Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J.

fredag 7 januari 2022

France detects new Covid variant "IHU," believed to be highly transmissible | A WHO incident manager on Covid-19, Abdi Mahamud, told the media at a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the variant had been on the radar to monitor. “That virus had a lot of chances to pick up.” Thaiger

France detects new Covid variant "IHU," believed to be highly transmissible

Friday, January 7, 2022 10:20

While the world is grappling with a continuous spike in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, scientists in France have discovered a new variant. The newly-discovered variant, called B.1.640.2, was found in 12 patients near Marseille and features 46 mutations, making it vaccine-resistant and contagious.

Also known as "IHU," the strain was detected by scholars at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on December 10 last year, with the first patient being related to travelling to Cameroon in Central Africa and having been vaccinated.

Lab results show that the N501Y mutation, which was initially detected in the Alpha variation, has been found in the new virus and is thought to make it more transmissible. It could be more vaccine-resistant as scientists also found the E484K mutation in the new IHU variant.

Since it was initially identified in November, it hasn't posed much of a threat, according to the World Health Organisation.

A WHO incident manager on Covid-19, Abdi Mahamud, told the media at a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that the variant had been on the radar to monitor.

"That virus had a lot of chances to pick up."

SOURCE: Time | First Post

🔴 #COVID19 update on Friday: ⬆️ 7,526 new cases ⬆️ 19 deaths ⬆️ 42,580 in care. Richard Barrow

Phuket has experienced major problems with its sandbox scheme while the Covid-19 infection rate there keeps rising. Deputy provincial governor Pichate Panaphong said Phuket identified four problems after it opened as a pioneer province to welcome tourists under the Phuket Sandbox scheme. Bangkok Post

Phuket tweaks sandbox rules

A man is tested as a mandatory measure for arriving passengers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease at Phuket airport on Nov 29, 2021. (Reuters photo)

Phuket has experienced major problems with its sandbox scheme while the Covid-19 infection rate there keeps rising.

Deputy provincial governor Pichate Panaphong said Phuket identified four problems after it opened as a pioneer province to welcome tourists under the Phuket Sandbox scheme.

The first was the delay in approving the Thailand Pass among foreign tourists.

He said the process should be a one-stop service and operate 24 hours. There should be a round-the-clock call centre to answer foreigners' inquires. He had submitted the idea to the Interior Ministry asking them to consult the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).

The next issue was a shortage of RT-PCR test facilities. Labs in both the public and private sectors were not enough to handle second RT-PCR tests. Since Jan 4, the province has added five more mobile lab vehicles. It expects to handle up to 1,200 people per day.

Thirdly, hospital-cum-hotels (hospitels) and hotel isolation facilities were insufficient to cater to foreign patients with mild symptoms, he said.

He had asked the Phuket Public Health Administration to work with Vachira Phuket Hospital and the Thai Hotels Association (southern chapter) to open more hospitels or renovate some of their venues into hotel isolation facilities.

He said Vachira Phuket Hospital will join hands with more hotels to offer 200 rooms as hospital facilities.

Lastly, many international tourists travel with health insurance but their insurance policy does not cover medical costs for mild Covid-19 symptoms. He suggested the CCSA impose a regulation for international arrivals to also purchase local health insurance.

Governor Narong Woonsiw said the problems found during the first version of the Phuket Sandbox will lead to improvements. He will introduce "Phuket Sandbox Version 2" soon to ensure tourists enjoy safe and smooth travel during their stay, he said. In addition, Phuket will also protect its residents by introducing a booster shot.

The public health office has to ensure that facilities will be sufficient for locals who are infected and have mild symptoms. Big cleaning activities in public places will be held regularly.

"Currently, the local economy is doing well due to the increasing number of tourists. I want residents, business operators and all stakeholders to keep following Covid-19 measures. If we can do that, we will get through this crisis together," the governor said.

As of Jan 5, Phuket had reported 283 Covid-19 cases in total comprising 227 new local infections, 46 sandbox cases and 10 infections from the Test & Go programme.

Bangkok Post highlights 7/1

The fifth wave is here for sure with the steepest curve so far of new cases, but, and this is a big but, the number of deaths and serious cases remain low. Richard Barrow

The fifth wave is here for sure with the steepest curve so far of new cases, but, and this is a big but, the number of deaths and serious cases remain low. Let's hope it stays this way.

🔴 Chonburi Public Health Office is reporting 1,342 ⬆️ new cases today, the highest for four months, and no deaths. Most new cases are in Chonburi City (207), Si Racha (265), and Bang Lamung/Pattaya (712). There are 5,376 patients in care ⬆️

torsdag 6 januari 2022

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today (Thursday) a proposal will be made at the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)’s meeting tomorrow whether the January 10th deadline, for foreign tourists with the “Thailand Pass” to enter the country through the Test and Go scheme, can be postponed to January 15th. He made clear that it is not possible to extend the deadline to February or April, as suggested by some tourism business operators, explaining that the government is focusing on “quality” tourists, not on the numbers. Thai PBS World.

Deadline for arrivals under Thailand's 'Test and Go' scheme may be extended to mid-January

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said today (Thursday) a proposal will be made at the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)'s meeting tomorrow whether the January 10^thdeadline, for foreign tourists with the "Thailand Pass" to enter the country through the Test and Go scheme, can be postponed to January 15^th.

He made clear that it is not possible to extend the deadline to February or April, as suggested by some tourism business operators, explaining that the government is focusing on "quality" tourists, not on the numbers.

The public health minister said that he could not say for sure whether lockdown restrictions will be re-imposed, to cope with the rapid surge in COVID-19 infections since the end of the long New Year holidays adding, however, that the Disease Control Department has proposed that some high-risk areas be declared COVID-19 "orange zones", under which restrictions, such as no alcohol service in public venues and mandatory quarantine for foreign arrivals, can be imposed.

Regarding the increase in the COVID-19 alert, from Level 3 to Level 4, Anutin said that it was not unexpected, in light of the rise in new COVID-19 infections since the New Year.

He added that the extent of the growth of new infections would become clearer in the next 7-10 days, but said that he believes the number of serious cases will not climb as rapidly as the new infection rate.

5,775 new COVID-19 cases were recorded today, but he said that, on the plus side, significantly fewer deaths have been recorded since early December, which is not related to this new wave sweeping the country.

The new cases include 135 among "Test and Go" tourists and 62 in the "sandbox" program.

He reminded the public that hospital beds are strictly for the very sick, as evaluated by doctors, and those who have mild symptoms or asymptomatic cases will have remain at home or in community isolation facilities.

Meanwhile, Disease Control Department chief Dr. Opart Karnkawinpong said today that the department will propose a set of measures to contain the spread of the virus to the CCSA at its meeting tomorrow. The measures include quarantine and adjustment of zones in line with the infection rates, among others.

He warned that, without additional restrictions and the full cooperation of the public, daily infections will jump into the tens of thousands very soon.

Thailand has enough hospital beds in case of Omicron surge Thailand’s health system has the capacity to treat up to 50,000 Covid-19 patients per day, which is higher than the Department of Disease Control (DDC) estimation of 30,000 daily infections in the worst-case scenario due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, Department of Medical Services chief Dr Somsak Ankasil said on Wednesday. The Nation

Thailand has enough hospital beds in case of Omicron surge

Thailand's health system has the capacity to treat up to 50,000 Covid-19 patients per day, which is higher than the Department of Disease Control (DDC) estimation of 30,000 daily infections in the worst-case scenario due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, Department of Medical Services chief Dr Somsak Ankasil said on Wednesday.

The DDC earlier estimated that Covid-19 cases would surge between 10,000 and 30,000 infections per day after the New Year holidays as people who had visited their hometowns return to big cities to resume working.

The Public Health Ministry reported on Thursday morning that in the past 24 hours there were 5,775 new Covid-19 patients, while 11 have died.

"Public health facilities in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, where we expect a surge in Omicron cases, can treat up to 8,000 Covid-19 patients per day," he said.

"Bangkok has up to 11,000 beds available for patients with severe symptoms, 6,000 beds for level 2 patients, and 5,000 beds for level 3 patients."

Somsak also said the Department of Medical Services had ordered public health offices in each province to prepare home and community isolation systems for patients with no symptoms, which will be the largest group among Omicron infections.

"From the statistics of Omicron cases in Thailand, 48 per cent are asymptomatic, while 41 per cent have mild symptoms," Somsak pointed out. "These patients can be treated at isolation centres and will not require hospital beds," he said.

"If you perform a self-test with an antigen test kit [ATK] and the result turns up positive for Covid-19, contact National Health Security Office hotline 1330. Officials will evaluate your symptoms before sending you for suitable treatment," Somsak said, adding: "If you, however, display severe Covid-19 symptoms, contact hotline 1669 for emergency service."

Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J. - Palmtree