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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004433

About 5,000 Yellow/Red-coded patients waiting for beds in Bangkok

About 5,000 Red and Yellow-coded Covid-19 patients (severe and moderate symptoms) are still waiting for hospital beds in Bangkok, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)’s operation centre reported on Monday.

Patients isolating at home in Bangkok and its vicinity now number about 100,000, said CCSA operation centre spokesperson Dr Apisamai Srirangsan.

However, the number of Green and Yellow patients (mild-moderate) waiting for beds has dropped sharply. The number peaked on July 24 at 5,668 but had fallen to 2,093 as of August 8 (Sunday). The drop was caused by a change in criteria for home and community isolation.

Some 70-80 per cent of all patients calling the 1330 health hotline are green-coded (mild or asymptomatic), said Apisamai.

The 100,000 patients isolating at home are under the care of 246 teams of medical staff.

The CCSA also asked for cooperation from Bangkok’s 3,000-plus private clinics to help take care of people in this group.

Bangkok and its vicinity also have 8,886 beds in Community Isolation facilities, though these are being crowded by new cases every day, she said.

The Public Health Ministry is renovating and upgrading hospitals and facilities with the goal of providing another 2,000 beds for Yellow-coded patients in field hospitals and hospitels and 7,000 beds in state and private hospitals.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004430

Visitors to Chiang Mai hot springs at risk for Covid

People who have visited the San Kamphaeng hot springs in Chiang Mai’s Mae On district between July 25 and August 7 should urgently get tested for Covid-19, the authorities announced on Monday.

Mae On district chief, acting Lieutenant Nopparat Supakikosol said 26 out of 80 people linked to the hot springs had tested positive over the weekend.

Of the 26, 17 cases were found on Saturday, among them eight were employees of the tourist site, eight ran restaurants in the vicinity and one worked at an orchid farm nearby. On Sunday, nine people linked to the hot springs tested positive, making San Kamphaeng a cluster of infections.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004423

Army condemns protesters for defacing Victory Monument

Defence Ministry spokesman Lt-General Kongcheep Tantrawanit on Monday condemned anti-government protestors for defacing the name plaque at the base of Victory Monument in Bangkok on Saturday.

Demonstrators gathered at Victory Monument in Ratchathewi district with a plan to march to the 11th Infantry Regiment, where Prime Minister Prayut resides, to demand his resignation. However, police blocked the route with stacked containers and barbed wire. Anti-riot officers then fired tear gas at protesters on Din Daeng intersection at 3.30pm as the demonstrators attempted to march down Vibhavadi Road. At 5.30pm, police pushed them back to Victory Monument using water cannon, and the protesters called off their rally shortly after.

Army condemns protesters for defacing Victory Monument

“It is completely unacceptable for protesters to use spray paint to graffiti the plaque, which inscribes the names of 801 soldiers, police officers and civilians who died protecting the country in many different conflicts, including the Indochina War, World War II and the Korean War,” said Kongcheep. “This monument was erected in 1942 and has since carried historical importance as well as sentimental value for all Thais.”

“The families of those who died in the battlefields, as well as veterans who were injured in those wars, will not tolerate the action of these protesters,” he added.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004422

Thai tourism counts cost of murder in Phuket

The murder of a female Swiss tourist visiting Phuket under the “sandbox” programme is both a personal tragedy and also a national calamity for Thailand’s efforts to reopen the tourism sector on which it heavily depends.

Police quickly detained a suspect in the case, who confessed to murdering the 57-year-old Swiss national during a botched robbery.

Before the Covid-19 crisis, tourism accounted for about 20 per cent of Thai GDP.

The Nation Thailand offers the following summary of the case:

Body of Swiss tourist is found

On Thursday, August 5, the body of 57-year-old Swiss national was found at Ton Ao Yon waterfall in Phuket.

Three days later, an investigation team led by national police chief Suwat Jangyodsuk surveyed the crime scene amid growing concern of the impact on tourism.

On the same day, police arrested Teerawat Thothip, a 27-year-old unemployed local.

During a police press conference on Sunday, Teerawat confessed to killing the victim with the intention of stealing money to buy drugs.

He also apologised to the family of the deceased and for the damage he had caused to Thailand.

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Thai tourism counts cost of murder in Phuket

Tightening up security for tourists

Even though the swift arrest of a suspect helped shore up Thailand’s tourism reputation, Phuket is now tightening security measures in a bid to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy.

However, restaurants and shop operators in Phuket are worried that the killing will damage the local economy as fewer tourists are now venturing out from their hotels.

Phuket governor Narong Woonciew said he will hold talks with relevant agencies to tighten up security for foreign visitors.

“We will speed up our survey, identify risky areas in each community and ask people in communities to help monitor tourists for safety,” he said.

TAT to continue Phuket Sandbox programme

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) governor Yuthasak Supasorn said his agency was dismayed by the incident and is closely monitoring and evaluating its impact on tourism.

He added that hotel bookings in Phuket were holding up. Hotels recorded 7,027 room nights reserved on August 5, 6,940 on August 6 and over 6,000 on August 7.

“TAT is also collecting data from our branches worldwide on tourists’ confidence and the emotional impact of the murder,” Yuthasak added. “We will formulate a plan to help reduce the impact and continue promoting the sandbox scheme.”

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004419

Bangkok hospital’s ER swamped with Covid-19 patients, laments nurse

A Bangkok nurse said in a Facebook post on Sunday that her hospital’s emergency room (ER) gets more Covid-19 patients than it can handle.

Nurse “Nutty Nattaporn” wrote: “In July, there were some 20 to 30 Covid-19 patients awaiting emergency treatment per day, and this month the number has risen to 40. This number will soon rise to 100, which is more than my hospital can accommodate.”

She said the workload is so high that nurses from other wards had to step in. She said the Covid-19 ward can only accommodate 20 patients at a time, and the ER should never be so full that actual emergencies are turned away.

She also said that each patient undergoes so many medical procedures that it takes nearly an hour to tend to them.

The nurse said it is about time relevant organisations acknowledged this problem and tried to solve it, adding that at this rate, they will not be able to save every emergency patient.

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Bangkok hospital’s ER swamped with Covid-19 patients, laments nurseBangkok hospital’s ER swamped with Covid-19 patients, laments nurse

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004418

Modern trade sentiment plummets in Q2 as lockdowns bite

The modern trade sentiment index in the second quarter of 2021 plummeted to its lowest point in three years due to the impact of fresh lockdown measures, according to a survey by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

Modern trade covers supermarket and convenience-store chains and contrasts with the traditional trade of smaller individual sellers.

“The index for the second quarter this year is 45.3 – the lowest point for 12 quarters since the centre started surveying modern-trade sentiment in the third quarter of 2018,” said Thanavath Phonvichai, director of the UTCC’s Centre for Business and Economic Forecasting, which conducts the surveys.

Thanavath cited retailers’ concern over the Covid-19 situation and lockdowns in 29 provinces including Bangkok, which he said are costing the economy around 500-800 billion baht per month.

The provinces under lockdown account for about 70-80 per cent of the country’s GDP, the centre said.

“Seventy per cent of the country’s modern trade, 75 per cent of the country’s logistics and 90 per cent of the country’s manufacturing are located in the lockdown areas,” he said.

“Cluster cases among workers in many supply-chain industries and inefficient handling of the Covid-19 situation by the authorities have further damaged businesses’ confidence,” Thanavath added.

However, the centre forecast that if the government can control the outbreak before the end of the third quarter, the economy will start to recover in the fourth quarter.

Chalida Chansiriphong, director of retail and service group at the Federation of Thai Industries, said the lockdown in 29 provinces has caused food sales via the modern trade channel to fall from 70 per cent to 10-20 per cent of all food sales. “Channels that suffered the biggest loss in sales are convenience stores that used to open 24/7, while many factories producing fresh foods have cut capacity to 30 per cent due to low demand and restricted transport,” she said.

These factories are expected to resume full production capacity by October, she added.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004417

Over 23% of Thai population have got their first jab: ministry

Phuket is the only province where most of the residents have been vaccinated against Covid-19, the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry reported on Monday.

The ministry said that so far, more than 20 million doses of the vaccine have been administered in Thailand – with the first 10 million taking 124 days and the last 10 million just 36 days to administer.

The ministry’s statistics show 23.9 per cent of the population has received the first dose, 6.7 per cent both doses and 0.3 per cent, mostly medics, have received their third jab.

So far, Thailand has only administered four brands of vaccines, namely Sinovac (48.77 per cent), AstraZeneca (43.95 per cent), Sinopharm (7 per cent) and Pfizer (0.28 per cent).

The highest number of jabs – 670,000 – were delivered on August 5. In terms of provinces, Phuket leads with 75.9 per cent of the population inoculated, followed by Bangkok (70.2 per cent), Rayong (41.6 per cent) and Phang Nga (41.1 per cent).

Moreover, the ministry said Thailand is the fourth-most inoculated nation in the region. Some organisations in the country, namely Baiya Phytopharm, Chulalongkorn and Mahidol Universities, BioNet-Asia and the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation, are conducting research for their own Covid-19 vaccine.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004415

19,603 new cases, 149 deaths as Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers dip slightly

For a second day, Thailand’s daily caseload has been slightly below 20,000 coming in at 19,603 new cases and 149 deaths on Monday.

Of the 19,603 new cases, 313 are in prisons.

Meanwhile, 19,819 patients have recovered and been discharged over the past 24 hours.

Since the epidemic started last year, Thailand has had 776,108 Covid-19 cases, 555,334 of whom have recovered, 214,421 are still in hospital and 6,353 have died.

Separately, another 143,071 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 23,693 their second shot, and 24,381 their third shot, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in Thailand to 20,669,780.

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According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Monday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 203.44 million, 182.74 million of whom have recovered, 16.4 million are active cases (98,880 in severe condition) and 4.3 million have died (up by 8,022).

Thailand ranks 37th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 36.54 million, followed by India with 31.96 million, Brazil with 20.16 million, Russia with 6.44 million and France 6.30 million.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40004414

Soldiers on frontline deserve Pfizer shots too, angry netizens told

The picture of a soldier getting a Pfizer shot in Loei province went viral on Sunday, with netizens asking why the much-needed vaccine is being administered to troops instead of frontline medics.

The sergeant posted a picture of himself holding a queue card at Loei Hospital on Sunday with the caption: “Dear ‘Moderna’, I can’t wait for you anymore. Today I will be cuddling with ‘Pfizer’ instead.”

The post with the hashtag “#WhereHasPfizerGone?” went viral immediately with netizens questioning the need to give soldiers a Pfizer jab instead of to frontline medics or Loei residents.

On Monday, “sleepless” celebrity medic Mor Lab Panda posted on Facebook that he had spoken to Loei public health chief Preeda Woraharn and learned the soldier is working on the frontline.

“He is stationed at Khai Sri Song Rak Hospital. The Loei public health authorities are administering Pfizer jabs to its personnel and this soldier is a medic. More soldiers will be vaccinated as they are frontline staff working with Covid-19 patients at the 400-bed field hospital set up in the barracks. These soldiers are categorised as a high-risk group even though they are not medical staff,” the post read.

Published : August 09, 2021

By : The Nation