Public Health Ministry reported on Sunday (May 8) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 8,081 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, four of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.
Death toll increased by 54, while 10,588 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 2,101,415.
A man has been arrested for allegedly breaking into a house and making off with more than 10 million baht in cash and gold during the long Songkran break.
Police said on Saturday that the man, who had been nabbed on Friday, confessed to the break-in.
The suspect is being interrogated about the location of the assets, so they can be returned to the owners, police said.
Police have not provided details about the arrest or the name of the suspect.
Bank employee Juthasit Mekwongtrakan recently reported that his house in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district had been broken into while he and his family were away on a vacation during the Songkran break in mid-April.
Upon returning home, he discovered that the safe in his bedroom had been pried open and assets worth more than 10 million baht stolen. The assets included cash in Thai and foreign currency as well as gold bars and ornaments.
Heavy rains left many provinces in the South inundated on Saturday, with some 100 households affected. There were no reports of casualties.
Officials were sent to help people in five badly hit areas, namely Lang Suan district in Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Nopphitam district and Surat Thani’s Vibhavadi, Chaiya and Tha Chang districts.
Though water levels were receding in most areas as of press time, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has made its 1784 hotline and Line account @1784DDPM available 24 hours for those requiring help.
Flash floods were also reported on Saturday near two waterfalls in Chiang Mai province in the North. The water level and current of the Wang Kwai and Mae Klang waterfalls surged from the heavy downpour. The waterfalls are part of the Doi Inthanon National Park in Chom Thong district.
A video clip showing a bamboo bench being swept away in the strong current of Wang Kwai waterfall was posted on social media. The bench belonged to a food stall nearby.
Doi Inthanon National Park chief Kriangkrai Chaipiset allayed fears of severe flash floods, saying the area only recorded about 30 millimetres of rain, though the park is closely monitoring the situation.
Thailand’s first mRNA vaccine has been certified safe after BioNet-Asia launched domestic production of doses, government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek announced on Saturday.
ChulaCov19, developed by Chulalongkorn University and BioNet-Asia, has passed its first two trials and will enter third-phase human trials this year. If successful it will be registered with the Food and Drug Administration late this year, said the spokesperson.
Development of the vaccine is being funded by a budget of 2.3 billion baht approved by the government.
The first two trials on humans found that ChulaCov19 created higher immunity than the Pfizer mRNA vaccine currently being used in Thailand, Rachada said, citing data from the researchers.
The government plans to develop and produce vaccines under the Medical Hub Strategy 2017-2026.
“This will have a positive impact for the region. Southeast Asia will build up security and safety in virus prevention,” she added.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been informed of ChulaCov19’s success by Chulalongkorn University’s Vaccine Research Centre.
The Public Health Ministry has unveiled a four-point Covid strategy for 35,000 schools that will reopen later this month.
Schools around the country will resume onsite learning on May 17, as the academic year gets underway.
The first measure is to ensure that at least 60 per cent of students aged 15-18 are fully vaccinated with two doses, said Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha.
The second is to ensure all schools score at least 95 per cent in evaluations by provincial public health offices using the Thai Stop Covid Plus standard.
The third is to screen symptomatic and at-risk students with antigen tests.
The fourth measure is an emergency plan to ensure schools remain open even if infections are found. Classrooms where students test positive must be cleansed, after which classes can continue as normal.
Sathit added that students who test positive at boarding schools will undergo school isolation.
He said that students or staff who come into contact with infected people do not need to undergo quarantine if they are vaccinated and have no symptoms.
However, unvaccinated people with high-risk contacts should be quarantined for five days and then monitor their symptoms for another five days. Those who come into contact with infected people should test themselves with ATKs on days 5 and 10 after the contact.
More than 30 water-management projects are due for completion this year in Bangkok, as the city braces for seasonal flooding from May to October.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reports that 32 new projects to increase drainage efficiency should be up and running before the end of 2022.
At a flood-mitigation meeting on Friday, the BMA revealed that the projects are divided into six categories:
Two pipe jacking projects
Eight drainage and gutter projects
Three water banks
Ten pumping wells
Eight pumping station and floodgate projects
One drainage tunnel
Nine areas in Bangkok are at high risk of floods while 48 other spots are being monitored for flooding, BMA deputy permanent secretary Narong Ruengsri explained.
He said the BMA was coordinating with district offices to solve flood problems in the at-risk and monitored zones.
Meanwhile, city workers are clearing drains, dredging canals and opening waterways to improve drainage during the rainy season.
Workers have so far cleared 58.61 per cent of Bangkok’s 3,000 kilometres of drainage ditches, the BMA said.
Meanwhile, 77.78 per cent of the city’s 398.6km canal network has been dredged while 71.98 per cent of its 1,600km of waterways have been opened.
Narong said he had ordered the Department of Drainage and Sewerage to monitor drainage-clearing operations and ensure they were completed on time for the flood season.
The department will also deploy water pumps and backhoes to tackle chronic flood problems on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road caused by construction of the MRT Pink Line.
Workers and contractors at the construction site have been ordered to build a barrier to prevent soil and building material from blocking drainage channels.
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered all government agencies to reduce their energy usage by 20 per cent as Thailand struggles with the fuel price crisis.
Prayut said the Energy Ministry had proposed several measures to reduce energy usage, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Friday. The PM added that he wanted clear goals and effective evaluation of the energy-saving push.
All agencies must achieve the 20 per cent cut within the set timeframe and report back via the set channels, Prayut told a meeting of the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC) on Friday.
The meeting also approved the purchase of 282.93 megawatts of electricity from 34 small power producers (SPP) and very small power producers (VSPP) under the feed-in-tariff (FiT) mechanism. The electricity will supply commercial users in 2025-2026.
Meanwhile the NEPC green-lighted plans under the National Power Development Plan 2018-2037 to increase generation of clean energy and buy renewable energy from producers with no fuel costs. It tasked the Energy Regulatory Commission with drafting the regulations and selection process for the purchase.
No other measures to tackle soaring energy prices or their burden on the public were discussed during the meeting.
Prachuap Khiri Khan and 14 other southern provinces have been placed on alert for flash floods and water runoff from today until Tuesday (May 7-10).
The other 14 southern provinces on flood alert are Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Patthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang, and Satun.
The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department issued the alert after a forecast of thundershowers and heavy rain by the Thailand Meteorological Department. The department’s weather bulletin on Friday said a brewing cyclone in the Bay of Bengal will bring strong southeasterly winds across the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf from today until Monday.
Thundershowers with isolated heavy rains are forecast over the country, while people in the South should beware of the severe weather conditions that may cause flash floods and overflows.
The disaster prevention department is coordinating with local authorities and the military to monitor the situation and prepare equipment including sandbags, boats and water pumps. It also advised people to follow the meteorological department’s weather updates or download the mobile application “Thai Disaster Alert”.
To report flood-related damage or disasters, contact the 1784 hotline or Line @1784DDPM.
The Bangkok South Criminal Court granted bail to former deputy Democrat Party leader Prinn Panitchpakdi on Friday. The temporary release, related to a case in which he was accused of committing a lewd act publicly, was granted after two hours of deliberation.
The bail guarantee was set at 200,000 baht and granted under the condition that he does not leave the country.
Prinn left the court immediately after the bail hearing.
The business exec-turned politician, 44, has been accused by 15 women of sexual harassment and assault. This is the first case to reach the court.
Police sought to have Prinn remanded until their investigation is completed, but the defendant applied for bail.
His lawyer Piranat Wongsawat told reporters on Friday that Prinn would sue the women who “came out publicly with false information”. The lawyer also expressed confidence in the evidence and witnesses available.
The government is considering carefully whether it should launch the fifth phase of the Khon La Khrueng co-paying scheme because the funds allocated to the subsidy are running out, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday.
He explained that the main point to consider is whether the subsidy should be given to every eligible applicant as was the case when funds were plentiful. He also hinted that the next phase may be limited to only those who are badly affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
“In previous phases of the project, the government made generous offers to every group of people. Each phase required up to 50 billion baht,” Prayut said.
“Now that the budget is almost all used up, the government needs to consider how far we can go with this project.”
The premier added that his government was using the national budget carefully and honestly, with money actually reaching the hands of the people intended.
He was speaking to the media after chairing a meeting of the Centre for Economic Situation Administration at Government House.
Prayut also dismissed rumours that the government will impose huge retroactive taxes on shops taking part in the co-payment scheme. He said only shops with high enough revenue need to pay income tax.
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