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Samut Sakhon imposes lockdown restrictions after hundreds test positive for Covid-19 (nationthailand.com)

Samut Sakhon imposes lockdown restrictions after hundreds test positive for Covid-19

NationalDec 20. 2020

By The Nation

The number of people infected with Covid-19 in Samut Sakhon province rose sharply by 548, officials revealed late on Saturday.

After 1,192 foreign workers got tested, 516 were found to be infected, accounting for 43 per cent infection rate.

Meanwhile, 32 more people were found to be infected after many people went to hospitals in the province for testing.

Dr Opas Karnkawinpong

At 9pm on Saturday, Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, held a press conference along with Pol Maj-General Thana Chuwong, Commander of the provincial Police Region 7, and provincial Governor Veerasak Vichitsaengsri.

The outbreak in the province follows a 67-year-old woman, who ran a prawn shop in a local fish market, testing positive on December 17 after experiencing symptoms on December 13.

Dr Opas said that after the case was detected, the Department of Disease Control, the Ministry of Public Health, together with the Samut Sakhon Provincial Communicable Diseases Committee and agencies in the area conducted hundreds of tests, after which 13 people, both Thais and foreigners, were found to be infected by noon on Saturday.

Further screening of 1,192 migrant workers, showed 516 of them, or 43 per cent, to be infected, Dr Opas said.

He added that the number increased to 548 after people visited hospitals in the province to be examined.

More than 90 per cent of the new cases were asymptomatic or have very few symptoms and most of them are foreign workers, he said.

After an assessment of the public health situation, Dr Opas said he believed the local health office would be able to cope with the situation through the cooperation of the people since most of the spread has occurred in a limited area without any severe cases. He said that although there was an increase among migrant communities surrounding the fish market, where they lived in crowded conditions, the group was at low risk of getting serious illness as they were in the working age group with strong health.

Governor Veerasak has decided to impose strict measures in the affected areas to control the spread of the disease for 14 days, from December 19 to January 3. Gambling establishments, tutoring institutes, sports schools and nurseries will be closed. Malls and convenience stores can open at restricted hours. They must not operate from 10pm to 5am. Fresh markets can open for six hours a day.

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Fish marketing agency tightens virus vigil at piers (nationthailand.com)

Fish marketing agency tightens virus vigil at piers

NationalDec 19. 2020

By The Nation

The Fish Marketing Organisation has tightened measures at its piers nationwide to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, organisation director Montien Innoi said.

This follows the report of 12 new domestic cases of the virus, which were reportedly related to a 67-year-old woman in Samut Sakhon province, who tested positive for Covid-19 on December 18. The woman ran a seafood shop in a prawn market in Mahachai subdistrict.

He added that the organisation had already sent a letter to staffers at piers to strictly follow the measures of preventing the communicable diseases, including the Covid-19 virus.

The organisation would also work closely on the matter with other state agencies, he added.

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Chiang Rai claims to be free from new Covid-19 infections (nationthailand.com)

Chiang Rai claims to be free from new Covid-19 infections

NationalDec 19. 2020

By THE NATION

The Chiang Rai provincial authority has announced that the province is free from new Covid-19 cases, except those in state quarantine.

In a statement issued on Friday, the authorities said new cases were found in the province only among illegal crossers in late November. The authorities said they had checked all people at risk and found no new cases.

The statement said that the Chiang Rai authorities had tested proactively to make sure there were no undetected cases. The result of the operation showed no new cases.

Meanwhile, all the patients who were undergoing treatment had recovered from the virus.
The province added that the only patients in the province were those in the quarantine facilities.

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Royalists take up the cudgels (nationthailand.com)

Royalists take up the cudgels

NationalDec 19. 2020Photos by Tanachai Pramarnpanich 

By The NationMany groups of royalists painted over messages pro-democracy protesters had sprayed on the road in front of Bangkok’s Yannawa Police Station on Friday.

On Thursday, the protesters had gathered at the police station to encourage Jatuporn Sae-Aueng, who came to hear a lese-majeste charge against her.

Jatuporn is a member of the pro-democracy group, Free for Buriram. Attired in a Thai traditional costume, she took part in a demonstration in Bangkok’s Silom area on October 28.

She was charged, along with another protester aged 16, under Section 112 for violating the lese-majeste law.

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Phetchaburi hospital director shot dead by gunman disguised as patient (nationthailand.com)

Phetchaburi hospital director shot dead by gunman disguised as patient

NationalDec 19. 2020

By THE NATION

A lone gunman came in the guise of a patient to Dr Chumphol Clinic on Saturday and shot dead the clinic’s owner, Dr Chumphol Decha-Umphai.

The alleged crime took place at 11am. Dr Chumphol is also the director of King Mongkut Memorial Hospital in the province.

The clinic is located on Mattayawong Road in Phetchaburi’s Muang district.

“Preliminary investigation showed that the suspect, who is male, aged around 30 years, shot Dr Chumphol multiple times after receiving a checkup from him before driving away in a car,” said Phetchaburi police chief Pol Maj-General Uthai Kawindechathorn.

Matichon newspaper reported that officials have identified the suspect and are securing an arrest warrant.

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SMS to be sent on Dec 25 to new registrants for shopping subsidy scheme (nationthailand.com)

SMS to be sent on Dec 25 to new registrants for shopping subsidy scheme

NationalDec 19. 2020

By The Nation

Krungthai Bank will send confirmation SMS to 5 million new registrants for the second phase of the “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) subsidised shopping scheme on December 25.

The bank added that once registrants receive the confirmation SMS, they can authenticate themselves via “Paotang” smartphone application from January 1 to March 31 next year.

The Finance Ministry has allowed people to register for privileges under the scheme on Wednesday amid criticism that Total Access Communication (DTAC) customers, who requested a one-time password (OTP) to register for the government’s co-payment scheme, missed their chance because the OTP did not arrive on time.

Later, DTAC offered compensation with either free data, airtime bonuses or discounts worth Bt3,500 on devices.

Under the scheme, the government will pay 50 per cent of a participant’s bill for food, drink and general goods up to Bt150 per day. The cap on total subsidy per person over the whole period has been raised from Bt3,000 to Bt3,500.

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Police arrest biker suspected of snatching bags from foreigners (nationthailand.com)

Police arrest biker suspected of snatching bags from foreigners

NationalDec 19. 2020

By The Nation

Investigation officers at Thonglor Police Station on Friday arrested Phitsanu Rodudom, 30, who allegedly disguised himself as a motorcycle taxi driver and stole foreigners’ bags at Sukhumvit Soi 55 in Bangkok’s Wattana district.

The officers also seized a motorcycle, a motorcycle taxi driver’s uniform and a black helmet as evidence.

The crackdown followed a complaint by a South Korean victim who told police on Monday that his bag was snatched by a motorcycle taxi driver while he was walking along Sukhumvit Road.

The victim added that his bag contained a smartphone, wallet, driver’s licence, credit cards, car key and Bt800 cash.

Investigation officers checked Phitsanu’s escape routes via closed-circuit television cameras on Sukhumvit Soi 27 where the incident had occurred until they were able to arrest him.

During interrogation, Phitsanu reportedly pleaded guilty that he had stolen foreigners’ bags on Sukhumvit Road and at tourist attractions to buy drugs, adding he mainly targeted Koreans and Japanese who walked along the road at night.

He also admitted that he had committed the crime three times in the Thonglor Police Station area and once in the Bang Rak Police Station area.

According to Phitsanu’s background, he had been arrested in the case of stealing properties in Makkasan Police Station area in 2014 and then released in July 2015.

“He has been charged with stealing properties by using a vehicle to facilitate escape,” the investigation officer said.

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Pickup overturns on highway after tyre explosion (nationthailand.com)

Pickup overturns on highway after tyre explosion

NationalDec 19. 2020

By THE NATION

A pickup truck overturned accidentally on a road in Nakhon Ratchasima province, scattering over two tonnes of fish it was carrying on the road.

On Saturday, police officers from Non Sung Police Station were informed about the case on highway No. 2.
Police found a Toyota pickup lying on the highway, blocking traffic. Rescue staff and locals helped remove the fish scattered on the road.

The driver of the pickup told police that that he heard a loud noise from his tyre before the car overturned.

The driver suffered injuries. He told police that he was on the way from Nakhon Ratchasima to Kalasin, transporting the fish.

A truck was hired to transport the fish after the accident.

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12 domestic Covid-19 patients among 34 new cases (nationthailand.com)

12 domestic Covid-19 patients among 34 new cases

NationalDec 19. 2020

By THE NATION

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported on Saturday 34 new cases in the past 24 hours, including 12 domestic ones and 22 in quarantine facilities.

The 12 new cases were related to a 67-year-old woman in Samut Sakhon province, who tested positive for Covid-19 on December 18 after showing symptoms on December 13. The woman ran a seafood shop in a prawn market.

Of the new cases, three of them were family members of the woman, one was her employee and one was his wife. Other patients were those who had worked at or visited the market earlier or were those who lived in the nearby area.

The 12 patients included six Thai women aged 20, 24, 49, 57, 73 and 95; three Thai men aged 23, 41 and 42; and three Myanmar nationals — a woman, 43, and two men aged 32 and 40.

The CCSA added that the information on them was not clear this time, since the cases were new, and officials needed time to investigate them.

On Friday evening, Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul visited the prawn market. He added that His Majesty the King had granted three biosafety vehicles to test local residents around the market, while the ministry had provided 2,500 viral transport medium tubes, 2,500 nasopharyngeal swabs, Rapid Ab test kits, 100 personal protective equipment suits, 200 waterproof gowns, 500 surgical masks, 100 face shields as well as other equipment to officers carrying out the testing.

The 22 cases in quarantine facilities comprised nine Thais and 13 foreigners. Of the Thai returnees, five were females aged 48, 35, 16, 45 and 15, from Kenya, Bahrain, the UK, Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. Four male returnees aged 42,53, 31 and 7 returned from Germany, the UAE, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

The foreigners consisted of a German, 36, two Americans aged 22 and 50, two Britons aged 38 and 57, a Russian, 37, two Bangladeshis, aged 58 and 59, an Indian, 44, and an Italian, 64, from their respective countries. The others were a US national, 36, from the UK, an Argentinian, 44, and a Canadian, 39, from Namibia.

The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand since the outbreak increased to 4,331 (1,324 in state quarantine), 247 are in hospital, 4,024 have recovered and been discharged and 60 have died.

According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Saturday, the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak increased to 76 million (up 716,606), 53.27 million have recovered, 22.73 million are active cases (106,854 in severe condition) and 1.68 million have died (up 12,341).

Thailand ranks 152nd for most cases in the world, while the US has the most with 17.88 million, followed by India 10 million, Brazil 7.16 million, Russia 2.79 million and France 2.44 million.