Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J.

fredag 29 april 2022

Tourism fee of B300 set for Q3. Airlines bristle at new responsibilities. The 300-baht tourism fee is scheduled to begin being collected between August and September this year using the Thailand Tourism Fee (TTF) system implemented by airlines. Bangkok Post

Tourism fee of B300 set for Q3

Travelers are at Suvarnabhumi airport in Samut Prakan early this month. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)

The 300-baht tourism fee is scheduled to begin being collected between August and September this year using the Thailand Tourism Fee (TTF) system implemented by airlines.

Airlines raised concerns about the budget for the system and manpower to handle the process, as they are still struggling with the pandemic impact and weak passenger flows.

"The tourism fee is in line with the revised National Tourism Policy Act of 2008, which granted permission to set up the fund from the fees collected from foreign visitors. The fund will be used to develop tourist sites and offer tourists insurance," said Chote Trachu, permanent secretary of the Tourism and Sports Ministry.

He said the fee is meant to help tourists in case of emergency, such as a sudden sickness, accident or political unrest while travelling in Thailand.

Mongkon Wimonrat, assistant tourism permanent secretary, said the TTF system will integrate with airlines' websites to display an additional screen for fee collection for foreign passport holders.

People exempt from the tourism fee collection include diplomats, government officials, people with work permits from nationalities under a memorandum of understanding with Thailand, and children under 2 years old.

Speaking at a meeting with airlines on Thursday, Mr Mongkon said airlines have to help screen tourists who pay the fee before issuing tickets, submitting the final passenger manifest to the data link 15 minutes after flights take off.

The TTF system activates 30-day insurance coverage for tourists once they arrive.

He said local and international airlines are invited to register for the experimental process starting May 2.

Mr Mongkon said the ministry will offer a training programme on the TTF system and perform test runs on the system after the fee collection is published in the Royal Gazette.

Airlines have to prepare software to connect with the TTF system and communicate with tourists to educate them about the new fee, he said.

The fee is imposed on air travellers first, before expansion to other forms of transport in the near future.

One airline representative who requested anonymity said airlines have to focus on the recovery process by boosting frequencies to Thailand, especially after further rules relaxation on May 1.

This new system and fee responsibility will require airlines to use resources to work with the TTF System, said the source.

Each country may also have a different policy regarding the Personal Data Protection Act, creating practical challenges for airlines.

The ministry is urged to provide more clarification on the insurance policy provided, such as the minimum and maximum coverage for tourist injury or fatality, said the source.

torsdag 28 april 2022

CCSA English Briefing on Thursday 28 April 2022 (Unofficial Translation). Richard Barrow

CCSA English Briefing on Thursday 28 April 2022 (Unofficial Translation)

1. Recap outcomes of the CCSA General Meeting to be effective on 1 May 2022

1.1 On rezoning of provinces under the colour-coded scale, there will be 65 high-surveillance (yellow zone) provinces and 12 tourism-oriented (blue zone) provinces.

1.2 On entry measures for air travel, fully vaccinated travelers are no longer required to take a COVID-19 test before or upon arrival in Thailand. However, self-ATKs are encouraged. Unvaccinated travelers must provide a negative RT-PCR result within 72 hours prior to departure for quarantine exemption, otherwise a 5-day alternative quarantine and a RT-PCR test are required.

1.3 All non-Thai travellers are required to prepare proof of insurance with at least USD10,000 coverage for medical treatment in Thailand.

1.4 Children under 18 years old can register under and travel with their parents.

2. Update on the arrival of travelers

2.1 During 1-27 April 2022, 358,364 travelers entered Thailand. Of this number, the majority, or 340,951 travelers entered via the Test and Go, or Quarantine Exemption Scheme. 13,965 entered via the Sandbox scheme, and 3,448 entered with alternative quarantine.

2.2 The majority of international travelers come from these top five countries of origin during 1 – 27 April 2022, namely, Singapore, the UK, India, Germany, and Australia.

2.3 The majority of border provinces are expected to open their land border on 1 May 2022. Nan and Ubon Ratchathani are the two remaining provinces with international borders which are considering this measure.

3. General Situation

3.1 The number of new cases is 14,437 cases with 18,509 new recoveries. The number of accumulated cases stands at 158,768 cases. There are 127 new fatalities, with the accumulated total at 28,271 cases.

3.2 The current top ten provinces with the most COVID-19 cases per day are Bangkok (3,056), Khon Kaen (499), Chonburi (499), Samut Prakan (454), Sisaket (421), Buriram (409), Roi-Et ed (389), Ubon Ratchathani (299), Nakhon Si Thammarat (298), and Nakon Pathom (297).

4. Vaccination Progress

4.1 Yesterday, Thailand administered 150,767 doses of vaccines, increasing the accumulated number of vaccinations to over 132.97 million doses.

4.2 This brings Thailand to 80.8 percent (over 56 million people) of the population having received their first dose, 73.5 percent (over 51 million people) having received their second dose, and 36.9 percent (over 25.6 million people) having received their third and fourth doses.

4.3 To reach endemic stage, the fatality rate for COVID-19 must not exceed 0.1 percent and more than 60 percent of population must have received their booster dose.

5. CCSA thanked the Indian government and its partners for 200,000 Covovax doses, which will be distributed to state-owned hospitals across the country. This reflects Thailand's policy to ensure a variety of vaccines and sufficient vaccine supplies during the COVID-19 situation.

6. Thailand has inaugurated the third global pilot of the Universal Health and Preparedness Review, which is a crucial step towards our sustainable health security.

Full CCSA English briefing can be viewed here >>> https://fb.watch/cG9Icl8tax/

Source: CCSA, WHO, Public Relations Department, and Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)

Suicide among young people in Thailand has increased ‘alarmingly’ | Thaiger

Suicide among young people in Thailand has increased 'alarmingly'

Thaiger

Thursday, April 28, 2022 16:48

Suicide rates among Thai teenagers and young adults in Thailand have increased 'alarmingly' over the past five years, according to Thailand's Department of Mental Health. The department's director-general blames the high rates of suicide on increased stress caused by impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Thailand, the Land of Smiles, has the highest suicide rate in Southeast Asia.

In 2021, there were 439 suicides among Thais aged 15-24 years and 956 suicides among adults aged 25-34 years. In 2020, there were 428 suicides among Thais aged 15-24 years and 896 suicides among adults aged 25-34 years.

Director-general of the Department of Mental Health Dr. Amphon Benjaponpitak revealed on Thursday that the suicide rate in Thailand is 7.8 per 100,000. In 2019, pre-pandemic, the rate reported by the department was 6.64 per 100,000 people.

In April 2020, a Thai cleaner attempted suicide by drinking rat poison in front of the Ministry of Finance to protest against the ruined economy and lack of government support peak-pandemic. She said she was left to starve and was splitting one packet of instant noodles between three meals…

"I completely ran out of money. I called my friends and relatives. Everyone had no money,"

At that time, the Thai government was giving out aid of 5000 baht to people who were struggling under their "No One Left Behind" scheme. But millions of people, including the cleaner, learned they didn't qualify for the aid.

Two years on, no such government aid for Covid-19 exists, but many Thais are still living in poverty. Last weekend, hundreds of residents in Pattaya queued for free food handouts, like they did during "lockdown" two years ago. Rates of homelessness in Thailand's cities have also increased as people lost their jobs, couldn't find other work, and could no longer afford to pay their rent.

A survey conducted in January this year showed that many Thais suffer from suicidal thoughts, depression and burnout as a result of the pandemic. Nearly 10% of the 2.5 million people who took part in the survey said they are depressed. Over 8% said they were suffering from stress, and over 5% were deemed at risk of committing suicide. Over 4% said they had feelings of burnout.

A mental health assessment among adolescents in Thailand in 2021 found that 28% were experiencing high levels of stress, 32% are at risk of depression and 22% were found at risk of committing suicide.

UNICEF Representative for Thailand Kyungsun Kim shed some light on the state of mental health among young Thai people…

"Increasing numbers of children and adolescents in Thailand and around the world are facing mental health conditions and disorders, and we believe this is just the tip of the iceberg."

"Although the impact of poor mental health among children and young people is significant with the potential to result in lifelong consequences, mental health remains largely neglected and underestimated, oftentimes even hidden due to the stigma and shame surrounding the issue. This is something all of us must address, to destigmatize mental health conditions, encourage conversation around it, and make services and support easily available for those who need it."

According to CAMRI, Thailand has only 200 psychiatrists who specialise in children and adolescent mental health for a 15 million adolescent population.

If you're feeling lonely, depressed or suicidal, The Samaritans of Thailand have an English hotline you can call daily at 02 113 6789 (press 2). The service is free and gives you access to staff who are trained in suicide prevention, though you don't need to be suicidal to access the hotline.

Once you leave a voicemail on the English hotline, a staff member will call you back within 24 hours. You may call anonymously.

If you want to find out where you can access mental health support in Thailand as a foreigner, click here.

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

Surprise! Locals searching for a monitor lizard in a Chonburi lagoon get bitten by a crocodile instead!. Pattaya News

PHOTO: Tigernewsreport.

Chonburi –

Local residents searching for a monitor lizard at a lagoon in the Ko Chan district got an unpleasant surprise when they were bitten by a crocodile instead yesterday, April 27th, 2022.

Volunteers from a local fishery office were notified by local residents in Ko Chan that their ducks had disappeared from the area every day. They believed that those ducks were being eaten by a monitor lizard that they saw many days ago.

Several local residents, who were not specifically named, went down into the lagoon to search for the monitor lizard but two of them were bitten on a leg and another on a hand while in the lagoon. After coming out of the water empty-handed, they spotted an unwelcome visitor in the lagoon- a small female crocodile who had made the area his home.

Water pumps were used to decrease water in the lagoon and volunteers managed to capture the crocodile after about an hour.

The female crocodile was aged around two years old, about 1.37 meters long, and weighs 10 kilograms. The feisty snapper was taken to the local fishery office, which will then relocate the crocodile to a safer location.

Thailand News - Corona - By Ola J. - Palmtree