#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002635

Protest finally wins Bangkok Covid patient a bed in hospital

A 60-year-old Covid-19 patient decided to set up camp at Bangkok’s Nang Loeng Police Station in protest because no hospital beds were made available for her after she tested positive on Sunday.

Zendai, a group that transports Covid-19 patients to hospitals for free, posted the woman’s story on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

It said the woman, who works as a janitor in the capital, decided to move out of her home in Bang Phlat district because she did not want to infect her daughter.

As soon as the group heard of her case, it contacted Royal Rattanakosin Hotel, which has been adapted as a field hospital and found her a bed.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002634

Special edition on newsstands to mark The Nation’s 50th birthday

A special edition of The Nation will be published on July 1 to mark the 50th anniversary of the newspaper, which was Thailand’s second English-language newspaper.

The publication, delivered to subscribers along with tomorrow’s issue of Bangkokbiznews, can also be downloaded for free via the Bangkokbiznews website.

The special edition, published under the theme “Thailand Tomorrow”, features special articles from well-known personalities like former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij’s “A Return to Normal is Not Enough”. Also included are “Thailand’s Economic Future Post Covid-19” by Bangkok Bank’s executive vice president Kobsak Pootrakool and “50 Years of the NATION, 50 Years of the Thai economy” by Dr Narongchai Akrasanee, chairman of Ananda Development.

The edition is loaded with discussions and interviews on different subjects that affect Thailand with economic gurus like Bank of Thailand (BOT) governor Dr Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, Stock Exchange of Thailand president Dr Pakorn Peetathawatchai, Krungthai Bank president Payong Srivanich, and former BOT governor Veerathai Santiprabhob.

Readers also get to check out predictions on the directions ahead for Thailand in the areas of trading, industry and lifestyle, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s seven steps to victory in the next election and a talk with Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party, on the future of Thai politics.

Though the Nation Multimedia Group planned a big celebration to mark the 50th birthday, the event had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 related restrictions. However, the printed version of the special edition can be bought at newsstands on July 1 or downloaded for free via the Bangkokbiznews website.

Special edition on newsstands to mark The Nation’s 50th birthday

Published : June 30, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002631

Just hours to go: Phuket Airport all set to welcome 533 international passengers on 1st day of reopening

Five international flights are set to touch down at Phuket Airport tomorrow, July 1, the first day of the Phuket Sandbox scheme to reopen the island province to foreign visitors, airport director Thanee Chuangchu said after a final inspection on Tuesday, expecting 533 international passengers to arrive on the first day.

Under the sandbox, foreigners who can verify they have been fully inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly into Phuket and move around freely in the province without having to quarantine. After spending 14 days in Phuket and if they still test negative, they can then travel to other parts of Thailand.

“An Etihad Airways flight will arrive at 10.30am, followed by a Qatar Airways flight at 1.30pm, an El Al Israeli airlines flight at 1.45pm, a Singapore Airlines flight at 5pm, and another Etihad Airways flight at 10.20pm,” he explained.

“Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha will visit the airport on July 1 to check the passenger screening process when the Singapore Airlines flight arrives,” Thanee said.

The airport expects 533 international passengers on the first day of reopening and estimates that more than 12,000 foreigners will visit Phuket in July.

Apart from presenting evidence of Covid-19 vaccinations and a negative test result, visitors to Phuket by air will have to undergo a swab test, thermo scanning and face scanning at the airport. They also have to install the Thailand Plus and Mor Chana tracing applications and allow their GPS to be tracked through the applications throughout their stay in Thailand.

Phuket has set up an emergency operations centre (EOC) at the airport to facilitate screening, testing and tracing of foreign tourists in the province.

“The EOC will function as a central unit to monitor tourists via mobile applications, which we have integrated into the Phuket smart city network to ensure coverage across the province,” Thanee added.

The province has also set up a screening unit at the Tha Chat Chai checkpoint for visitors who arrive by land and will employ similar measures to those at the airport.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002624

Energy Ministry has sights on manufacturing 225,000 EVs per year by 2025

The Energy Ministry is promoting domestic manufacturing of 225,000 electric vehicles, or EVs, per year by 2025, equal to 10 per cent of current total manufacturing capacity as part of its long-term plan to secure energy stability, Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a seminar titled “EV: New Business Opportunity in Thailand’s Automotive Industry”, organised by the Thansetthakij newspaper.

“The government has set up the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee to not only promote the EV manufacturing industry, but to also create an environment that will nurture the growth of electric vehicles in Thailand,” he said.

“We aim to increase our EV manufacturing to 10 per cent of the country’s capacity in the next four years, as well as boost investment in EV battery manufacturing as the battery accounts for 40 per cent of the EV cost,” Supattanapong told the seminar.

Energy Ministry has sights on manufacturing 225,000 EVs per year by 2025

“Increased investment in battery manufacturing will create battery technology innovation and attract investments in related businesses, including the development of driverless technology,” he said.

“In the next four years the ministry will also work with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and the Provincial Electricity Authority in preparing a national smart grid and infrastructure for electric vehicles,” the minister revealed.

“The price of recharging an EV is currently THB2.6 per unit,” he said.

“Comprehensive infrastructure and 225,000 EVs produced per year in the next four years will be a first step toward the committee’s mid-term goal of having electric vehicles make up half of all domestic car manufacturing by 2030,” Supattanapong added.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002617

Daily Covid-19 deaths reach new high on Wednesday at 53 deaths with 4,786 new infections

Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday morning that in the past 24 hours there are 4,786 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 127 of whom have been found in prisons.

Death toll increased by 53, which is the country’s new high, while 2,415 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country are at 259,301 with 2,023 total deaths.

Daily Covid-19 deaths reach new high on Wednesday at 53 deaths with 4,786 new infections

Published : June 30, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002616

Man, 45, arrested for breaking his family out of Krabi quarantine hotel

Krabi’s Lam Thap Station police on Tuesday afternoon arrested Somyos Khongsiri, 45, near his fathers pig farm in Thung Sai Thong subdistrict after being alerted that he shot at a window of an alternative state quarantine hotel to spring his wife and son loose from detention earlier that day before fleeing to the farm.

Somyos had reportedly visited his wife and nine-year-old son, who were staying at the hotel in Ao Nang and were under monitoring for Covid-19, at 7am on Tuesday. A security guard reportedly refused to let him take durian up to the room in which his family were as it was against hotel rules.

This made Somyos angry and he went back to his white Toyota Fortuner in the car park.

According to the staff on duty, Somyos returned to the hotel lobby about 15 minutes later and strode to the lift to go up to the patients’ rooms. When staff tried to stop him, he brandished a handgun and shot once at a window, successfully scaring them off.

Man, 45, arrested for breaking his family out of Krabi quarantine hotel

Somyos then went up to the room in which his wife and son were and promptly took them out, hurriedly put them in his vehicle and drove off.

Police tracked him down to the pig farm and found that he had left his wife and son with his father Lamai, 61, before fleeing to a chicken farm about 1 kilometre away to hide out there.

Man, 45, arrested for breaking his family out of Krabi quarantine hotel

Officers proceeded to the farm and arrested him in the workers’ quarters. They confiscated a .38 revolver with five bullets and an 11mm handgun with six bullets.

A 45-year-old worker at the chicken farm was shot in his right leg by Somyos in the melee just before the arrest. The worker was rushed to Lam Thab hospital and is now in a stable condition.

Police also found an empty .38 revolver in Somyos’ vehicle parked 500 metres from the chicken farm.

He too was taken to Lam Thap hospital for a Covid-19 test and then to Lam Thab police station for questioning.

He reportedly refused to give any statement.

Man, 45, arrested for breaking his family out of Krabi quarantine hotel

Hotel staff said Somyos’ wife and son had been brought to the hotel on Saturday for quarantine after attending a funeral in Khlong Thom district that had generated a new cluster of Covid-19 cases in Krabi.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002614

Thundershowers forecast for all regions

The upper Northeast will experience isolated heavy rains as a low-pressure cell continues to cover Laos and upper Vietnam, while Thailand’s North, the Central region including Bangkok and its vicinity, the East and the South will all see thundershowers as the southwest monsoon prevails across the country, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.

Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees and highs of 32-36 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with gusty winds and isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees and highs of 33-37 degrees Celsius.

Central: Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees, highs of 36-37 degrees Celsius.

East: Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-28 degrees, highs of 33-36 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (east coast): Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees, highs of 34-36 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 21-25 degrees, highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 26-27 degrees, highs of 33-37 degrees Celsius.

Source: Thailand Meteorological Department

Published : June 30, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002607

Cabinet approves THB8.5 billion aid for shuttered construction sites, restaurants

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved relief measures worth 8.5 billion baht for businesses affected by the latest Covid-19 restrictions, mainly construction firms and restaurants.

On Monday, construction sites were closed and restaurant dining banned for one month in six provinces – Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon.

The 8.5-billion-baht relief measures will cover affected employers and workers, both formal and informal. The Social Security Fund will provide 3.5 billion baht while the remaining 5 billion baht will come from the 1-trillion-baht loan decree passed last year.

The money will fund three relief measures for affected employers and workers over the next month:

1. Employees in the social security system will be paid 50 per cent of their monthly wage up to 7,500 baht per person.

2. Social security employees who receive no wages from employers will receive a special payment of 2,000 baht.

3. Employers will receive 3,000 baht for each employee who remains in the workplace (up to 200 employees per employer).

Meanwhile, informal businesses and workers must register with the Labour Ministry within the next month to receive the subsidies. Employers and employees who register will receive payments of 3,000 baht and 2,000 baht, respectively, but will not get the 50-per-cent emergency unemployment compensation or other benefits. Self-employed people will receive a payment of 3,000 baht by registering for the G-Wallet app.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002606

Japan’s donation of 1.05 million AstraZeneca jabs to arrive early July

Thailand has officially accepted Japan’s offer of 1.05 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which will be delivered early next month.

The letter of agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on Tuesday.

The “vaccine exchange” agreement decrees that the vaccine be only used to boost public health and forbids the use of doses for military purposes. Thailand will also have to cover any additional expenses and should be ready to disclose any vaccine-related information upon request.

Thailand’s vaccine rollout, which kicked off on June 7, relies on AstraZeneca shots produced locally by Siam Bioscience. However, the production has experienced delays, which has also had an impact on supplies for Taiwan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40002605

Sinovac batch found with sediment declared safe

Vials of the China-made Sinovac vaccine found with sediment are safe to use, Medical Sciences Department chief Dr Supakit Sirilak announced on Tuesday.

Vials from the CoronaVac batch numbered C202105079 were flagged by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for containing a milky sediment at the bottom, Supakit said.

The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) immediately collected samples from the batch and sent them to the department for laboratory analysis.

The batch carries the registration number 1C 3/64 (NBC), date of manufacture 10.05.2021 and date of expiration 09.11.2021.

Analysis of the vaccine samples in seven syringes and 15 vials showed normal physical characteristics of a milky white liquid that separated when left to settle for 3-4 minutes. After settling for approximately 10 minutes, the liquid was observed to have separated into a clear level on top and a white level below. The test was carried out at the Institute of Biological Products, which also found the acid-alkaline balance of the vaccine was within acceptable limits.

Meanwhile, checks on the temperature at which the batch was transported and stored revealed no problems.

Dr Supakit cautioned, however, that it was important to verify the physical characteristics of each vial of vaccine prior to use. Any vials found with sediment that does not dissolve after shaking, or precipitates quickly, must not be used and instead be reported to health authorities for investigation, he added.

Published : June 30, 2021

By : The Nation