Thong 56, Bor Thong 12, Nong Yai 6, Koh Sichang 3 Soldiers in Sattahip 66, and 77 people transferred from other provinces for medical care.

The details on the cases are as follows:

1. Cluster, Soldiers in Sattahip, 66 cases
2. Cluster, Thai A-Tech Solution company in Si Racha, 12 cases
3. Cluster, Meyer Industries in Si Racha, 5 cases
4. Cluster, ABB company in Si Racha, 5 cases
5. Cluster, Toyota Pattaya company in Borwin, Si Racha, 4 cases
6. Cluster, CSSG in Pan Thong 7 cases
7. Cluster, Seihutsu company in Pan Thong, 4 cases
8. Cluster, Seah Precision Metal Company in Pan Thong, 5 cases
9. Cluster, Colgage Palm Olive company in Mueang Chonburi, 4 cases
10. Cluster, Thep Nimit Marketing in Mueang Chonburi, 4 cases
11. A risky occupation, meeting a lot of people, 32 cases
12. 3 medical staffers
13. Back from risky areas in Rayong 12 cases and Bangkok, 2 cases
14. Many establishments in Rayong Province brought to Chonburi for medical care, 60 cases
15. Close contacts of confirmed patients in the family – 216 cases, in workplaces – 130 cases, close friends – 32 cases and joined parties – 6 case
16. Close contacts of confirmed patients (under investigation), 68 cases
17. 143 cases are under investigation in general as to the cause of the disease

There are currently clusters of outbreaks in 75 establishments and five markets, 10 construction worker camps, and four communities.

🔴 #COVID19 on Friday: ⬆️ 11,754 new cases ⬆️ 5,150 probable cases (ATK) ⬆️ 123 deaths. Richard Barrow



Bangkok Post highlights 1/10



TAT eyes 1m Phuket visitors in 6 months. TAT also plans to talk with the Foreign Ministry about the visa and COE system, which should be able to receive applications three months in advance, up from the current one month. Discussions may also include the possibility of revoking the COE in the future, as well as coordinating with the Public Health Ministry on developing a verification system for vaccine passports, said Mr Yuthasak. Bangkok Post

TAT eyes 1m Phuket visitors in 6 months

Tourists pose for a photograph at Patong beach in Phuket, which opened to fully vaccinated tourists under its sandbox scheme.

Phuket expects to generate tens of billions of baht from 1 million foreign arrivals over the next six months, tourism authorities announced on Thursday as they outlined their reopening timetable.

The Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) approved on Thursday the Tourism Authority of Thailand's (TAT) plan to promote Phuket as a world-class destination with a goal of generating 60 billion baht during the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2022.

Additional data was released about the performance of the island's sandbox reopening scheme following its launch on July 1.

ADVERTISEMENT

Thai travellers topped the sandbox entrants the past three months, followed by the US as the biggest international source market.

The sandbox's economic contribution during its first three months was 2.25 billion baht.

As of Sept 29, Phuket tallied 7,494 Thai travellers to the island since July, while travellers from the US accounted for 5,845, followed by those from Israel (5,414) and the UK (4,758).

Among the 37,978 travellers enrolling in this scheme, 23,215 travelled to other destinations in the country after completing the mandatory 14-day stay in Phuket.

"We expect the number of visitors will significantly increase in the final quarter factoring in the quarantine reduction from 14 to seven days starting from October, while a consistent decrease in the infection rate benefits inbound markets in the upcoming high season," said Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor.

He said CESA also approved easing of eight travel measures.

Three conditions have been implemented, comprising quarantine reduction; allowing group applications for certificate of entry (COE), which will enable tour operators to help clients process the entry forms; and allowing commercial flights from Russia at the end of October.

Mr Yuthasak said the easing of restrictions should help generate at least 500,000 tour packages via chartered flights over the next six months, of which 295,000 packages would be from the Russian market, for a total of 2.5 million room nights, followed by 130,000 packages from the UK and Nordic countries, generating 200,000 room nights.

However, he said another five conditions require further discussion with related parties, including relaxing the high-risk contact rule for passengers boarding the same flight with a Covid-19 patient, reducing the RT-PCR test price, and reducing mandatory Covid insurance coverage from US$100,000 to $50,000.

TAT also plans to talk with the Foreign Ministry about the visa and COE system, which should be able to receive applications three months in advance, up from the current one month.

Discussions may also include the possibility of revoking the COE in the future, as well as coordinating with the Public Health Ministry on developing a verification system for vaccine passports, said Mr Yuthasak.

In addition to the reopening programme, CESA said it agreed with the proposal to establish a tourism support fund to give the travel industry a makeover, with an initial budget of 5 billion baht.