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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004575

Record 22,782 new cases, 147 deaths

Thailand hit a brand new record on Thursday with 22,782 infections and 147 deaths.

Of the 22,782 new cases, 375 are in prisons.

Meanwhile, 23,649 patients have recovered and been discharged over the past 24 hours.

Since the epidemic kicked off last year, Thailand has had 839,771 Covid-19 cases, 623,801of whom have recovered, 209,028 are still in hospitals and 6,942 have died

Separately, another 366,677 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 134,611 their second shot, and 69,577 their third shot, bringing the total Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in Thailand to 22,288,819.

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According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Thursday, confirmed cases globally had risen to 205.52 million, 184.48 million of whom have recovered, 16.70 million are active cases (101,921 in severe condition) and 4.34 million have died (up by 10,228).

Thailand ranks 35th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 37.06 million, followed by India with 32.08 million, Brazil with 20.25 million, Russia with 6.51 million and France with 6.37 million.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004572

Thailand will have over 32 million doses of Pfizer jabs before yearend, promises Anutin

Thailand will receive 32.5 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine within the fourth quarter of this year, the Public Health Ministry announced on Wednesday.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the ministry had placed an order for 20 million doses with Pfizer as part of its vaccine procurement plan. In addition, he said, Pfizer has also offered to send another 10 million doses to the country within this year.

“This, combined with the 2.5 million doses donated by the US – 1.5 million doses of which have already been delivered – will bring the total of Pfizer vaccines up to 32.5 million doses,” Anutin said.

He also confirmed that the ministry had distributed Pfizer doses to frontline medics without any double standards and vowed to complete the vaccination process as soon as possible.

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Earlier on Wednesday, Dr Tossaporn Serirak, as a representative of the public, called on the Public Health Ministry to be transparent with the distribution of Pfizer doses.

The move came after many frontline personnel, such as rescue volunteers, garbage collectors and undertakers complained saying that back-office personnel received their jabs first.

Dr Tossaporn also called on the ministry to review the allocation of 40,000 Pfizer doses to foreigners and Thais who want to travel overseas. He said this violating the US donation’s actual aim to vaccinate vulnerable groups first.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004574

Retired Nonthaburi police inspector caught extorting money

A former police inspector in Nonthaburi was arrested on Wednesday with 100,000 baht in cash that he had extorted from a suspect in a land fraud case.

The suspect had sent his lawyer to Nonthaburi Police Station to hand the cash over to retired Pol Lt-General Pracha Bannathikorn.

The land fraud complaint against the suspect had been filed by Achariya Ruangrathanapong, president of the Club to Assist Victims of Crimes, at the Royal Thai Police Anti-Corruption Division.

Pracha had offered to take on the case as a mediator and adviser, and his duties were to be carried out under the jurisdiction of the chief investigator. Hence, other officers investigating the case have also been implicated in the extortion.

The provincial police chief has ordered an investigation into the corruption case and an explanation as to why a retired police officer was involved in an active case.

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Retired Nonthaburi police inspector caught extorting moneyRetired Nonthaburi police inspector caught extorting money

Published : August 12, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004571

Hell breaks loose at pro-democracy rally

The Talu Fah pro-democracy group gathered on Wednesday, aiming to march to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s residence. But police were deployed to prevent the group from heading to the prime minister’s house, resulting in a clash at Victory Monument, which then expanded to Din Daeng intersection.

The protesters allegedly set fire to a Din Daeng police truck, before police retaliated with rubber bullets and tear gas as the situation took a horrible turn.

One of the protesters tried to lob a ping pong bomb at officers but it exploded prematurely, causing him severe injury.

A total ten police officers were injured and two police vehicles burnt, according to the police, before an uneasy calm was restored.

Let’s take a look at what transpired:

Published : August 12, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004570

Rural Doctors Society wants GPO to purchase high-quality antigen test kits, scrap contract for 8.5m sets

The Rural Doctors Society on Thursday urged the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) to procure high-quality antigen test kits in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) standards.

The society also urged the GPO to dismiss a contract with Holland Capital, the winner of the organisation’s bidding to procure 8.5 million sets of Lepu Medical Technology antigen test kits.

Society president Dr Supat Hasuwannakit said the GPO had used the lowest price of THB70 per set as criteria without concern for quality.

He claimed that Lepu Medical Technology’s test kits had been wiped out from the US market on May 28 this year under the country’s Food and Drug Administration as the kits had provided inaccurate results.

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“The society confirmed that high-quality antigen test kits in line with WHO standards are necessary to contain the spread of Covid-19,” Supat said.

“Using inaccurate test kits may be a waste of expenses in conducting RT-PCR tests and ruin a patient’s opportunity to receive medical treatment,” he said.

The society also asked Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to investigate the case, instruct the GPO to dismiss the contract and implement antigen test kit standards for sale in Thailand.

“Medics need high-quality antigen test kits to tackle the Covid-19 crisis similar to the armed forces needs for tanks, aircraft and submarines to protect the country,” he added.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004569

Charges filed against 3 PWO officials over alleged unlawful purchase of gloves

The Commerce Ministry has filed charges against three Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) officials for allegedly flouting laws in the purchase of 500 million packs of rubber gloves worth THB112.50 billion.

Adisciplinary committee, chaired by Commerce Ministry deputy permanent secretary Pitak Udomwichaiwat, has submitted a letter signed on July 30 to the three PWO officials to acknowledge the charges by August 15.

The three are a former PWO acting director and two executive officers – namely Pol Colonel Roongroj Phuthiyawat, Kiatkajorn Saetai and Muratathorn Khambut.

So far, only Kiatkajorn has denied the allegation, claiming he performed his duty in line with one of the PWO’s executives.

After August 15, the committee will summarise their allegations and propose punishment to PWO director Kriangsak Prateepvisut.

The PWO is expected to fire all three and claim their salaries since August last year, when the incident occurred.

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Meanwhile, a tort liability committee, chaired by Commerce Ministry Inspector-General Wanchai Varavithya, has summoned executives and employees, apart from the three officials, for interrogation, expecting to propose a ruling to the PWO director by September.

The PWO will subsequently propose the verdict to the Finance Ministry’s tort liability committee.

If both parties’ resolutions are met, the PWO will instruct the three officials as well as financial officers and some members of its board who were allegedly involved in the incident, to pay compensation for damages of around THB2 billion. The PWO can file a complaint with the Administrative Court for legal action.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission said it has already informed all those involved about the allegations and expects to summarise the investigation and submit the case to an attorney for legal action soon.

Meanwhile, on behalf of the PWO, the Anti-Money Laundering Office will take legal action and seize the assets of all officials involved in the case.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004568

Private sector wants govt to allow firms to freely import Covid-19 vaccines

A joint committee of three private sector organisations requested a meeting with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss measures that would enable private firms to freely import Covid-19 vaccines, Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) president Suphan Mongkolsutee said on Wednesday.

The other two organisations forming the joint committee are the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Thai Bankers’ Association.

“We would like to urge the government to allow private companies to import Covid-19 vaccines freely without having to go through government authorities to speed up the country’s vaccination rate and provide more vaccine choices for the people,” Suphan pointed out.

Private sector wants govt to allow firms to freely import Covid-19 vaccines

Currently, the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration stipulates that only five agencies can import vaccines – namely the Department of Disease Control, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, the National Vaccine Institute, the Thai Red Cross Society and the Chulabhorn Royal Academy.

“Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration needs to approve all types of vaccines that are on the World Health Organisation’s Emergency Use List so that we can import them for use in Thailand without having to wait for vaccine manufacturers to register first,” Suphan said.

“Without the free import of Covid-19 vaccines, it would be impossible to hit the target of 100 million doses by the end of the year,” he warned.

“Under government procurement, we can administer only 300,000 doses per day, whereas in order to meet the target we should be providing 500,000 to 600,000 doses per day,” he said.

The joint committee also plans to discuss the possibility of controlling the price of antigen test kits to not more than THB100 apiece to promote wider testing and alleviate people’s financial burden.

“We have submitted a letter requesting a meeting with the prime minister and expect a response soon,” the FTI president added.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004552

Various councils suggest better protection for medics instead of controversial legal immunity

The public health permanent secretary and various councils of medical professionals urged the government on Wednesday to provide better protection to medics amid the dire Covid-19 situation instead of granting legal immunity to medical staff looking after Covid-19 patients.

Earlier this week, the Public Health Ministry was set to issue an executive decree to provide healthcare professionals looking after Covid-19 patients with immunity from legal liability, so they can concentrate fully on their work without having to worry about getting sued.

However, the idea was widely criticised by the public as some feared the decree would allow medics to steer free from professional responsibility.

In a statement on Wednesday, Public health permanent secretary Dr Kiattaphum Wongrajit said the office of the permanent secretary, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Vaccine Institute, the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, the Medical Council of Thailand, the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Thai Dental Council, the Pharmacy Council of Thailand, the Medical Technology Council and the Physical Therapy Council all agreed that the government should consider measures that grant better protection to medical professionals in this Covid-19 situation while not raising public doubts.

“Healthcare professionals have been combating Covid-19 for almost two years, whereas an overwhelming workload and shortage of medical equipment could sometimes result in honest mistakes,” Kiattaphum said.

“The measures should help reduce medics’ worries with a comprehensive worker protection clause, as well as help strengthen their confidence in the public health system so they can provide the best care to patients,” he added.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004551

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

The Phuket sandbox command centre on Wednesday pinpointed six locations in the province that are considered risky spots for tourists, while urging local authorities to improve security measures at these locations to make the sandbox programme safer.

Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew, who chairs the command centre, had ordered the Phuket Tourist Police Bureau to survey more than 120 tourist attractions in the province to check for security risks after a Swiss tourist was murdered at Ton Ao Yon waterfall in Muang district earlier this month.

“We found six tourist attractions have a high level of risk for visitors due to a lack of CCTV surveillance, as well as being isolated from communities,” said Phuket Tourist Police chief Pol Maj-General Krit Warit.

The locations are:

– Pru Mai Khao forest

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

– Banana and Naithon beaches

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

– Bang Thao mountain scenic point

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

– Wang Khee On waterfall

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

– Khlong Mudong mangrove forest

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

– Ton Ao Yon waterfall.

Six Phuket spots pose security risk for tourists

“We will submit the list and details of security measures that are lacking to the provincial committee, which will later instruct local authorities to improve security at these attractions,” Krit said.

“Furthermore, police are preparing to use the “GoPhuket” application as a mandatory registration platform for those who wish to enter the province. Visitors must insert their smart ID card into a reader upon entry. Officials will verify their ID with a police database to prevent persons with a criminal record from entering the sandbox area,” he added.

Published : August 12, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004550

Daily infections reach new high on Thursday at 22,782 infections and 147 deaths

Ministry of Public Health reported on Thursday (August 12) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 22,782 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 375 of whom have been found in prisons.

Death toll increased by 147, while 23,649 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country are at 839,771 with 6,942 total deaths.
 

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Daily infections reach new high on Thursday at 22,782 infections and 147 deaths

Published : August 12, 2021

By : THE NATION