British strain responsible for 93% of Thailand’s April Covid cases
Most Covid-19 cases found in April were caused by the British variant, according to results from a test of 300 samples, the Public Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Dr Supakit Sirilak, the director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences and representative of the ministry, said the British variant appeared in 93 per cent of the samples.
Regarding the South African variant, he said only 11 persons in Narathiwat’s Tak Bai district were infected with this particular strain and they were under strict quarantine in an attempt to keep this variant of the coronavirus from spreading to nearby areas.
Supakit also said that a total of 62 people in Bangkok were found to have contracted the Indian variant. A search was conducted after 32 construction workers were initially found to be infected with the strain.
However, Supakit confirmed that the severity of the Indian and British variants were not much different from other strains and Covid-19 vaccines were still effective.
Missing assault rifles could be in hands of insurgents
So far, 37 AK102 assault rifles have gone missing in five districts of Narathiwat province in southern Thailand, with police suspecting the weapons may be in the hands of insurgents.
Muang station police were first notified on May 18 when 28 AK102s were found missing from the arms depot of the territorial defence office.
On Tuesday, the police station’s superintendent told the press that his subordinates were checking the number of weapons in each depot of the province.
The latest update showed that nine more rifles have gone missing.
The five districts with the missing rifles are Muang, Su-ngai Kolok, Rue So, Sri Sakhon and Su-ngai Padi.
Security forces have been battling an insurgency in the deep South for nearly two decades.
The police suspect some of the guns could have been stolen by local insurgents as officers had found that the same kind of weapons were used by the insurgents in a shootout on May 11.
Locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine will be available for masses from June 7: Anutin
The AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured domestically by Siam Bioscience will be available for mass inoculations from June 7 as per the original schedule, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul confirmed on Tuesday, debunking rumours that the ministry could not procure enough doses for the public on time.
“The manufacturer has confirmed that the delivery of the vaccine will start in June. The Department of Medical Sciences should take around 3-4 days to inspect it before releasing it to vaccination units,” he said.
Auntin said that so far four kinds of vaccines – AstraZeneca, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna – have been approved and registered for use in Thailand by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“The importer of Sinopharm’s Covilo vaccine has submitted complete documentation to register the vaccine in Thailand and the FDA should have it approved by Friday if nothing goes wrong,” he said.
“Meanwhile, Pfizer has submitted a ‘term sheet’ vaccine purchasing contract to the ministry. We will have 14 days to sign the contract. After that, Pfizer will have 30 days to submit documents for registration of the vaccine. We aim to purchase around 20 million doses of vaccine from them,” Anutin said.
“Once a vaccine is registered for use in Thailand, any private company or individual can contact the importer to buy the vaccine directly. There is no monopoly on vaccine purchases by the government as many have claimed,” he added.
Isolated heavy rains forecast for North, Northeast, South
A monsoon trough lies across the lower North, the Central region and the Northeast while the southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf of Thailand and will bring isolated heavy rains to the North, the Northeast and the South, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.
It advised all ships to proceed with caution while small boats should stay ashore as waves in the Andaman Sea are 2-4 metres high and will be above 4 metres during thundershowers.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot day with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; gusty winds and isolated heavy rains are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 23-27 degrees and highs of 32-37 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area; gusty winds and isolated heavy rains are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees and highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius.
Central: Hot day with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 24-27 degrees, highs of 34-38 degrees Celsius.
East: Cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-28 degrees, highs of 32-36 degrees Celsius; waves 2 metres high and over 2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 23-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 metres high and 2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 21-26 degrees, highs of 28-34 degrees Celsius; waves 2-4 metres high and over 4 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 26-28 degrees, highs of 34-37 degrees Celsius.
Hua Hin targets 350k jabs before flood of foreign tourists from Oct 1
Hua Hin is racing to vaccinate 70 per cent of residents so it can open to quarantine-free foreign tourism from October 1.
Under the “Hua Hin recharge” project, hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses have joined with hospitals and government agencies in a four-month push to vaccinate the international seaside resort.
“We need vaccination to start in June with second doses administered by August,” said local Thai Chamber of Commerce committee member Krod Rojanastien.
This will require just over 350,000 doses of vaccine to fully inoculate 176,749 of Hua Hin’s 213,979 residents so the city can welcome vaccinated foreign tourists without quarantine, he added.
Mass vaccination in Hua Hin is due to start on June 7.
The city is targeting 100,000 foreign tourist arrivals generating more than 1.2 billion baht in the fourth quarter this year.
More than 89,000 people work in Hua Hin’s tourism and service sector, which has been ravaged by the Covid-19 crisis.
Tourism is Hua Hin’s main source of income and employment, generating 43.1 billion baht in 2019. But local tourism-related businesses have shut down in droves during the Covid travel ban, leaving thousands of workers jobless.
Hua Hin is also popular with internal retirees, who play a significant role in boosting the local economy.
Tourism operators in the city say overseas demand to visit Hua Hin is high if quarantine can be waived for vaccinated foreign tourists.
Social enterprises to get tax breaks worth 10m baht
The Cabinet has approved in principle changes to boost tax breaks for social enterprises and people who support them.
Asocial enterprise is defined as a business or non-profit organisation that applies commercial strategies to maximise financial, social and/or environmental improvement.
The changes to the Revenue Code would exempt corporations or juristic partnerships from paying income tax on funding for social enterprises, including individuals who support social enterprises. The tax exemption will cover funding of up to 100,000 baht per tax year and cover actual expenses as well as investments in social enterprises.
The tax break will be offered until December 31, 2023, to support the operation of social enterprises that benefit society as a whole, in line with the Social Enterprise Promotion Act 2019.
“Though this measure will cost the government about 10 million baht, it will help the operation of social enterprises both in terms of quantity and quality,” government spokesman Anucha Buraphachaisri said on Tuesday.
The tax break could also help the state solve social problems, such as employment for people with special needs, he added. Meanwhile it could boost sustainable community development at the local and national level, said Anucha.
Bangkokians can book their jab from Thursday onwards
Bangkokians will be able to book their Covid-19 vaccine via http://www.ไทยร่วมใจ.com or through the “Pao Tang” app from noon on Thursday, while the administration of vaccines will kick off on June 7.
Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said the city administration has coordinated with Krungthai Bank and the National Health Security Office to come up with a registration system specific to Bangkok residents.
Vaccines will be available to all Bangkok residents between the ages of 18 and 59, with the exception of those with seven chronic conditions.
To make things easier, Bangkokians who have used the “Pao Tang” app before will not have to re-enter their information. However, those who have never participated will need to register on the website. People who do not have a smartphone can have a family member register on their behalf, though the number of times this can be done will be limited. They can also register at convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Tops Daily and mini Big C stores from 8.30am to 6pm.
Bangkok administration, in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce, city hospitals and related agencies, is setting up vaccination stations at the following venues:
• University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce
• The Street Ratchada
• Central Plaza Lat Phrao
• SCG Vaccination Center, Bang Sue head office
• Siam Commercial Bank headquarters
• Sripatum University (Business Administration Technological College)
The Cabinet on Tuesday approved 311.65 million baht from the 2021 central budget to combat the wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping through Thai prisons and detention centres.
The budget will be used by the Corrections Department to fund the following five measures to contain the contagion:
Purchase of 100,000 RT PCR Covid-19 test kits for 80 million baht.
Construction of field hospitals for critically ill inmates in Bangkok and its vicinity (51.97 million baht).
Construction cost 10 field hospitals in prisons and correctional institutions (92.68 million baht).
Construction/renovation of quarantine rooms for 65 prisons (49.835 million baht).
Purchase of protective gear for prisons and correctional facilities (37.167 million baht).
The Department of Corrections is also contacting the Public Health Ministry to procure anti-viral drug Favipiravia to treat infected inmates.
More than 15,000 inmates and staff at a dozen prisons around the country are thought to have contracted Covid-19.
Covid deaths hit new daily high
