Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J. - Palmtree

New COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours reached a new high of 42,138 using rapid antigen tests and 23,618 using RT-PCR tests, according to the COVID-19 Information Centre and Disease Control Department.

The official daily infection record high confirmed by RT-PCR tests was set last Friday at 24,932 but the number of positive cases found in rapid antigen tests (ATKs) awaiting RT-PCR confirmation did not exceed 30,000 a day until today.

The antigen figures have only been released by the authorities recently thanks to the prevalent use of the kits, in addition to the official RT-PCR positive cases.

Of the 23,618 cases diagnosed using RT-PCR tests, 23,437 were locally-acquired and 181 were among arrivals from overseas.

Cumulative infections since the beginning of this year are 734,727, of which 543,184 have recovered.  223,414 are currently undergoing treatment.

The death toll today was 49.

Of the patients currently being treated, 1,131 are suffering lung infections and 325 are on ventilators.

To date, 124,124,850 doses of vaccines have been administered in Thailand. These include 53.7 million first doses, 49.7 million second doses, 20.7 million third doses, and a number of fourth doses.

A Chonburi breeder sold his three-year-old buffalo stud for 6.5 million baht, one of the highest sale prices for a buffalo ever in Thailand.

Chaiyan Poolpattanasap, owner of Chaiyan Farm in Ban Bung, sold the 1.7-meter tall, 1.1-ton beast to Livestock Semen Production Center in Maha Sarakham. Somphong Sombathom, owner of the Issan farm, managed to haggle 1 million baht off the original 7.5-million-baht asking price.

The buffalo, Chao Thongsuk, fetched such a high price because it had recently won the top prize at the National Buffalo Festival and previous royal cups in Sakon Nakhon and Phetchabun.
The sale was also a record for Chaiyan, who has bred about 10 buffaloes for those contests before, selling one for 3.5 million baht in 2020.

He said buffalo breeding is a good occupation, as the investment is only about 10,000 baht, but the returns can be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions of baht.

Somphong, 32, whose Wilai Farm has some 40 buffaloes and 60 cows, said he has had been eyeing Chao Thongsuk for about a year.