An 86-year-old woman, who had apparently received two Pfizer jabs, became the first person in Thailand to succumb to the Omicron variant, Songkhla public health authorities said on Sunday.
The provincial public health office said the Hat Yai-native was a bedridden Alzeheimer’s patient and is believed to have picked up the variant from her grandson, who tested positive after returning from Phuket.
The deceased’s timeline is as follows:
January 6: She and her daughter test positive for Covid-19 using an antigen test kit.
January 7: She develops high fever, cough and breathing problems, and is admitted to Hat Yai Hospital’s ICU.
January 12: Patient succumbs at 9.20am. Test results show she had Omicron.
Thailand’s main economic engine, the service sector, has stalled due to Covid-19 and barriers to foreign investment, according to a three-year forecast of industry trends by Krungsri Research.
The global trend for economic growth is shifting away from manufacturing towards services, which rose to 64.3 per cent of global GDP in 2019.
But in Thailand that figure is just 58.3 per cent, signalling room for expansion, said KResearch.
The problem is that Thailand is dominated by traditional services, which have fewer value-added sectors including tourism, trade, hotels and restaurants.
In contrast, the US and UK’s service sector is led by modern businesses like IT software and financial services and accounts for about 75 per cent of GDP.
KResearch said that to expand in the same way, Thai service providers must tap technological advancements – for example online platforms and surgical robots.
It noted that Thailand’s industrial sector is already using innovations such as artificial intelligence and big data to increase sales and design new products that meet consumer needs. As consumer demand becomes more focused, the service sector will play a greater role in the Thai production chain, KResearch forecast.
However, it warned that raising Thailand’s service sector to match developed countries may be slow because of Covid-19’s heavy impact on hotels, restaurants, real estate and construction. Meanwhile Thailand also suffers from a large number of regulations and policies hindering foreign investment in the service sector compared to developed countries, KResearch said.
Thailand ranked 46th out of 48 countries in the World Bank’s Services Trade Restriction Index in 2020. Entry of foreign capital and technology is therefore limited. This is a challenging factor for Thai businesses looking to modernise their services amid slow economic growth.
‘Globe to grow 4% per year’
KResearch projects the global economy will grow 4 per cent per year over the next three years, down from 5.9 per cent in 2021, as the world recovers from Covid-19.
The US economy is projected to grow at an average of 3 per cent per year, driven by its $1.2-trillion infrastructure investment plan.
The euro zone economy is projected to grow at an average of 2.6 per cent annually, driven mainly by consumption, investment and tourism.
The Japanese economy is likely to expand by an average of 1.8 per cent per year, said KResearch.
The Chinese economy is expected to grow at an average of 5.4 per cent per year.
A recent opinion poll shows that most Thais are in favour of a new law that demands all non-profit organisations, including grassroots communities, to provide details on their source of funding and control their activities.
In a NIDA Poll conducted between January 10 and 12, 52.36 per cent of the respondents said they strongly agreed with the requirement to disclose sources of funding, 11.26 per cent said they completely disagreed, 7.69 per cent said they didn’t quite agree, while 0.91 per cent were not interested.
As for NGOs disclosing the amount and purpose of funds received, 58.14 per cent strongly agreed, 26.03 per cent somewhat agreed, 8.45 per cent totally disagreed, 6.92 per cent didn’t quite agree, and 0.46 per cent were not interested.
When asked about prohibiting NGOs from engaging in activities that may be seen as affecting national security, 34.70 per cent said they strongly agreed, 25.50 per cent totally disagreed, 22.22 per cent somewhat agreed, 15.83 per cent slightly agreed and 1.75 per cent were not interested.
Regarding activities that may be seen as creating divisions in society, 44.52 per cent strongly agreed, 21.31 per cent disagreed, 19.86 per cent somewhat agreed, 12.79 per cent were totally against it, 1% said they quite disagreed, while 1.52 per cent were not interested.
As for the prohibition of activities seen as the pursuit of state power or in favour of political parties, 46.95 per cent strongly agreed, 23.52 per cent totally disagreed, 19.03 per cent somewhat agreed, 8.75 per cent disagreed and 1.75 per cent chose not to answer or were not interested.
When asked about how regulating NGO activities would affect rights, liberties and integration, 31.28 per cent said it would have a somewhat negative impact, 22.83 per cent said there would be no impact, 19.63 per cent said it had a big impact, 19.03 per cent see little impact, while 7.23 per cent had nothing to say.
The National Farmers Council is calling on the government to immediately compensate farmers who were forced to cull their pigs to contain the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF).
Council chairman Prapat Panyachatiraksa said that apart from compensating the farmers, the government should also grant soft loans for improving facilities in line with international standards, implement zoning, register swine brokers, find out how laws affect the development of pig farming, set up a pig-farming fund and apply the Bio-Circular-Green Model to the livestock industry.
“The council has also outlined measures that can be employed for three years, including making the Department of Livestock Development more efficient in investigating diseases, promoting precision agriculture and supporting research and development of vaccines and biotechnology,” he said.
“As a long-term measure, the government should make keeping Thailand free from animal diseases part of the national agenda as well as support the private sector and farmer groups in setting up veterinary vaccine production facilities.”
The National Farmers Council is ready to cooperate with related agencies to tackle the ASF crisis, Prapat added.
Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Prapat Pothasuthon said the livestock department will compensate ASF-affected farmers with a 574 million baht budget approved by the Cabinet on January 11.
He said the ministry will focus on farm management to raise pig production levels, especially disease prevention and transportation.
“These measures will help boost pig production for the market,” he said.
He said up to 19 million pigs are available for market, 18 million for domestic consumption and 1 million for export.
He added that the Commerce Ministry may import pigs as a short-term solution.
The livestock department is also preparing measures to boost the number of sows to produce more piglets to meet demand, he said.
Meanwhile, department chief Sorawit Thaneeto said it will survey farms and facilities nationwide to evaluate the risk of ASF spreading.
Affected farmers would be compensated for any pigs culled, he added.
Sorawit said the department has launched six urgent measures to restore pork production:
1. Registering 189,152 pig farmers, including 185,025 smallholders, 3,856 medium-scale and 291 large-scale farmers.
2. Restoring pig production for small farmers in line with standards.
3. Cooperating with agencies on increasing the number of new pigs.
4. Asking medium and large-scale pig farmers to distribute pigs for smallholders.
5. Offering farmers financial support from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and farmers aid funds.
The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry’s Anti-Fake News Centre on Saturday released a list of the top 10 fake news reports that won the most shares and likes between January 7 and 13.
DES spokesperson Noppawan Huajaiman said the centre verified 91 stories during the period and found 35 of them related to Covid-19.
The top 10 fake reports are:
• 1,000 mosques across the country have become branches of the Islamic Bank of Thailand.
• Pressing the upper lip with a thumb can revive an unconscious person.
• All Thai Muslims can open an account in the Islamic Bank of Thailand and take loans that don’t need to be paid back.
• The Transport Co has cancelled all interprovincial buses across Thailand.
• The Government Savings Bank is offering 1 million baht in housing loans that can be paid back at an instalment of just 10 baht per month.
• Breast milk can cure eye injury.
• The Department of Employment is giving the unemployed and freelancers up to 100,000 baht in cash for participating in an activity.
• The prime minister has put five provinces under lockdown to curb Covid-19 from spreading.
• Microwave meals can hurt your health.
• Employees on probation will not be paid for sick leave.
Public Health Ministry reported on Sunday (January 16) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 8,077 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 282 of whom are foreign travellers.
Death toll increased by 9, while 4,887 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 2,324,485 – 2,222,011 of whom have recovered, 80,549 are still in hospitals and 21,925 have died.
Separately, another 43,581 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 105,113 their second shot and 304,579 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 109,369,708.
According to Worldometer, confirmed cases globally had risen to 326.78 million on Sunday, 266.43 million of whom have recovered, 54.8 million are active cases (96,385 in severe condition) and 5.55 million have died (up by 5,698).
Thailand ranks 26th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 66.66 million, followed by India with 37.11 million, Brazil with 22.97 million, the UK with 15.14 million and France with 13.89 million.
The westerly trough prevails over the upper North of Thailand. It is expected to move to Laos and the upper Northeast of Thailand by January 17, according to the Thailand Meteorological Department on Sunday (January 16).
Isolated thundershowers and gusty winds are forecast in above areas of Thailand. People should beware of the severe condition by keeping off open-air, large trees and unsecured billboards. Farmers should prevent for crop’s damage.
The weak high-pressure system covers upper Thailand and the South China Sea with cool weather and morning light fog.
On mountaintops of the North and the Northeast, cold to very cold is forecast. The minimum temperature of the North mountaintops is in range of 7-15 °C while the Northeast ranges by 10-15 °C. All transports take more caution in poor visibility.
Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon prevails across the Gulf with isolated light rains possible for the South of Thailand.
The 24-hour weather forecast for different regions:
North: Cool with morning light fog. Isolated thundershowers with gusty winds; temperature lows of 18-21 °C and highs of 28-34 °C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 7-15 °C.
Northeast: Cool with morning light fog; temperature lows of 17-20 °C and highs of 32-34 °C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 10-15 °C.
Central: Cool with morning light fog; temperature lows of 20-22 °C and highs of 32-34 °C.
East: Cool with morning light fog; temperature lows of 18-23 °C, highs of 32-34 °C; waves below 1 metre high and about 1 metre offshore.
South (east coast): Partly cloudy and isolated light rain; temperature lows of 20-25 °C, highs of 30-33 °C; waves about 1 metre high in Surat Thani upwards, while 1-2 metres high and about 2 metres in thundershowers in Nakhon Si Thammarat downwards.
South (west coast): Partly cloudy; temperature lows of 20-25 °C, highs of 32-35 °C; waves below 1 metre high and about 1 metre offshore in Phuket upwards, while about 1 metre high and 1-2 metres offshore in Krabi downwards.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool with morning light fog; temperature lows of 21-24 °C and highs of 33-35 °C.
Demonstrators gathered in support of imprisoned protesters in Bangkok on Saturday, prompting Metropolitan Police to warn that public rallies remain illegal under Covid restrictions.
Supporters of the youth-led anti-establishment protests congregated outside the Supreme Court and Bangkok Remand Prison, where Arnon Nampa and other protest leaders are detained on serious charges including lese majeste and sedition. Arnon is reportedly ill with Covid-19.
Although Bangkok enjoys relaxed pandemic measures as a “tourism province”, it is still illegal to hold a protest or gathering, said Metropolitan Police Bureau deputy commissioner and spokesman Jirasan Kaewsangek. He cited the emergency decree, anti-Covid guidelines and the Communicable Diseases Control Act, all of which remain in force.
Jirapan said city police are prepared and well equipped to maintain peace and order.
There was no presence of militant or violence-prone demonstrators in the city, he added.
Metropolitan Police have investigated 814 cases relating to protests since July 2020. Of these, 409 cases have been brought to court while the rest remain under police investigation, Jirapan said.
The government has instructed related agencies to set up field hospitals and community isolation centres to cope with the rising number of Covid-19 cases.
So far, 27,597 hospital beds have been added to the public health system, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Saturday.
“The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, along with Defence and Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation ministries have jointly opened 118 new field hospitals with a combined capacity of 24,646 beds,” he said. “Currently, 2,611 beds are occupied, leaving 22,035 beds free for future patients.”
Provincial authorities, meanwhile, have set up 11 new community centres that can accommodate about 2,951 patients. So far, 201 beds at these centres are occupied, leaving 2,750 free for future patients.
“In the first 14 days of 2022, most people have been adhering to disease control measures, which has kept the new infection rates at manageable levels even though the Omicron variant is highly transmissible,” Thanakorn said.
“Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is urging people to continue protecting themselves by following the Covid-19 free setting, getting vaccinated with a booster shot and taking ATK tests regularly. If you or anybody in your family has tested positive for Covid-19, call the 1330 hotline or the local public health office immediately.”
The Public Health Ministry on Saturday reported 7,793 new infections, 270 of whom had arrived from overseas. The death toll hit 18, while 5,202 people have been discharged from hospital.
In the first 14 days of January, Thailand has seen 92,973 new Covid-19 cases.
A new community isolation centre was recently opened in Bangkok’s Dusit district to exclusively treat young Covid-19 patients from across the city.
The centre has been set up in a collaboration with the Dusit district office, the Phraya Bhirom Bhakdi Foundation and Boon Rawd Brewery.
“The project is mainly supported by the ‘Singha R-Sa’ team of volunteers from Boon Rawd Brewery, who helped donate drinking water, ready-to-eat meals, PPE suits, N95 face masks and alcohol hand sanitiser,” Thanin Nianhorm said while inspecting the centre on Friday.
The centre is located on Nakhon Chaisi Road in Kiak Kai sub-district.
“Data from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration [CCSA] shows that from December 1 to January 7, more than 1,000 new Covid-19 patients were in the age group of 0 to 19, which has prompted Bangkok to set up a centre specifically for the treatment of children,” he added.
Medical professionals working in the centre have been supported by Dusit’s 38th Public Health Office and Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health.
Since the Covid-19 outbreak hit Thailand, Phraya Bhirom Bhakdi Foundation and Boon Rawd Brewery Ltd. have donated over 250 million baht and more than 3 million bottled waters to field hospitals and community isolation centres nationwide.
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