Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J.

torsdag 27 januari 2022

Three-year-old boy drowns at Bangsaen Beach - The Pattaya News

Three-year-old boy drowns at Bangsaen Beach

A three-year-old boy tragically drowned at Bangsaen Beach in Mueang Chonburi during a family vacation this week.

Thursday, 27 January 2022, 0:31

496122-1024x576 — PHOTO: Sarayut Boonrueng / Khaochad

Bangsaen, Chonburi –

Emergency responders were notified of the incident at Bangsaen Beach in the Saensuk sub-district earlier this week. They arrived at the beach to find the three-year-old boy, who had already been pulled up from the water. He was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The boy's mother, Ms. Anusara Yawichai, emotionally told rescue workers, "We are from Samut Prakan and were on a family vacation. While we were on the beach, my son disappeared for just a few seconds from my sight. We searched for him before another beach-goer (Kittipan Manopiyana) told me they last saw him near the floating bridge. They helped me to search for my son in the water before, tragically, we found him partially submerged."

Mr. Kittipan Manopiyana, 61, the witness who helped in the recovery effort, told TPN media, "I went down into the water as I am a strong swimmer to find the boy and pull him up before providing first aid while we were waiting for emergency responders but it was too late."

TPN media sends its condolences to the family of the young victim.

onsdag 26 januari 2022

14 now infected with Omicron ‘stealth’ subvariant, one dies. The Nation

14 now infected with Omicron 'stealth' subvariant, one dies

Fourteen patients in Thailand have been infected with Covid-19 Omicron subvariant BA.2, with one dying, Department of Medical Sciences director-general Dr Supphakit Siriluck reported on Wednesday.

Omicron BA.2 has been nicknamed the "stealth variant" due to difficulties in comparison between this particular variant and Delta using the RT-PCR method.

BA.2 is spreading rapidly in around 40 countries, including Singapore, India, Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

"The Omicron variant that has been found in Thailand since December 6 last year is the BA.1 variant that has mutations in the K417N, T478K, N501Y and del69/70 positions from the original Covid-19 virus," Supphakit explained.

"About three weeks after it was first discovered among foreign travellers, the BA.1 variant has spread quickly throughout a number of countries with several clusters reported in populated and tourism areas," he said.

"The Omicron BA.2 subvariant was first found in Thailand on January 2. Since then, 14 patients have been reported to have contracted it," Supphakit said, adding that Omicron BA.3 "has yet to be discovered in Thailand".

Supphakit said that so far there was no evidence BA.2 was different from BA.1 in terms of transmissibility, the potential for a patient to develop severe symptoms, or the ability to evade immunity created after recovering from Covid-19 or by receiving a vaccine.

"Apart from being hard to differentiate from Delta variants with RT-PCR testing, the BA.2 subvariant is different from BA.1 and BA.3, meaning that it does not show any mutation in the positions 69-70 of the spike protein," he added.

So far, seven patients in Thailand infected with the Omicron variant have died, bringing the fatality rate of Omicron in the country to 0.1 per cent. Omicron is now the dominant variant in Thailand, accounting for 94.6 per cent of patients. For Delta it is 5.4 per cent.

When divided by origin, 99.4 per cent of imported cases are of the Omicron variant while 0.6 per cent is Delta. Currently, 92.3 per cent of domestic cases are Omicron and 7.7 per cent Delta.

State of emergency extended until March 31 The government has extended the state of emergency until March 31. The 16th extension of the emergency declaration following the Covid-19 outbreak was published in the Royal Gazette on Tuesday. https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40011547. The Nation

Ranking of 11 provinces with highest COVID-19 transmission, as of 25 January 2022. PRD

Confirmatory updates for Thailand Covid visa extensions. Chonburi Immigration is confirming this morning, Wednesday 26 January, that visa extensions based on the Covid discretion are now restricted. Eligible foreigners are those who originally entered the country on a 60 days tourist visa, granted by a Thaidiplomatic post abroad, or with 30 days visa exempt stamped at Bangkok airport. Pattaya Mail

Confirmatory updates for Thailand Covid visa extensions

Barry KenyonJanuary 26, 2022

Chonburi Immigration confirmed this morning that visa extensions based on the Covid discretion are now restricted.

Chonburi Immigration is confirming this morning, Wednesday 26 January, that visa extensions based on the Covid discretion are now restricted. Eligible foreigners are those who originally entered the country on a 60 days tourist visa, granted by a Thaidiplomatic post abroad, or with 30 days visa exempt stamped at Bangkok airport.

Holders of non-immigrant visas of any kind cannot now extend or renew their stay by using the Covid route. Obviously, they can continue to obtain extensions of stay if they qualify under the rules of that non-immigrant visa. For example, holders of non-immigrant visas based on retirement can continue to obtain their annual extensions provided they have the necessary bank or embassy documentation as in the past.

The rationale for the new Covid-related rule is that the discretion was introduced two years ago to extend the stay of "tourists" who were stranded by the virus pandemic. People holding non-immigrant visas are no longer deemed to be holiday makers in that context.

Individuals who cannot extend or renew their visas in Thailand are given 7 days by the immigration bureau to leave the country. The Covid extensions for "tourists" are available until March 25, likely the terminal date for the discretion.

tisdag 25 januari 2022

The Department of Medical Sciences and a network of laboratories in Thailand have detected nine cases of the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron since the beginning of this month, by means of whole genome sequencing, according to Dr. Supakit Sirilak, the department’s director-general. PBS World

The Department of Medical Sciences and a network of laboratories in Thailand have detected nine cases of the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron since the beginning of this month, by means of whole genome sequencing, according to Dr. Supakit Sirilak, the department's director-general.

He said today (Tuesday) that Thailand's first BA.2 sub-variant case was found on January 2nd and it was reported to GISAID, a global science initiative and primary source which provides open access to genomic data of influenza viruses and COVID-19.

So far, nine such cases have been found among both travellers from abroad and Thais, he said, adding that the significant characteristic of BA.2 is that there is no spike deletion at the 69-70 position.

He also said that researchers have not found any difference from BA.1 regarding the ability to evade the immune system, the ability to cause severe symptoms or the transmissibility.

The BA.2 variant was first identified in India and South Africa in late December.

Believed to have emerged from the mutation of Omicron, the BA.2 sub-variant has more than 20 mutations, about half of them in the spike protein, which interacts with human cells and is key to the virus entering the body.

From 1 February, 2022, fully vaccinated travellers from any country around the world can apply for a TEST & GO Thailand Pass up to 60 days in advance. Read more: https://www.tatnews.org/2022/01/thailand-reopening-exemption-from-quarantine-test-go/. PRD / TAT News

From 1 February, 2022, fully vaccinated travellers from any country around the world can apply for a TEST & GO Thailand Pass up to 60 days in advance.

Read more: https://www.tatnews.org/2022/01/thailand-reopening-exemption-from-quarantine-test-go/

Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J. - Palmtree