Thailand recorded 22,086 Covid-19 cases and 217 deaths on Saturday.
Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday (August 14) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 22,086 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 270 of whom have been found in prisons.
Death toll increased by 217, while 23,672 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country are at 885,275 with 7,343 total deaths.
Retailers profiteering from rapid test kits face jail, warns Commerce Ministry
The Commerce Ministry says it is working to set a standard price for Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits (ATKs) to prevent retailers cashing in on high demand.
The ministry’s Price of Goods and Services Committee will perform a market survey to compare prices in shops against the manufacturers’ recommended retail prices,” said ministry permanent-secretary Boonyarit Kalayanamit, who also chairs the committee.
“We will post the suitable standard price of ATKs on the Department of Internal Trade’s website as soon as possible,” he said on Friday.
Boonyarit explained that 34 brands of ATK have so far registered with the Public Health Ministry to sell their products in Thailand. However, only 10 manufacturers have submitted information on costs and recommended retail price with the Department of Internal Trade.
The submitted retail prices range from 250 to 350 baht, Boonyarit said.
“If you find any retailers selling at a higher price, contact the Department of Internal Trade hotline at 1569,” he said, warning that retailers who inflate prices face 7 years in prison and/or a 140,000-baht fine.
Friday’s meeting of the Price of Goods and Services Committee reported that 10 online retailers were arrested for selling Fah Talai Jone (Andrographis paniculata) at 345 baht to 450 baht per bottle of 60 tablets – well above the Department of Internal Trade’s suggested price of 80 baht. Meanwhile, the owner of a Bangkok pharmacy was arrested for selling ATKs at 450 baht apiece – 100 baht higher than the manufacturer’s recommended price of 350 baht.
Pilot plant to make tobacco-based vaccine launched in Bangkok
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday inspected a pilot production facility for a plant-based Covid-19 vaccine at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
The plant-based vaccine project is a collaboration between Chulalongkorn University and Baiya Phytopharm Ltd. It uses a subunit protein extracted from tobacco leaves to mimic Covid-19 and trigger an immune response in recipients.
The project launched in February 2020 and has since produced successful results in rats and monkeys.
Pilot plant to make tobacco-based vaccine launched in Bangkok
“The Public Health Ministry and National Vaccine Institute have handed a budget of 160 million baht to Chula and Baiya to establish a pilot plant to produce plant-based vaccines and biologics by transforming the 11th floor of Chulaphat 14 building [at Chula] into a 1,200 square metre manufacturing facility,” said Anutin.
“The Food and Drug Administration also helped in improving the vaccine manufacturing process. We expect phase one of human trials to start next month on 100 volunteers.”
Anutin said that if the trial is successful, the plant could start manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine in the third quarter of 2022 at up to 5 million doses per month, or 60 million doses per year.
“The advantage of plant-based vaccine is that it can be modified and improved to tackle new variants of the virus,” he added. “Currently we have researched up to 10 variants of Covid-19. In the future we could improve the formula in the same way as influenza vaccine, to protect against various strains with just one dose.”
Covid test kits in shelved deal meet Thai standards, says FDA
The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed that the Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits (ATKs) in Thailand’s controversially shelved procurement deal meet its own standards.
Adeal for 8.5 million ATKs made by Chinese company Lepu Medical Technology was halted on Friday following news that the US FDA had banned their use over quality concerns.
The Thai FDA said the Lepu Medical Technology ATKs were among 84 antigen test kits it had registered for use in Thailand – 34 for home use and 52 for professional use.
The medical regulator explained that all ATKs were tested at Ramathibodi Hospital, Prince of Songkla University and Chulalongkorn University. Quality was therefore guaranteed, it added.
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation had been poised this week to buy 8.5 million ATKs from Lepu Medical Technology at 70 baht per kit. However, it was discovered the kits were recalled in the United States on May 28 due to “a high risk of false results when using these tests”, according to the US FDA.
The GPO decided to postpone the purchase of the ATKs indefinitely after “parties expressed concerns about the product quality”, GPO board president Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit said.
Police net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raids
Chiang Mai police announced on Thursday that it has seized assets worth about 100 million baht and made an unspecified number of arrests in a couple of raids on Wednesday.
The authorities are scheduled to provide details in a press conference in Bangkok later on Friday.
In cooperation with the Office of Narcotics Control Board and Department of Special Investigation, police raided three establishments in Chiang Mai’s Muang district. Two were offices set up in a luxury housing estate to run a drug-trafficking network and one was an online gambling business.
Police said the raid on the drug-trafficking ring was conducted after a suspect arrested in an earlier crackdown had provided tips.
Meanwhile, police have collected evidence of money laundering at the online betting establishment and arrested one person. Police said one suspect had escaped and they will track down another two or three persons suspected to be involved in this illicit business.
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Police net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raidsPolice net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raidsThe detainee allegedly runs the betting website and uses a Thai League 2 football club and a public lottery system to launder the earnings.
Police net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raids
US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the press on Thursday that US$55 million (1.83 billion baht) has been earmarked for humanitarian and pandemic response efforts in Thailand and Myanmar.
“President [Joe] Biden has made clear that we are putting our alliances at the centre of our foreign policy. And so, I also felt it was important to come here to Thailand, to reaffirm and strengthen the longstanding alliance between our nations, and to underscore our enduring commitment to Southeast Asia and the Asean centrality,” the envoy said.
She added that she had met Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and “communicated America’s strong commitment to standing with the Thai people in the fight against Covid-19.
“We are stepping up that commitment with another 1 million vaccine doses [in addition to the 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine donated by the US government previously], which will arrive soon.”
Thomas-Greenfield also said: “The coup in Myanmar and the resulting humanitarian crisis has been compounded by Covid, and Thailand is on the front lines of the response to both challenges.”
She added that the funding will support the pandemic response and alleviate Thailand’s burden. Of the $55 million, $5 million will be added to Thailand’s battle against Covid-19, while the remainder will flow in through international and non-governmental organisation partners.
“This aid will provide life-saving food, water, shelter, healthcare and hygiene services to vulnerable people from Myanmar, including refugees and internally displaced persons,” she clarified.
She added that she has met with international organisations, NGOs and other agencies working in Thailand and Myanmar to discuss the political and humanitarian challenges facing the people of Myanmar.
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“I wanted them to know that we stand with them. The resources we are providing will help these NGOs and international organisations respond to the COVID crisis and meet the needs of vulnerable people, particularly in the Thai-Myanmar border region” she said, adding that “the United States remains deeply concerned about the ongoing crisis in Myanmar”.
Thailand hits new record with 23,418 infections, 184 deaths
Thailand’s daily caseload surged to 23,418 on Friday with 184 deaths. Of the new infections, 388 are in prisons.
Meanwhile, 20,083 patients have recovered and been discharged over the past 24 hours.
Since the epidemic kicked off last year, Thailand has had 863,189 Covid-19 cases, 643,884 of whom have recovered, 212,179 are still in hospitals and 7,126 have died.
Separately, another 171,488 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 28,359 their second shot, and 19,993 their third shot, bringing the total Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in Thailand to 22,508,659.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Friday, confirmed cases globally had risen to 206.25 million, 185.11 million of whom have recovered, 16.79 million are active cases (102,730 in severe condition) and 4.35 million have died (up by 10,371).
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Thailand ranks 35th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 37.20 million, followed by India with 32.12 million, Brazil with 20.29 million, Russia with 6.53 million and France with 6.40 million.
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Pilot plant to make tobacco-based vaccine launched in Bangkok
Police net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raids
Police net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raidsThe detainee allegedly runs the betting website and uses a Thai League 2 football club and a public lottery system to launder the earnings.
Police net 100 million baht worth of assets in Chiang Mai raids
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