onsdag 20 april 2022

Thailand (Still) Plans to Declare Covid-19 as Endemic by July. Despite some concern regarding the Covid-19 situation after the Songkran holiday, the Public Health Ministry’s plan to declare Covid-19 endemic by July still persists.- prestigeonline.com

Thailand (Still) Plans to Declare Covid-19 as Endemic by July
By Chayanin Thaijongrak
19 Apr 2022
Thailand (Still) Plans to Declare Covid-19 as Endemic by July

Despite some concern regarding the Covid-19 situation after the Songkran holiday, the Public Health Ministry's plan to declare Covid-19 endemic by July still persists.

Thailand's Public Health Ministry is still looking forward to declaring the prolonged Covid-19 as an endemic by July 1, 2022. Although it has been predicted that we could see a spike in cases and death rates after the Songkran festival, Dr Chakkarat Pitayowonganon from the Department of Disease Control states that it will take roughly two to four weeks to conclude. As of today's prediction, the worst-case scenario can reach over 100,000 cases per day, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.

Fortunately, we're now seeing a decline in the number of infections, from about 30,000 PCR tests per day before Songkran to 16,000 cases at the time of writing. Dr Chakkarat mentions that he is not much worried about the after-festival situation, for the risk group is mostly working people who already received booster vaccines and are likely to develop only mild symptoms.

[Hero and featured image credit: Spencer Davis/Unsplash]

Image credit: sabinevanerp/Pixabay

The concern remains, however, in most elderly people, who make up to 90% of the death cases over the past week. Considering that young working people have the tendency to transmit the virus to the elderly at home, the situation is still one to be wary of.

Therefore, in order to prepare for the endemic stage, it's critical to encourage the two million senior citizens to receive their first shot as soon as possible.

Furthermore, for the time-being, the department has advised all public and private sectors to encourage their employees to work from home during the first week after the Songkran festival. Those who need to be in the office should take ATK tests regularly.

The ministry insists that unless other unprecedented risks emerge, such as the new variants, Covid-19 will be declared an endemic on July 1, 2022.





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🔴 #COVID19 update on Wednesday ⬆️ 20,455 new cases ⬇️ 128 deaths ⬇️ 191,743 active cases ⬇️ 2,049 serious cases. Richard Barrow




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tisdag 19 april 2022

Heinecke calls for ending all restrictions to boost tourist arrivals. Thailand should remove all travel restrictions as soon as possible to help the country's tourism industry recover so that they can compete with other fully open countries, Minor International founder and chairman William Heinecke said on Monday. The Nation

Thailand should remove all travel restrictions as soon as possible to help the country's tourism industry recover so that they can compete with other fully open countries, Minor International founder and chairman William Heinecke said on Monday.
Heinecke calls for ending all restrictions to boost tourist arrivals

In a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, Heinecke said the average number of foreign arrivals at Don Mueang Airport in April this year was 11,623 people per day, lower than over 50,000 people per day in April last year.

He also pointed out that even though Thailand had recently allowed foreign tourists to enter the country without an RT-PCR test before departure, there are still a lot of travel restrictions that affect their decision.

He added that many countries that rely on tourism, such as Singapore and Cambodia, have already scrapped measures related to entry to facilitate the recovery of tourism and their economies.

"I believe that Thailand should realise that the number of Omicron patients who were found locally was higher than among foreign arrivals," he said.

"Meanwhile, I believe in Thai citizens that they understand Omicron's characteristics and are ready to live in line with the new normal era."

He said cooperation between government and private sectors is necessary to help the tourism industry's recovery and stimulate the economy.

He added that he and other entrepreneurs are ready to work with the government to help revive the country's tourism, boost confidence among tourists and implement guidelines for tourists' safety.

"With [government and private sectors] efforts and clear communication on Kingdom entry measures, Thailand's tourism business will achieve success," he added.

Published : April 19, 2022 

By :  THE NATION


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The steady fall in daily COVID-19 infections during the Songkran holidays can be deceptive and may not reflect the real situation, as fewer RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests were conducted during the period, according to Dr. Chakkarat Pittayawonganon, director of the Division of Epidemiology, Disease Control Department, today (Tuesday). PBS World


The steady fall in daily COVID-19 infections during the Songkran holidays can be deceptive and may not reflect the real situation, as fewer RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests were conducted during the period, according to Dr. Chakkarat Pittayawonganon, director of the Division of Epidemiology, Disease Control Department, today (Tuesday).

He said that, during the pre-Songkran period, about 100,000 RT-PCR and rapid antigen tests were conducted per day, but only about 80,000 tests a day were taken during the Songkran holidays, resulting in fewer than 20,000 confirmed infections per day, compared to about 25,000 cases a day the week before Songkran.

If more tests had been conducted, he said that the infection rate during the holidays could have increased, adding that, in at least a week from now, when more people are tested, a clearer picture can be drawn about the trend in infections.

New infections and fatalities during the period from April 15th to April 19th are:

  • April 15th, 119 deaths and 20,289 infections
  • April 16th, 125 deaths and 18,892 infections
  • April 17th, 128 deaths and 17,775 infections
  • April 18th, 124 deaths and 16,994 infections
  • April 19th, 129 deaths and 16,891 infections

Dr. Chakkarat observed that there was an increase in COVID deaths in patients who also had kidney disease which, he assumed, was because fewer patients went for dialysis, probably because they would be required to get vaccinated or show negative rapid antigen test results.

He further explained that people with kidney disease might not have developed sufficient immune response, even though they were inoculated, and might need antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE).

Dr. Chakkarat pointed out that severe cases, from Omicron infections, are different to Delta variant cases, because many of the Omicron patients were afflicted with underlying diseases before developing lung infections and they were already seriously ill upon arrival at hospital.

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