Public transport available until 10pm daily in ‘dark red’ provinces
Public transport in the 29 “dark red” provinces can run until 10pm, so people can get home within curfew hours, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said.
Initially, the CCSA had stipulated that public transport services be provided until 9pm. From September 1, curfew hours for provinces under maximum control have been shortened to 10pm-4am.
CCSA decided to extend public transport service hours to ensure people in high-risk areas have access to public transport.
Provinces under maximum control include Bangkok, Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Samut Prakan, Saraburi, Chonburi and Samut Sakhon among others.
Buffets and barbecue restaurants are still prohibited from serving diners in line with Covid-19 restrictions, the Department of Health said on Friday.
Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai, the department’s director-general, announced guidelines for restaurants set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration at a Public Health Ministry press conference on Friday.
Restaurants open for dine-in services are required to:
• Disinfect tables immediately after use
• Disinfect commonly touched areas and toilets every one or two hours
• Sharing of cutlery is not allowed
• Self-service in the form of buffets, salad bars or barbecues are not allowed
• Every table must have a bottle of sanitising gel
• Diners and tables must be kept 1 to 2 metres apart or divided using partitions.
• Tables in airconditioned restaurants must be kept 2-metres apart and diners are not allowed to sit opposite each other.
• Air-conditioned eateries can only fill 50 per cent of seats while open-air eateries 75 per cent. Diners are not allowed to spend more than an hour in a restaurant.
• Premises must be aired at least 30 minutes before the air-conditioning is turned on and the area must be ventilated every hour. Bathrooms should also have a good ventilation system.
• All food and beverage outlets are required to close by 8pm and consumption of alcohol in restaurants is strictly prohibited.
• Same restrictions apply to restaurants in shopping malls or similar establishments.
Vaccine booster campaign by start of October: Anutin
People who have already had two jabs of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine will receive booster shots from the end of this month or the start of October, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Friday.
He said the booster doses would likely be AstraZeneca and people should be able to get the jabs close to their homes.
Meanwhile, children aged 12 to 18 would be vaccinated with 5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine scheduled to arrive in October, said Anutin.
“The vaccination drive will be conducted at schools in a bid to reduce congestion,” he said.
He also revealed that the country should be able to roll out at least three Thai-made Covid-19 vaccines next year, namely AstraZeneca, Baiya Phytopharm and the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation’s vaccine.
If development is successful, Baiya Phytopharm is expected to produce 50 million to 60 million doses of its plant-based vaccine annually, Anutin said.
300,000 doses of vaccine donated by Japan to arrive next Wednesday
Japan has donated another 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Thailand, the Japanese embassy in Bangkok announced on Friday. The doses are scheduled to arrive on September 8.
The Japanese government previously donated 1.05 million doses to Thailand in early July.
Japan will also send 775 oxygen concentrators to help Thailand treat Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms, as well as providing equipment to support the country’s cold chain system, which is crucial in storing and distributing the vaccines, said the embassy.
“Japan will continue to provide support to Thailand, which it considers a strategic partner, to improve the country’s Covid-19 situation to the best of our ability,” added the embassy.
Scientists puzzled by seeds being grilled in a Mae Hong Son village were astonished to find they came from a previously undiscovered species.
The new species of tree, dubbed “Sok Lueang”, was stumbled upon recently by Wittaya Pongamornkul and his team.
Wittaya and other botanists from the Botanical Garden Organisation and Chiang Mai University noticed Karen villagers grilling seeds that they did not recognise. After conducting a thorough examination, they realised the seeds came from a previously undocumented species.
Sok Lueang is a new species of plant in the Saraca genus of flowering trees, which belong to the Fabaceae family. The new tree has been given the Latin name “Saraca thailandica Pongamornkul, Panyadee & Inta” – or plant of Thailand. The full Thai name is “Sok Lueang Mae Moei”.
The discovery was recorded in the latest edition of the Thai Journal of Botany.
Sok Lueang is commonly found near water in dry evergreen forests at a height of 1,000-1,400 metres above sea level. Botanists believe it is probably spread over the hills that straddle the Mae Hong Son-Myanmar border. They also confirmed the seeds of the plant are edible.
Scientists said the discovery adds to the rich biodiversity found in Thailand, a global focus of preservation and research.
New species of tree discovered in Mae Hong SonNew species of tree discovered in Mae Hong Son
Floods damage over 20,000 rai of farmlands this year
The Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry announced on Thursday that flooding has damaged more than 20,000 rai of agricultural land and that 7 million baht has been spent compensating more than 1,000 farmers.
Peeraphan Kothong, the ministry’s deputy spokesman, said according to the report covering damages incurred from July 5 to September 2:
• Farms in 11 provinces incurred damages worth 5.71 million in total and 1.6 million baht has been distributed among farmers. The provinces affected are Kamphaeng Phet, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Tak, Chiang Rai, Phitsanulok, Uttaradit, Loei, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Prachinburi.
• Fisheries in seven provinces incurred 0.18 million baht worth of damage and farmers have been given the exact amount. Provinces affected are Chiang Rai, Phayao, Tak, Saraburi, Samut Prakan, Loei and Trang.
• Livestock farmers in Mae Hong Son and Nan provinces were affected and the ministry is in the process of surveying the damage.
AstraZeneca delivers 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Thailand in August
AstraZeneca confirmed today that it delivered an additional 5.3 million doses of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca to the Ministry of Public Health in August.
Atotal of 16.6 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine have now been delivered to Thailand, as part of an aim to deliver 61 million before the end of this year.
The August deliveries to Thailand meet AstraZeneca’s projections for the month, which had forecast between five and six million doses.
James Teague, Country President, AstraZeneca (Thailand) Ltd., said: “There continues to be no higher priority for AstraZeneca in Thailand than manufacturing vaccines that can protect everyone as fast as possible. In partnership with Siam Bioscience, we continue operate at full manufacturing capacity and are leaving no stone unturned to increase supply further still.”
Since the first international launches in early 2021, the vaccine has helped prevent hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations and helped save tens of thousands of lives.
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is 80-90% effective against severe disease and hospitalisation and is effective against all severities of COVID-19 across all adult age groups. The vaccine is effective against WHO-identified variants of concern including the current circulating Beta and Delta variants.
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca has been shown to be generally well tolerated. Incidents of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia (TTS), an extremely rare blood disorder, have been reported in a small number of people who received the vaccine within 14 days of the first dose which reduced to rates expected in the general population after the second dose.
To date, AstraZeneca and its partners have released for supply more than one billion doses of vaccine to over 170 countries; approximately two-thirds of these have been delivered to low- and lower-middle income countries.
COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca
The COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, (ChAdOx1-S [Recombinant]), formerly AZD1222, was co-invented by the University of Oxford and its spin-out company, Vaccitech. It uses a replication-deficient chimpanzee viral vector based on a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.
Thailand logged 14,653 new Covid-19 cases and 271 deaths over the past 24 hours on Friday. Of the new infections, 356 were found in prisons.
Meanwhile, 18,262 patients have recovered and been discharged over the past 24 hours.
Thailand’s total caseload from Covid stands at 1,249,140 – 1,076,966 of whom have recovered, 159,800 are still in hospitals and 12,374 have died.
Separately, another 394,608 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 468,104 their second shot, and 2,362 their booster shot, bringing the total Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 34,292,537.
According to Worldometer, confirmed cases globally had risen to 219.98 million on Friday, 196.63 million of whom have recovered, 18.79 million are active cases (104,722 in severe condition) and 4.56 million have died (up by 10,633).
Thailand ranks 29th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 40.51 million, followed by India with 32.90 million, Brazil with 20.83 million, Russia with 6.96 million and the UK with 6.86 million.
Insurance firms ordered to honour Covid-19 claims within 15 days
The Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has ordered insurance firms to compensate Covid-19 policyholders 15 days after receiving all documents. This order is effective as of September 1.
Hundreds of insurance policyholders have recently complained that insurance firms have left them waiting despite being provided with all relevant documents.
OIC secretary Suthipol Taweechaikarn said his agency has acknowledged this issue and had officials monitor the situation closely. He said in response to the order, many companies have adjusted their system to make payments faster.
The OIC has ordered companies with more than 100 outstanding compensation issues to establish a special division that only deals with Covid-19 cases. The examination of documents must be completed within three days and compensation paid within 15 days if all documents are in order. The company must inform the customer on the same day if documents are incomplete.
In disputed cases, insurance firms must report them to the OIC within seven days and report developments to the OIC every 15 days.
The OIC said it will establish four teams to investigate these cases.
Suthipol said the OIC may temporarily ease rules for insurance firms so they can make payments more quickly, especially since they have to deal with thousands of applications daily. He said the OIC is fixing issues and confirmed that all insurance firms are strong.
Meanwhile, Arnon Wangwasu, president of the Thai General Insurance Association, added that insurance firms were hiring more people to look after this issue. He said the number of claims submitted has risen 100-fold and since many members of staff are working from home, the process is delayed.
Southeast Insurance, for instance, has hired 180 people to deal with this issue directly. It has also set up a system of receiving claim applications via Line and can address 1,000 to 1,500 cases daily. The 10,000 or so outstanding cases should be solved within two weeks, the company said.
The company also said many customers have sent rapid antigen test results for Covid-19 instead of RT-PCR tests, and that it has had to ask for new results.
Arnon has advised policyholders to have the following documents ready when applying for a claim: • An RT-PCR Covid-19 test result from labs certified by the Department of Medical Sciences • Identification card • Details of bank account registered with the company.
New species of tree discovered in Mae Hong Son
New species of tree discovered in Mae Hong Son
