Less than one month after schools reopened in Songkhla province, some 300 students tested positive for Covid-19, with 200 infections narrowed down to Omicron, the provincial public health office said on Thursday.
The office said most schools in Songkhla opened in January after students were given their second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Tracking shows most of the students had picked up the virus from unvaccinated friends and family members. There are some 120,000 unvaccinated people in Songkhla province.
As Thailand gets ready to welcome the Year of the Tiger on February 1, the Department of Health is advising people to adhere to the “3 Safety rules”, namely food safety, PM2.5 safety and Covid-19 safety.
“To maintain food safety, people should only buy food from manufacturers that have been certified by relevant government agencies,” Dr Suwanchai Wattanaying-charoencha, the department’s director-general, said on Thursday. “Fresh chicken and pork should not be discoloured or have an odour, while the meat must not be too soft or too hard when pressed.
“Fruits and vegetables should be washed under running water for at least two minutes or soaked in 4 litres of water with two tablespoons of salt or one tablespoon of baking soda for 10-15 minutes and then washed in fresh water again before consumption.”
To minimise pollution caused by particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), the department has advised people to burn incense sticks and paper money in properly ventilated areas or outdoors.
“If possible, choose short incense sticks that burn up more quickly,” he said. “Most importantly, do not leave burning incense sticks or candles unattended to prevent fire.”
Lastly, the Department of Health advised people to strictly adhere to the Covid-19 universal prevention practices, which include wearing facemasks at all times, washing hands regularly with soap and water or alcohol sanitising gel, getting vaccinated and undergoing ATK tests.
“Traditionally, ethnic-Chinese people head to a shrine after paying respects to their ancestors at home,” Suwanchai said. “Senior citizens, especially those who have not yet been vaccinated, should refrain from going to crowded areas to prevent contracting Covid-19. If travel cannot be avoided, then people should choose destinations that are certified under the Thai Stop Covid Plus standard.”
The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) recently conducted a survey to pinpoint problems in the country’s expressway network.
The study was handed over to the Transport Ministry before it goes to the committee overseeing regulations for the land transport system and then to the Cabinet.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said on Thursday that the study found five types of problems with expressways, namely:
Insufficient capacity
Traffic flow at connecting roads and junctions
Off-ramp congestion
Bottlenecks at toll gates
Traffic bottlenecks
He said the three routes that had the most problems were Sirat Expressway from Ngamwongwan-Phya Thai-Rama IX, Chalerm Maha Nakhon and Chalong Rat expressways.
The Transport Ministry was instructed in 2020 to come up with solutions for the country’s traffic problems as well as look into the option of constructing more expressways. The study is expected to be completed this year and presented to the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Saksayam said EXAT has analysed the traffic problem and come up with the following solutions:
21 projects related to expressway networks, which will be divided into the first phase (2022-2026) covering 16 projects worth 38.13 billion baht and the second phase (2027 onwards) covering five projects worth 9.4 billion baht.
11 projects to boost travel efficiency, which will be divided into the first phase of five projects (2022-2026) and the second phase of six projects (2027 onwards).
EXAT is seeking funding for the projects and also studying them from the economic, engineering and environmental impact aspects.
Saksayam said he has ordered the Department of Highways and EXAT to work together on the projects, as well as accelerate the construction of the M7 expressway linking Srinakarin to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
He has also ordered the Department of Highways to study the M5 Rangsit-Bang Pa-In project and go ahead with preparing for a public-private partnership.
The first batch of agricultural cargo heading for China’s Chongqing city left the China-Laos railway system’s Vientiane station at 3pm on Thursday, said Alongkorn Polabutr, adviser to the agriculture minister.
“The China-Laos railway will transport more than 20 containers of farm products per train from Thailand to China, the country’s biggest market,” he said on Thursday. “The train was loaded up at Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge border checkpoint in Nong Khai province. It then travelled to [Lao capital] Vientiane and will enter China via the Mohan checkpoint in Yunnan province, before terminating at Chongqing.
“The cargo was initially scheduled to leave on Wednesday but was delayed to Thursday,” Alongkorn added. “This railway is a part of the Isaan gateway project that aims to link Thailand’s Northeast to Laos and China to promote agriculture, industry and export in the region based on policies set by Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chalermchai Sreeon.”
Ministry of Public Health reported on Friday (January 28) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 8,450 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 211 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.
Death toll increased by 28, while 7,484 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 192,037.
The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Friday (January 28) that the high-pressure system over the North and the upper Northeast of Thailand is weakening while the westerly wind at high altitude brings cool to cold condition from Myanmar to the North.
Cool to cold weather with fog in the morning are likely in the upper country. Mountaintops in the North and the Northeast are cold to very cold with minimum temperature in the range of 5-14 °C. People in the upper country should take care of their health due to variable weather. All transports should take more caution due to poor visibility.
Meanwhile, the southerly and the southeasterly winds prevail over the lower Central including Bangkok and its vicinity and the East regions, causing isolated light rains in the areas.
The Department also mentioned that the weak northeast monsoon prevails across the Gulf of Thailand and brings isolated light rains to the South.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours is as follows:
North: Cool to cold weather with fog in the morning; temperature lows of 13-20 degrees and highs of 30-36 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 5-12 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Cool to cold weather with fog in the morning; temperature lows of 15-21 degrees and highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 8-14 degrees Celsius.
Central: Cool weather with fog in the morning; temperature lows of 22-24 degrees, highs of 34-36 degrees Celsius.
East: Cool weather with fog in the morning and isolated light rains in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees, highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius; waves less than a meter high and about a meter high offshore.
South (east coast): Partly cloudy with isolated light rains; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 30-34 degrees Celsius; waves less than a meter high and about a meter high during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Partly cloudy with isolated light rains; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius; waves less than a meter high and about a meter high offshore.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Partly cloudy with light fog in the morning and isolated light rains; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.
The prime minister is reportedly keen to allocate a budget for hiring more forest rangers after reports about the laying-off of over 1,700 rangers brought stinging criticism on social media.
The government came under fire when famous star Jesdaporn ‘Tik’ Pholdee, who is known for his adventures in the wild, tweeted on January 19 that he was saddened by the reduction in the budget for natural resource care in 2022 to only 8.534 million baht. The sharp budget cut had forced the Department of National Parks to lay off 1,731 forest rangers, or 33 per cent of their total strength. Netizens reacted with anger and raised serious questions about the budget for the latest fighter jets.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa said his ministry understands the reasons for the Budget Bureau to cut budgets.
He is preparing to seek approval from the Cabinet on February 1 for a 251-million-baht budget to hire 4,000 forest rangers from March to September. This would take the budget for forest rangers nationwide to around 500-600 million baht.
Varawut said the prime minister was aware of this problem. When he explained the details to the PM, he told him to hurry up and present the proposal so that the central bureau could proceed faster.
Only 832 Thai athletes will take part in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games being held in Vietnam from May 12-23.
Initially, the Thai contingent was expected to be 1,050-strong.
The 31st SEA Games in Vietnam will be held behind closed doors due to the pandemic, with the events spread over 12 cities.
Thai athletes will be bidding for medals in 40 disciplines.
The regional Olympics were earlier scheduled to take place in Hanoi and 11 other locations in Vietnam from November 21 to December 2. But the worsening pandemic situation forced the postponement.
There will be continuous training sessions to help the Thai athletes prepare for the Asian Games in China in September 2022.
Thani Saengrat, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, revealed details of measures related to travel to Thailand, according to the resolution of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on January 20.
Thailand Pass registration will be reopened to enter the country under the “Test and Go” policy from February 1, 9am Thailand time. There are changes in the details of for registration as follows:
— Registration is not restricted by country/region of origin.
— Travellers are required to have two RT-PCR examinations: on the first day of arrival and on the fifth day of stay in Thailand. They must provide proof of booking and payment for two nights of SHA Extra Plus /AQ/OQ/AHQ hotel or accommodation on days 1 and 5, not necessarily in the same hotel or in the same province. Hotel bookings include RT-PCR testing, or a paid examination (both times) and travellers must wait in the hotel for the results.
In case the period of stay is less than five days, proof of booking and payment of accommodation and second examination fee is not required, but the return flight ticket must be presented instead.
“Test and Go” entry will be the primary measure for entry after February 1 onwards. If the outbreak becomes more severe, the CCSA may consider adjusting the measures to be only Sandbox / AQ as before, depending on the situation.
The meeting of the CCSA also resolved to open additional sandbox areas from February 1 in:
1. Chonburi province (Bang Lamung district, Pattaya City, Sriracha district, Koh Sichang, Sattahip district — only Na Chom Thian and Bang Saray subdistricts)
2. Trat province (Koh Chang)
Travellers can move between the new and original sandbox areas (Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga and Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan) within seven days of stay in the sandbox and must book a seven-day SHA Extra Plus or AQ hotel with two-time RT-PCR examination with a maximum of three hotels in the Sandbox area.
Officials on Thursday evening were racing against time to clean up the oil spill off the coast of Rayong province before it reaches the shore.
Judging from the wind’s direction, it was likely the leaked crude oil was heading towards Mae Rampueng and Khao Laemya beaches, Rayong Governor Channa Iamsaeng said on the phone.
He added that the spill was about three kilometres from the shoreline.
A barrier line called “beach boom” was placed in the sea to block the approaching spill, the governor said. The work was being executed by officials from the Khao Laemya National Park, IRPC, and Star Petroleum Refining, which owns the undersea pipeline that leaked several thousands of crude oil.
Local authorities were convinced the spill would not flow to Rayong’s popular Koh Samet resort, but they were keeping a watchful eye on it.
Meanwhile marine expert Thon Thamrongnawasawat expected balls of tar to head towards the shore after the “first wave” of oil spill was cleaned up. He said this was what had happened in 2013 after an oil spill in the same area.
“The second wave of tar balls came in succession for many days. Given the 2013 experience, the second must follow for one to three weeks,” Thon wrote in his Facebook post.
“I still cannot gauge the potential impact. It depends on where the spill reaches the shore.”
Thon wrote that he hoped only the smallest possible amount of oil spill would reach the shore, as the relevant officials were attempting to contain it.
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