Baht ‘unlikely to strengthen’ in present situation
The baht opened at 31.40 to the US dollar on Wednesday, strengthening from Tuesday’s closing rate of 31.45.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.35 and 31.50 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
He believes the baht will not strengthen over the long course, as several Asian countries are still in a Covid-19 crisis. Also, foreign investors have come under pressure in this situation to sell their assets in Asia.
The resistance level of the baht is at 31.60 per US dollar, with support at 31.30, Poon added.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday that he did not want to focus on providing Covid-19 jabs to walk-in public at the moment as the present stock of vaccines is not yet adequate to cover all citizens.
“By allowing walk-in vaccinations, large crowds might flock to certain units and could cause a commotion, especially in Bangkok, where the population is much denser than in the provinces,” he said.
“I want the primary registration channel to still be the Mor Phrom application or Line account, and have urged related agencies to fix problems as soon as possible after people could not register online.”
Besides the Mor Phrom platform, Thai citizens who are not in the priority groups can also register to get vaccinated at public hospitals or public health offices in their hometowns starting May 31. Registration for foreigners living in Thailand will commence in August.
“I want everyone to stop talking about walk-in vaccinations until we have clear measures to implement this. We can discuss the topic again when there are enough doses for everyone,” the premier said.
“The issue of walk-in vaccinations is a delicate one and requires careful planning and management,” he pointed out.
“The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration should be the only agency to provide updates on walk-in vaccinations should there be any, to prevent causing public confusion,” Prayut added.
PM expresses condolences to families of two Thai workers killed by Hamas rockets
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has extended his condolences to the families of two Thai workers killed in a Hamas rocket strike in southern Israel’s Eshkol region on Tuesday, said Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin.
“The PM also expressed concern about eight other workers who have been injured by shrapnel and has ordered the ministry to contact the families of the victims and provide compensation and assistance as specified by the laws,” Suchart said.
“The Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv informed me that at 14.35 [local time] on Tuesday, rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip by the Hamas group into Israel’s Eshkol, a town located 14 kilometres from the Strip,” he said.
“The explosion killed two Thai workers at an agricultural product packaging factory and injured eight others. The injured were rushed to Soroka hospital for treatment. Two of them are still in critical condition. Fifteen other Thai workers are in shock from the strike,” Suchart said.
He said officials from the labour division at the embassy have already visited the injured and promised to provide medical allowances from the fund for Thai workers in foreign countries.
“The ministry will also dispatch officials to visit the families of the deceased and injured in Thailand to show them support and notify them of the benefits they will receive as per labour laws,” he added.
More rains forecast for most of Thailand, isolated heavy showers in the South
The Central region including Bangkok, the Northeast, the South and the East will see more rain on Wednesday, with some areas being hit by heavy showers as the strong southwest monsoon prevails over the country, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said, adding that the North will experience a hot day with thundershowers in some areas.
The department also advised all ships to proceed with caution as waves in the gulf will be above 2 metres during thundershowers.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot day with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the area; gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 25-27 degrees and highs of 35-39 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-27 degrees and highs of 34-36 degrees Celsius.
Central: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 25-28 degrees, highs of 33-37 degrees Celsius.
East: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 25-28 degrees, highs of 32-36 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 metres high and 2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area and isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees, highs of 34-35 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 22-25 degrees, highs of 31-32 degrees Celsius; waves 2 metres high and over 2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 27-29 degrees, highs of 34-37 degrees Celsius.
Krung Thep Bridge will be closed for maintenance checks at 10pm on Thursday (May 20) before reopening at 4am on Friday, authorities announced on Tuesday.
The Department of Rural Roads (DRR) said it was necessary to close the Bangkok bridge for six hours from Thursday night to check the pumping system.
Motorists have been advised to use the Rama III Bridge and Sathorn Bridge instead.
Field hospital ‘corruption’ is fake news, says Health Ministry
Rumours of corruption in setting up Thailand’s largest field hospital are fake news, the Public Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
Bussarakham Hospital in Nonthaburi’s Impact Muang Thong Thani exhibition centre cost THB13 million, not THB200 million as falsely claimed by internet rumours, said Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, deputy permanent secretary at the ministry. He added that the new facility also treats general patients as well as Covid-19 cases.
Thongchai was responding to a social media post allegedly showing a 50-bed field hospital set up by volunteers that cost just THB170,000, and comparing it with Bussarakham Hospital.
Opened by the prime minister and health minister last Friday, Bussarakham currently has 1,092 beds but can be expanded to 5,000 beds. It treats Covid-19 patients with mild to moderate symptoms, operating with a staff of 20 doctors, 130 nurses and 10 pharmacists, said the ministry.
A total of 267 patients have been admitted to Bussarakham Hospital in the four days since opening, 61 of them with moderate symptoms. Some patients are being treated with oxygen.
“If a patient needs a high-pressure oxygen machine, we can take care of it. There are also negative pressure rooms,” said Thongchai.
Patients who develop severe symptoms will be transferred to Ramathibodi or Siriraj hospital.
Bussarakham Hospital occupies 20,000 square metres in Impact’s Challenger Hall and is divided into two zones: a 270-bed area for patients requiring oxygen and an area for general patients. Also provided is an artificial-grass garden with sofas and television for patients to relax. Meanwhile, the Department of Mental Health is arranging stress-busting activities at the hospital, which also offers toys for young patients.
AstraZeneca side effects more likely in young adults: Chula study
As Thailand prepares to expand vaccination from elderly recipients to the general population, top virologist Yong Poovorawan cautioned that working-age people were more likely to experience side effects such as fever and body aches from the AstraZeneca jab.
“We have rarely seen elderly people complain of fever after vaccination with AstraZeneca,” said Dr Yong.
However, younger recipients, especially those under 30, tended to seek painkillers after vaccination, he added.
Dr Yong heads the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, where a study has confirmed Covid-19 vaccine side effects impact the young more strongly. However, symptoms are temporary with fever typically lasting 24 hours or occasionally for two days. Young people have a stronger reaction to vaccines thanks to their healthier immune systems, the study suggests.
Thailand needs to administer 300,000 jabs per day to meets its target of 100 million Covid-19 vaccinations by the end of this year, according to Dr Yong.
So far, 2.26 million of the 100 million doses of vaccine have been administered, or about 2.2 per cent.
The Education Ministry has delayed the reopening of schools until June 14 amid the surge in Covid-19 cases across the country.
Education Minister Trinuch Thienthong said the latest postponement was made over concern for the safety of students and teachers. The start of school term was previously postponed from May 17 to June 1.
The decision to delay the reopening of schools was made to give time for teachers and other education staff to get vaccinated and for students to be transferred where necessary, Trinuch said.
Schools in red and orange control zones may open before June 14 but must conduct a readiness assessment under the Public Health Ministry’s Thai Stop COVID Plus system and seek approval from their Provincial Communicable Disease Committee.
Schools in the dark red zone – Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan – must remain closed except for remote learning.
Timetables for examinations would not be affected since the school term will officially end on October 15, said the minister.
Most people want call-taxi services to be legalised: survey
A survey conducted by Thammasat University showed that 92.3 per cent of respondents want the Transport Ministry to issue legal licences to call taxi services such as Grab.
Currently, taxi drivers are required to have a licence for driving public vehicles, but many drivers in the call-taxi business only had a personal licence.
As for other services, 78.1 per cent said call taxis are convenient and can be used round the clock, 77.7 per cent found the service safe, 71.8 per cent said the set-up is transparent, 71 per cent considered it a good channel to make money, 69 per cent can use it to put their personal cars to good use, while 66.8 per cent found the app useful as it shows the driver’s status.
Most people want call-taxi services to be legalised: survey
Sudarat urges Prayut to check out Covid cluster in Govt House neighbourhood
The prime minister should visit the Ban Manangkhasila community in the neighbourhood of Government House where 70 residents recently tested positive for Covid-19, former Pheu Thai Party executive Sudarat Keyuraphan said on her Facebook page.
The veteran politician, who recently set up the Thai Sang Thai Party, said: “Today my team and I visited over 200 households in the community to deliver food and supplies.
“I learned that some 30 families have been forced to isolate themselves as they were in close contact with the 70 confirmed patients,” she said.
Sudarat urges Prayut to check out Covid cluster in Govt House neighbourhood
“Many of the locals believe the source of the cluster cases in the community is the gambling den that has opened up in the area,” Sudarat added.
“They say the den operator has been switching locations to avoid detection and one of the locations is a market near the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal, which is believed to be a Covid-19 hotspot.
“I urge Prime Minister Prayut [Chan-o-cha] to visit the community with me to see if there really is a gambling den so close to the Government House that has been causing problems for surrounding communities, especially during this outbreak crisis,” she said.
Sudarat urges Prayut to check out Covid cluster in Govt House neighbourhood
Sudarat added that she has tasked party members to closely monitor the situation in the community as well as coordinate with related agencies to provide the necessary aid.
Most people want call-taxi services to be legalised: survey
Sudarat urges Prayut to check out Covid cluster in Govt House neighbourhood
Sudarat urges Prayut to check out Covid cluster in Govt House neighbourhood
