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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002846

Bang Phli explosion damages 70 houses, 15 vehicles

At least 70 houses and 15 vehicles were damaged from a Monday morning explosion in a foam factory in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported.

The explosion set the 32-year-old factory ablaze in the wee hours of Monday and burned it to the ground.

No deaths have been reported so far, though some 20 people – 15 locals and five officials – have sustained injuries.

As of the press time, the fire had not been completely doused and two helicopters were reportedly sent from Lopburi province to help.

Bang Phli explosion damages 70 houses, 15 vehiclesBang Phli explosion damages 70 houses, 15 vehiclesBang Phli explosion damages 70 houses, 15 vehicles

Published : July 05, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002845

Surat Thani ready to open three islands to tourists by July 15

Surat Thani’s three popular islands – Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao – will be ready to receive tourists from July 15 under the Samui Plus Model.

“To ensure safety, every tourist must be fully vaccinated and test negative 72 hours before entry,” said Surat Thani governor Wichawut Jinto. He added that relevant public and private agencies were ready to welcome tourists.

Meanwhile, Veerasak Lorthongkham, director of Koh Samui Hospital, said nearly 89,000 residents of the three islands, or 71.4 per cent, have received their jabs. The number of recipients per island is as follows:

• Koh Samui: 77,000 or 72.89 per cent

• Koh Pha-ngan: 7,800 or 55 per cent

• Koh Tao: 3,600 or 89 per cent

All jab recipients were above 18.

Surat Thani ready to open three islands to tourists by July 15

Like the Phuket Sandbox scheme, eligible tourists heading to these three islands will not be required to go into mandatory quarantine, Koh Samui Tourism Promotion Association chairman Ratchaporn Poonsawat said.

He added that this was the best time to visit the islands.

Surat Thani ready to open three islands to tourists by July 15

Under the Samui Plus Model, tourists will first be required to spend three days in quarantine in Koh Samui before they move around the island in a sealed route for the first seven days.

After their first week in Koh Samui, tourists can then travel freely to Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao.

All tourists must undergo three RT-PCR tests for Covid-19 – upon arrival, at the end of the first week and at the end of the second week.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002844

Facebook user sheds light on jacked-up cab fares in Phuket

A foreign traveller’s Facebook post about taxi fares in Phuket being jacked up went viral on Monday after it was shared by another Facebook user Nattakorn Ruengroj.

“The first batch of tourists are actors and actresses who will help promote tourism in the province. How will it help if the taxi fares are high?” Nattakorn asked.

He also called on the government to take immediate steps to tackle this issue before Phuket’s reputation is ruined.

In the original post, a foreigner said a hotel in the Patong area wanted to charge him 900 baht for a transfer from the airport.

“I know in the past I have not paid that much to get to Patong, the same hotel, and I see some people are paying 700 baht through their hotel,” the tourist said.

The Phuket Provincial Transport Office said the hotel in question has brought its transfer charges down to about 700 baht now. The office added that the traveller is scheduled to land in Phuket on July 14.

“The office has told taxi operators to reduce their fares in a bid to maintain the province’s reputation,” the transport office said.

It has also said that travellers can call a taxi via the Hello Phuket app as the 675 cabs registered in the app charge fares in line with the Transport Ministry’s regulations.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002843

Leaked comments over Pfizer vaccine sparks outrage on social media

Some senior doctors are worried that the arrival of the mRNA Pfizer vaccine will make recipients of the Sinovac vaccine believe they have been given an inferior product, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Monday.

On Sunday, the minutes of a meeting about Pfizer vaccines that will be donated to Thailand by the US were leaked online. The minutes included opinions voiced by those attending the meeting, including senior members of the public health sector.

Among the comments recorded was one saying: “If we give Pfizer vaccines to medics, it will imply that the quality of the Sinovac vaccine given to them earlier is low, and it will be difficult for us to find a reasonable excuse.”

Many netizens were enraged by the document and demanded an explanation. Some even predicted that the government will claim the document is fake.

Anutin, however, admitted that some senior doctors did say this at the meeting, but said it was only an opinion and that no final decision has been made about the use of Pfizer vaccines.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002842

Every Phuket Sandbox arrival in first 3 days found to be Covid free: TAT

None of the 1,271 foreigners arriving in Phuket between July 1 and 3 have tested positive for Covid-19, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reported on Monday.

Foreign tourists are allowed to visit Thailand under the Phuket Sandbox scheme, provided they can verify they are fully inoculated against Covid-19 and have tested negative. Tourists arriving under the scheme are not required to go into 14-days of mandatory isolation and can move around the province freely.

After spending 14 days in Phuket, tourists can travel to other parts of Thailand if they test negative again.

TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said hotels in the province have received more than 90,000 bookings for the third quarter of this year.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002841

Ministry adds more beds to Nonthaburi field hospital

The Public Health Ministry will increase the capacity of Bussarakham Field Hospital to 4,000 beds in a bid to cope with a possible surge in infections from the Delta variant of Covid-19.

The hospital is in Nonthaburi’s Impact Muang Thong Thani and serves metropolitan Bangkok.

“The ministry recently added 1,500 beds, bringing the total capacity to 3,700 beds and will add another 300 beds to accommodate 4,000 patients,” Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said.

“Bussarakham Field Hospital treats patients in yellow and green categories to alleviate crowding at hospitals in Bangkok.”

Yellow-category patients are those who have moderate symptoms with underlying health issues that require close monitoring, while green-category patients are those who have tested positive but are asymptomatic or have minor symptoms.

Since its establishment on May 14, Bussarakham Field Hospital has admitted 5,064 patients, 3,055 of whom have recovered and been discharged, while 167 have been transferred to other hospitals.

The hospital has 319 free beds at present.

“Field hospitals take care of yellow- and green-category patients so other hospitals have the capacity to treat more serious patients, including those in the red-category or Covid-19 patients who require respirators,” said Anutin. “We need to add more beds to field hospitals as patients in yellow- and green-categories in Bangkok have been rising rapidly.”

Published : July 05, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002839

Bang Phli residents told to evacuate after blaze in foam factory

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has told residents of Bang Phli district in Samut Prakan province to evacuate immediately after a foam factory in the district caught fire early on Monday.

The officials said that the evacuation orders were given despite the fire being brought under control, as they were worried the blaze could spread to the factory’s chemical tank. So, it was logical to evacuate people from the area in case a big accident happens, the officials said.

The evacuation orders were for people living within a five kilometre radius of the foam factory.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002835

Covid-19 vaccines developed by Thai researchers undergoing human trials

Three Covid-19 vaccines are undergoing human trials while more than 20 are in the research phase, the National Research Council of Thailand and National Vaccine Institute said.

The government’s Covid-19 Information Centre announced on Sunday that combined data from the two institutes revealed more than 20 vaccines are being researched and developed in Thailand, while three have started human trials.

The three in human trials stage are:

– ChulaCov19, an MRNA vaccine developed by Chulalongkorn University. It is in the first phase of human trials among 72 candidates. Two doses of the vaccine were given at an interval of 21 days.

– HXP-GPOVac is an inactivated vaccine jointly developed by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine at Mahidol University and the Government Pharmaceutical Organization. It is in the second phase of human trials with 460 candidates. Two doses of the vaccine were injected at an interval of 28 days.

– Covigen is a DNA vaccine developed by Bionet Asia and Technovalia, which has started its first phase of human trials among 150 candidates. Two doses of the vaccine were injected at an interval of 28 days.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002834

Unemployment shows improvement in successive months

The unemployment rate in May improved to 2.7 per cent from 2.9 per cent in April, while it was even higher at 3.1 per cent in March, the Fiscal Policy Office said on Sunday.

“The statistics are based on the number of workers under social security who have applied for unemployment benefits,” said Phisit Phuaphan, director of the office’s Macroeconomic Policy Bureau.

“Unemployment is showing an improving trend in the last two months, and is significantly lower than the country’s highest unemployment rate in October 2020 of 4.5 per cent.”

Phisit added that the global unemployment rate in May was also picking up, as seen from the rate in large economies such as the United States and China.

“The US reported 5.5 per cent unemployment in May, improving from 5.7 per cent in April, while China also reported 5.0 per cent unemployment this month, decreasing from 5.1 per cent in the previous month,” he said.

Published : July 05, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002827

Monsoon gathers steam, as more rains are forecast for the North, East and South

More rains are likely in the Northeast, the East and the South with isolated heavy rains on the west coast of the South, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Monday.

The southwest monsoon prevailing over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand is becoming stronger, the department said, adding that the active low-pressure cell covering the middle China Sea is expected to intensify in the next few days.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Hot day with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 23-27 degrees Celsius, highs of 36-39°C.

Northeast: Hot day with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-28°C, highs of 34-39°C.

Central: Hot day with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-28°C, highs of 37-39°C.

East: Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-29°C, highs of 34-38°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (east coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-26°C, highs of 34-37°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 21-27°C, highs of 30-32°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 28-29°C, highs of 35-39°C.

Source: Thailand Meteorological Department

Published : July 05, 2021

By : THE NATION