Thailand recorded 14,176 Covid-19 cases and 228 deaths on Wednesday.
Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday (September 8) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 14,176 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 506 of whom have been found in prisons.
Death toll increased by 228, while 16,769 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country are at 1,322,519 with 13,511 total deaths.
A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday approved the organisation of elections for members of Subdistrict Administrative Organisations (SAO) nationwide within this year, said Prime Minister’s Office spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.
“The elections will use the Interior Ministry’s budget for fiscal year 2022, whereas the Election Commission of Thailand [ECT] will be responsible for setting the date as well as regulations for the process to prevent Covid-19 from spreading further,” he said.
“As for governor elections in Bangkok and Pattaya, the Cabinet appointed the ECT to set appropriate dates after the SAO elections nationwide,” Thanakorn added.
Thundershowers, isolated heavy rains forecast across country
Continuous rainfall is forecast across Thailand with isolated heavy to very heavy showers in the lower Northeast, the Central region, the East and the South as the strong southwest monsoon prevails across the country, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.
It warned people to beware of rain water accumulation that may cause flash floods.
The department also mentioned tropical storm Conson, which is presently over central Philippines and moving west-northwest into the South China Sea. It will head to the Gulf of Tonkin on September 12-13.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 80 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 26-27 degrees, highs of 31-32 degrees Celsius.
North: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees and highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Thundershowers in 80 per cent of the area with isolated heavy to very heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees and highs of 32-34 degrees Celsius.
Central: Thundershowers in 80 per cent of the area with isolated heavy to very heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees, highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius.
East: Thundershowers in 80 per cent of the area with isolated heavy to very heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 29-32 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-25 degrees, highs of 31-35 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 21-26 degrees, highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
Pfizer rollout for children to begin in Bangkok on Sept 21
Thailand will begin administering Pfizer vaccine to children later this month, with at-risk students in Bangkok first in line for the jabs.
Vulnerable students aged 12-18 at the capital’s 437 public schools can get their first dose of Pfizer at Navamindradhiraj University from September 21, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said on Tuesday.
The students will be assessed by a doctor and must have proof of disability, illness or a chronic condition. The proof can be a medical certificate, medical appointment letter, disability certificate or document showing chronic illness, said the BMA.
The priority vulnerable group covers children with any of seven chronic conditions and/or obesity. Children are categorised as obese if they are aged 12-13 years and weigh 70 kilograms or more, are 13-15 and 80kg or more, and 15-18 and 90kg or more. The seven chronic conditions are sleep apnoea, chronic respiratory disease including moderate-severe asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic renal disease, cancer and hypothyroidism, diabetes, and hereditary diseases including Down syndrome, severe neurological impairment and delayed development.
An immigration official has been transferred from his post after allegedly demanding a monthly fee from an immigrant in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district.
The transfer follows an investigation launched by Immigration Division 6 last week.
The probe was triggered after the Strong Thailand Anti-Corruption Facebook page published a sound clip of an alleged conversation between the officer and the unidentified immigrant on August 31.
In the conversation, the officer asked the immigrant about money he was promised. The immigrant replied that payment was impossible this time, as the economy was hit by Covid-19. The officer threatened the immigrant with arrest if he failed to make the promised payment.
Immigration Division 6 said it would conduct a fair and transparent investigation, and the officer would be punished if found guilty.
Last December, alleged corruption among border officials was blamed for sparking Thailand’s second wave of Covid-19 among illegal migrants in Samut Sakhon.
Search team combs Chiang Mai foothills for missing toddler
The search for a toddler who disappeared from a Chiang Mai village on Sunday entered its second day on Tuesday with no sign of the missing girl.
Ponsiri “Gina” Wongsilaroongruang, who is 23 months old, was reported missing from her house in the remote village of Ban Huay Fak Dab, Mae Taeng district, on Sunday evening. Villagers in the area have been searching for the child for two days but with no success.
Gina’s parents told officials she was in the house with her mother and brother just before going missing. The mother was cooking in the kitchen while the father was taking the garbage out, they said.
A villager told the parents that he saw Gina toddling in the street about 10 metres away from her house.
More than 100 families live in the community, said the parents.
The headman of Ban Huay Fak Dab told reporters that the search team has combed the foothills around the village. On Tuesday, the team was conducting a walking search starting from a high ridge near the village down to the foothills. The headman said he believes Gina may have been kidnapped but is still alive.
A Khon Kaen police sergeant was transferred to an inactive post on Tuesday after a video clip of him sleeping on the floor of his police station went viral online.
Awoman had reportedly gone to Khon Kaen’s Si Chomphu Police Station at 10pm on Sunday to file a police complaint and found all the lights turned off and an officer sleeping on the floor. She tried to wake him up, but when he did not respond, she recorded him sleeping and returned home.
She then posted the clip on social media, which invited a lot of comments, including several slamming the police for being lax during the night shift and many wondering if the officer was drunk.
Khon Kaen’s deputy police chief Pol Colonel Thanawat Deeboonmee Na Chumphae said on Tuesday that the officer had been identified as 52-year-old Snr Sgt-Major Boonsong Khammatasila, who oversees the station’s crime suppression division.
Caught sleeping on the job in Khon Kaen
“Boonsong said he was in charge of a night shift on Sunday but he felt ill at the end of his shift, so he lay down in the storage room,” Thanawat said. “He will be transferred to the Khon Kaen Police Operation Command until the investigation is completed.
“Even if he was really sick, sleeping at the station is not appropriate. An officer must file for a sick leave properly,” he added. “There should have been another officer standing by when the woman visited the station, but he may have been in the toilet and may not have heard her calling.”
Meanwhile, Pol Colonel Phraiwan Thaophrom, chief of Si Chomphu Police Station, added that the woman had returned the following day to file a complaint against a neighbour who was allegedly threatening to shoot her.
“Police officers went to the address and arrested the suspect along with a fake gun and are interrogating him,” he said. “He was initially charged with Type 1 narcotics abuse as we found drug traces in his urine.”
The first batch of 3 million Lepu antigen test kits (ATK) ordered from China by the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) will arrive in a chartered flight on Tuesday.
These kits will be distributed to the public from September 15, so people can test themselves for Covid-19 at home.
GPO had placed an order for 8.5 million test kits from the Chinese manufacturer on August 30 on behalf of the National Health Security Office.
Initially, on August 18, the Rural Doctor Society had pointed out that ordering Lepu ATKs did not comply with the PM’s stipulation that all ATKs must be approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The Cabinet overturned this stipulation on August 24 and the order went ahead. The WHO has still not approved the Lepu ATK.
Ostland Capital, which won the bid to import the kits, said WHO has only approved test kits for hospital and laboratory use and that not a single home-use kit has been give the WHO stamp of approval.
Germany donates shipment of anti-Covid ‘cocktail’ to Thailand
Germany has donated drugs worth 153 million baht to support Thailand’s battle against Covid-19.
Announcing the donation on Monday, the German Embassy in Bangkok said a shipment of the antiviral drugs Casirivimab and Imdevimab was being prepared for Thailand.
Both drugs have been registered by the Thai Food and Drug Administration and will be distributed to specific hospitals. No delivery date was given as the shipment is still being processed.
The embassy said 2,000 doses of the cocktail would be sent to treat Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms. Casirivimab/imdevimab is an artificial “antibody cocktail” designed to trigger resistance against the Covid-19 virus.
Hackers stole data from Phetchabun Hospital, patients affect far fewer
The personal data of patients stolen from the Public Health Ministry’s database belonged to Petchabun Hospital, provincial governor Gid Kongmuang said on Tuesday.
He added that the number of patients affected was far lower than 16 million as initially reported and that the data was just information on when the patients were admitted and discharged.
“Hence, we called on the provincial public health office to find out if the Public Health Ministry will take legal action,” he said, adding that the authorities were waiting for the ministry’s response.
Petchabun governor Gid Kongmuang
He also said it was necessary to take legal action because an insider may be involved and the authorities don’t know how the data will be used.
Search team combs Chiang Mai foothills for missing toddler
Caught sleeping on the job in Khon Kaen
Petchabun governor Gid Kongmuang
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