Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday (February 2) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 8,587 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 131 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.
Death toll increased by 22, while 8,485 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 233,116.
The Cabinet has approved a budget increase of 2.9 billion baht for the State Railway of Thailand (SRT)’s Dark Red Line (Bang Sue Grand Station-Rangsit).
The budget will be hiked from 93.950 billion baht to 96.868 billion baht to cover additional tax burdens, said government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul.
The increased burdens come from extra VAT accrued in switching loan funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to domestic borrowing, VAT and import duty on train stock, and exchange rate fluctuations in yen – the currency used to pay the contractor.
The additional tax expenses had added 2.917 billion baht to the Dark Red Line budget, Traisuree said.
The Cabinet also approved an additional SRT domestic loan of 660 million baht to pay import duty for project materials.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry was tasked with providing funding of 7.985 billion baht for the Red Line projects – 7.078 billion baht for the Dark Red Line and 906 million baht for the Light Red Line (Bang Sue-Taling Chan).
Authorities have offered a 20,000-baht reward for information leading to the arrest of a male inmate who escaped from a Koh Samui prison while being treated for Covid-19.
The detainee, Thawatchai ‘Toomtam’ Kaewnopparat, 30, had been arrested by Koh Samui district police in a drug case on January 20 in Mae Nam subdistrict, in Surat Thani province.
The inmate tested positive for Covid-19 and was taken for treatment to Koh Samui Hospital. The man allegedly escaped from the hospital and was reportedly picked up by a car.
The detainee, known as Thawatchai ‘Toomtam’ Kaewnopparat, 30, was arrested in a drug case on January 20 in Mae Nam subdistrict, Koh Samui district.
Those who have information, can inform the prison director at 08-4191-7780.
Migrant workers began flowing into Thailand on Tuesday as the country reopened its borders after two years, desperate to fill a labour shortage estimated at 800,000 people.
Atotal of 184 Cambodian workers crossed through Ban Khlong Luek checkpoint in Aranyaprathet, Sa Kaew province, said deputy governor Nattachai Nampoonsuksan.
The Kingdom urgently needs around 800,000 migrant workers to serve the manufacturing, tourism and service sectors, according to the Federation of Thai Industries.
The Labour Ministry is registering workers from Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
All will have to undergo quarantine in Thailand.
Under the Labour Ministry registration process, employers in Thailand must pay a quarantine fee of 8,500 baht for each migrant worker they register.
Each migrant must spend one week in a Covid-19 quarantine centre, where any who have not been vaccinated will receive their jabs.
The Department of Employment’s registration process to bring in foreign workers runs until February 13, 2023.
Train services to northeastern provinces resumed early Tuesday following an accident that killed a train driver and engineer in Udon Thani on Monday night.
The track was repaired at 1.45am after the Nong Khai-Bangkok train hit an 18-wheel trailer truck at 7.45pm on Monday, according to Udon Thani railway station chief Somphol Saiwiset.
The impact of the collision derailed the locomotive and sent it crashing into a roadside ditch. The body of train driver Wutthichai Ruang-aram was found beside the track while the engineer, Jennarong Chuenchoy, was found dead near the locomotive.
No serious injuries were reported among about 100 passengers in the train’s nine carriages, said police.
The truck driver, Surachai Wongsuk, 36, said he approached the crossing at normal speed as there was no stop signal and the barrier was not lowered.
He confirmed the locomotive had hit his trailer and decoupled from the train.
Suchart Maksuk, the official manning the crossing, said he was waiting for Udon Thani station to give him a signal to lower the barrier when the train sped through. He added that the train driver should have noticed the signal telling him the crossing was not clear.
The damaged locomotive was shunted to Udon Thani station while the nine carriages were towed to Bangkok at 3am to deliver the passengers.
Station chief Somphol said the accident blocked the line on Monday night, so buses were used to ferry passengers to their destinations.
He added that Suchart would be questioned by State Railway of Thailand officials and police as part of the investigation into the cause of the accident.
Satellite images on Tuesday morning showed no oil slicks on the sea in Rayong’s Khao Laem Ya-Mu Ko Samet National Park area, according to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).
The Sentinel-1 satellite images were studied during the meeting of the emergency operations centre to tackle up to 60 tonnes of oil that gushed into the sea when an underwater pipeline owned by Star Petroleum Refining Pcl leaked late on January 25 in Rayong’s Map Ta Phut industrial estate.
The operations centre consists of several agencies, such as Royal Thai Navy, Pollution Control Department, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Marine Department, Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
“However, it is necessary to conduct on-site survey as thin oil slicks may still remain on the sea surface,” GISTDA said.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visits Saudi Arabia on January 25-26 as the guest of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
This is the first leader-level talks between the two governments in more than 30 years and the aim of the meeting was to foster bilateral relations.
Saudi Arabia minimised diplomatic ties, banned Thai workers and advised its citizens to avoid visiting Thailand after a Thai janitor stole US$20 million worth of jewels from the House of Saud in 1989. This triggered a long-standing row that became known as the “Blue Diamond Affair”.
The theft became one of Thailand’s biggest unsolved mysteries with many police top brass implicated.
One year after the theft, three Saudi diplomats were killed in Bangkok in three separate incidents in one night. One Saudi businessman is also reported missing.
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft regulation for measures to further tighten monitoring of social media, saying it is aimed at fighting “fake news”.
Under the PM’s Office regulation, a national centre for prevention, suppression and solving problems related to fake news will be set up by the Digital Economy and Society Ministry, said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.
The national centre will coordinate with all ministries in launching their own misinformation-suppression centres, the spokesman added. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry will set up anti-fake news centres in all provinces, to be headed by either governors or deputy governors.
Officials at the centres must publicise any fake news on social media within an hour of discovering it and inform the Public Relations Department immediately. Centre officials will also be responsible for filing complaints with police to trigger legal action against those behind the fake news, the spokesman said. Meanwhile they will be able to inform the Digital Economy and Society Ministry so that misinformation can be removed from computer networks immediately.
“The PM’s Office draft regulation on prevention, suppression and solving problems of fake news dissemination on social media will be a framework for eliminating misinformation that affects the life and assets of the people and has a wide impact on society,” the spokesman said.
The new regulation would cover fake news that caused social rifts, incited public unrest and created social misunderstanding, he added.
The regulation will also combat misinformation that affects the country’s image, people’s rights, their safety and property, the economy, traditions and national institutions, added Thanakorn.
Monitoring and censorship of Thailand’s internet has tightened since the 2014 coup, triggering complaints that the government is waging a war against free speech.
Freedom House rates Thailand’s internet as “not free”, citing the arrest of hundreds of anti-government protesters.
A civil society group has called on Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam to explain why the government allowed Akara Resources Plc to resume operations at Chatree gold mine, calling the decision a historic stain on Thailand.
The Network of People for Reform of Mineral Resources spoke out after Wissanu said on January 26 the government had no objections to Kingsgate Consolidated, Akara’s parent company, reopening Thailand’s largest gold mine.
Kingsgate has informed the Australian Securities Exchange that it received four mining leases from the Thai government to resume operations at the mine.
Chatree gold mine was closed in January 2017 by an executive decree of the junta National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which cited pollution and environmental damage caused by the mine’s operations.
The closure order triggered a battle with Akara’s parent company Kingsgate Consolidated of Australia, with Thailand set to pay over 25 billion baht if it loses the case.
The government recently said the arbitration ruling has been postponed from the end of January, with no new date set.
The Network of People for Reform of Mineral Resources said that allowing Akara to resume mining at Chatree without waiting for the arbitration ruling violated the law and damaged Thailand.
“We urge Wissanu to clarify this case for Thai citizens because it affects the country’s reputation and stability,” the group said.
“The [government’s] move, which shows no concern regarding damage done to the country, will be a historic stain on our nation,” it added.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn called on Thais to boost their strength and become formidable like “tigers with wings” this year.
The handwritten greeting to mark the arrival of the Year of the Tiger on Tuesday was displayed on the Facebook page of Phufa – an initiative launched by the Princess in 1995 to help Thais in remote areas.
The card also carried handwritten Chinese characters and a message in Thai saying “you are already powerful and capable. Work towards becoming stronger and more powerful”.
Suchart Maksuk, the official manning the crossing, said he was waiting for Udon Thani station to give him a signal to lower the barrier when the train sped through. He added that the train driver should have noticed the signal telling him the crossing was not clear.
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