Monks wear PPE suits to conduct funeral rituals in Songkhla
Photos of Buddhist monks wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) suits while chanting at a funeral have gone viral on social media since last week.
Pholkrit Kaewmontri, a monk from Hat Yai Nai temple in Songkhla province, posted on his Facebook page on Sunday that he and other monks from the temple were in those photos.
“A young couple aged around 20 came to me and asked if they could hold a funeral for the wife’s father who had died of Covid-19 at the temple,” he said.
“They said they have nowhere else to go as other temples had rejected them, while her mother was still undergoing treatment at a hospital.”
Pholkrit said he contacted the province’s public health office and was instructed to wear PPE suits during the funeral to prevent the virus from spreading.
“The funeral was closely supervised by public health officials, who also carried out the cremation while no one was allowed near the crematorium,” he added.
On Sunday, Songkhla province reported 51 new Covid-19 cases, taking cumulative cases in the province to 454, of whom 443 patients are being hospitalised, 10 have recovered and one person has died.
Foreign Ministry denies rumours of wealthy Indians fleeing to Thailand by charter flights
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday denied rumours that wealthy Indians were booking charter flights to Thailand to avoid the escalating Covid-19 situation at home.
“The rumour is the result of a misunderstanding stemming from a mistranslation by a foreign news agency,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Thani Saengrat said.
“The group of Indians were planning to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, while some had inquired about Thailand’s entry regulations, which might have caused the misunderstanding.
“The ministry has contacted the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, which has confirmed that it has not issued COE [Certificate of Entry] to non-Thai nationals in India to enter Thailand via charter flights,” he said.
“The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand also has confirmed that they have not allowed any charter flights from India to land in Thailand during the period, as claimed by the rumour.”
Thani added that some Indian nationals had entered Thailand on April 17. They had notified the ministry in advance and had undergone the regular entry procedures. “This group consisted of six students and one person who holds a Thai work permit, and they did not arrive by a charter plane,” he added.
“Currently the ministry allows one repatriation flight from India per week to enter Thailand. Non-Thai nationals wishing to enter the country must meet the requirements and undergo screening and the quarantine processes,” said Thani.
He added that next month one Thai national in India had registered to return to Thailand on May 1, 70 Thais would arrive on May 8 and another 60 Thais on May 15.
On Sunday, the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi announced that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration had placed restrictions on non-Thai nationals who wished to enter Thailand.
“All COEs that have been issued to non-Thai nationals to enter Thailand from India with the arrival date from May 1 will be cancelled,” it said. “Therefore, the embassy will not accommodate non-Thai nationals on the flights scheduled for May 1, 15 and 22,” the embassy said.
Certificates of entry issued to non-Thai nationals flying from India in May cancelled
The Thai embassy in New Delhi has published an announcement “Cancellation and Suspension of COE Issuance for Non-Thai Nationals from 1 May 2021”.
The Thai embassy in New Delhi has cancelled certificates of entry (COE) issued to non-Thai nationals scheduled to take flights to Thailand on May 1, 15 and 22.
The embassy said the move follows restrictions imposed on non-Thai nationals wanting to enter Thailand by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration due to the Covid-19 situation in Thailand.
The embassy said that all COEs that had been issued to non-Thai nationals to enter Thailand from India with the arrival date from May 1 have been cancelled.
The embassy also said that issuance of COEs for non-Thai nationals who would be arriving in Thailand from India from May 1 would be suspended until further notice.
Thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail forecast for parts of upper Thailand
The Thailand Meteorological Department said that a high pressure area from China was expected to extend to the upper Northeast of Thailand on Monday, while the southwesterly winds prevail over upper Thailand.
Hot weather with thunderstorms, gusty winds, hail and heavy rain are forecast for some areas of the North and Northeast.
People in upper Thailand should beware of the severe conditions by avoiding outdoor places, big trees, unsecured buildings and billboards, the department said.
Farmers were warned of damage to crops.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot to very hot with haze and thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; gusty winds and hail are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 24-28 degrees Celsius, highs of 34-40°C.
Northeast: Hot day with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas, gusty winds and hail are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 25-27°C, highs of 36-38°C.
Central: Hot day with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 25-27°C, highs of 35-39°C.
East: Hot day with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 24-28°C, highs of 31-37°C; waves less than a metre high and over a metre during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-27°C, highs of 34-36°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-27°C, highs of 32-34°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot day with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 26-27°C, highs of 34-38°C.
Entertainment venues the biggest source of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok
Close to two-thirds of Covid-19 cases in the third wave in Bangkok can be traced to entertainment venues, according to statistics revealed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Of the 19 sources of infections, visitors to entertainment venues totalled 2,227, followed by family or home (278), workplace or company (203), cluster links from other provinces (199), SQ/ASQ/AHQ (89), banquet seminar/ordination ceremony (78), hospitals (77), markets (74), restaurants (74), stores/convenience stores (55), sports venues/gyms (32), police station (22 police), educational institutions (17), prisons (11), religious place (10), condos (9), beauty salon/massage/spa (9), public transport (6), and others (8).
Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin told a press conference that each province would have different strict measures to contain Covid-19 depending on the local situation, which had been approved by the CCSA sub-committee. He said the most common measure was people needed to wear a mask in public or face a fine of up to Bt20,000.
CCSA denies rich Indians booking charter flights to Thailand to flee virus at home
The spokesperson of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, has debunked a rumour that wealthy Indians were booking charter flights to fly to Thailand after a huge surge in cases in India exceeding 300,000 daily.
He said that there would be four charter flights to evacuate Thai people in India until May — one person on May 1, 70 on May 8, 60 on May 15, and the fourth group on May 22 for which people are yet to register.
Regarding foreigners coming from India, there is a new measure to slow down the Certificate of Entry process to reduce the risk, he said.
However, on Sunday at 3 pm, the communicable disease committee has decided to suspend the arrival of foreigners from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh due to concerns about an emerging new strain of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, all foreigners travelling from these three countries have to be strictly quarantined in their room for 14 days.
State quarantine hotel now ready to serve as hospitel
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is implementing three plans to combat the rising Covid-19 caseload: boosting capacity at Bangkok hospitals, modifying hotels to become “hospitels” for asymptomatic patients, and launching field hospitals.
On Saturday, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang oversaw the preparation of a hospitel at Elegant Airport Hotel in Prawet district. Elegant Airport Hotel has two seven-storey buildings and includes state quarantine and hospitel. The hospitel has 230 rooms with a medical team that can provide treatment to Covid-19 patients all day.
Patients who wish to be treated at a hospitel must have eligibility, such as age less than 50 years without risks of severe symptoms and able to communicate and take care of themselves. Meanwhile, hospitals can take patients back if there are any changes in patients’ symptoms. This hospitel will gradually open rooms for patients as follows: 70 rooms on April 26, 80 rooms on April 30, 40 rooms on May 15, and another 40 rooms on May 30.
“Elegant Airport Hotel’s state quarantine was able to perform duties in line with standards and there is no report of Covid-19 infection among the medical team after it was opened for a year,” Aswin said. Aswin added that the hospitel had both single and shared rooms with a medical team to evaluate patients’ symptoms and provide treatment advice via video call and Me-More application.
“Instructions would be given to patients before entering the hospitel, while City Law Enforcement Department officers and police in the area had been instructed to provide safety for patients,” he added.
Australian, New Zealand embassies jointly host virtual Anzac Day commemorative service
To commemorate those Australians and New Zealanders who have served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations, the Australian and New Zealand embassies came together to jointly host the 2021 virtual Anzac Day Commemorative Service at the Australian Embassy, Bangkok.
The service was recorded and broadcast via the embassy’s Facebook Page “Australian Embassy, Thailand” at 1.30pm on Sunday.
Due to Covid-19 considerations, the Australian government had announced there would be no government-led public overseas Anzac Day services in 2021, including in Thailand.
Still, given the significance of the Anzac Day to Australians and New Zealanders alike, the Australian and New Zealand embassies decided to hold a small, private, commemorative service to mark the occasion, they said.
The service was conducted following local authority health guidelines on Covid-19.
Allan McKinnon, Australia’s ambassador to Thailand, reiterated the importance of Anzac Day for the Australian and New Zealand communities in Thailand. “Anzac Day is a day on which all Australians and New Zealanders in Thailand can join us in pausing, reflecting, and remembering the sacrifice of those who have served, those who continue to serve, and those who will serve in the future.”
James Andersen, Chargé d’ Affaires from the New Zealand Embassy to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, said Anzac Day continued to retain significance, many years after the first Anzacs landed at Gallipoli. “Anzac Day continues to underline how we have a collective responsibility to uphold the values of justice, freedom, peace and respect for human dignity as we remind ourselves that Australians and New Zealanders have given their lives for these values.”
On April 25 each year, Australians throughout the world commemorate Anzac Day, marking the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the World War I.
It was on April 25, 1915 that Australian and New Zealand soldiers first landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, in Turkey, as part of a larger Allied Force. Facing fierce resistance and near-impossible fighting conditions in battles that lasted for months, many did not return home.
The third Covid-19 wave is the most severe in Thailand, according to the majority of respondents, Suan Dusit Poll said on Sunday. The online survey on “Thais and the third Covid-19 wave” was conducted between April 16 and 22 on 2,082 respondents nationwide.
Registration opens on May 1 via app for second phase of vaccination
Registration for the next phase of vaccination will start from May 1, the Ministry of Public Health said.
In the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination plan, medical personnel and public health personnel from the public and private sectors at risk were given priority.
A new version of MorPrompt [Doctor ready] reservation on Line application will launch from April 28 with 12 functions, including registration, vaccination date record, symptom follow-up, and reminder for second vaccine dose, for people willing to be vaccinated. Registrants must be senior citizens aged 60 years and above and patients with seven chronic diseases:
1. Severe chronic respiratory disease
2. Cardiovascular disease
3. Stroke
4. Chronic kidney disease
5. Cancer of all types,
6. Diabetes
7. Obesity.
They will be given the AstraZeneca jab in June and July.
Phase 3 inoculation will start in August for the general population aged 18-59 years with Sinovac, Sputnik V, AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.
