By THE NATIONA representative of the Royal Thai Volunteers Centre on Monday provided 10,000 sets of face masks and alcohol-based sanitising gels to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
“The items were granted by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Her Majesty Queen Suthida to help people protect themselves from the Covid-19 pandemic,” SRT said in a post on its Facebook page.
The items were handed over to the SRT by the representative of the volunteers centre, Pol Lt-Colonel Kraiboon Suadsong.
“SRT will hand them out to passengers travelling by trains during the Songkran holidays at Hua Lamphong and other stations nationwide to promote safe travel amid the outbreak.”
A hot day with haze is forecast for upper Thailand due to a thermal low cell covering the area, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the southerly and southeasterly winds bring moisture from the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand to the lower North, the lower Northeast, the Central including Bangkok and its vicinity, and the East regions. Thundershowers and gusty winds are forecast for these areas.
The easterly winds across the Gulf of Thailand and the South bring thundershowers to the South.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot day with haze and thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas, gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 22-25 degrees Celsius, highs of 34-39°C.
Northeast: Hot day with haze and thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas, gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 23-26°C, highs of 35-37°C.
Central: Hot day with haze and thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas, gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 24-26°C, highs of 35-36°C.
East: Hot day with haze and thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas, gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 23-25°C, highs of 32-35°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 22-25°C, highs of 31-34°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 23-26°C, highs of 31-34°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot day with haze and thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 25-26°C, highs of 33-35°C.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) permanent secretary Silapasuay Raweesangsoon and Department of Health officials checked out the 200-bed field hospital set up at the Chaloem Phra Kiat 84 Phansa Sports Centre in Bang Bon district on Monday.
The field hospital will go into operation from Tuesday.
BMA set up two other field hospitals earlier – the 500-bed Bang Khun Thian Geriatric Hospital and the 200-bed Ratchaphiphat Hospital.
Meanwhile, preparations are being made to accommodate up to 350 patients at the Bangkok Arena sports complex in Nong Chok district.
Residents of Bangkok’s Bang Khae district who have not been fully inoculated will receive their second dose of Covid-19 vaccine after the Songkran holiday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) announced on Monday.
The final round of second jabs will be given on April 19 to 21, said BMA permanent secretary Silapasuay Raweesangsoon.
A total of 12,000 doses of vaccine have been reserved to tackle the outbreak in the western Bangkok district, which emerged at Bang Khae market last month.
All 6,000 first doses have already been administered to residents, said Silapasuay, who was overseeing a vaccination drive at Wat Nimmanoradee School in neighbouring Phasi Charoen district on Monday.
“The remaining people, who are away during Songkran, can receive their second jab from April 19 to 21,” she said, adding that a Covid-19 certificate will be delivered to those who have already had their second jab.
She said people must continue to practise virus-control measures because fully inoculated individuals can still spread the virus to others.
She added that district officials were monitoring entertainment venues to ensure they obeyed Covid rules.
“So far, officials have ordered many venues to close for violating Covid-19 preventive measures,” she said.
Siriraj Hospital announced on Monday that patients not requiring emergency treatment postpone their visit or opt for telemedicine service until April 23.
This is after a medic at the hospital tested positive for Covid-19 after coming in contact with an infected person outside the hospital.
Siriraj said some medical staff are under self-isolation and that there are not enough beds available for patients.
“To protect the rest of the medical staff, the hospital urges patients who do not need emergency treatment to postpone their visits until April 23,” the hospital said.
The chief of Thong Lor Police Station and his deputy have been transferred to inactive posts as of Monday, a news source said.
The transfer orders for Pol Colonel Duangchot Suwanjaras and his deputy were signed by Pol Maj-General Sophon Saraphat, commander of Metropolitan Police Region 5.
The source believes that Duangchot and his deputy have been transferred pending an investigation into how entertainment venues under their jurisdiction sparked Thailand’s third wave of Covid-19 infections in late March.
“The Metropolitan Police Region 5 appointed a committee on Sunday night to look into the issue,” the source added.
The Defence Ministry has set up field hospitals with room for more than 5,000 Covid-19 patients as the third wave of the virus rolls across Thailand.
“The ministry has set up field hospitals in Bangkok and its vicinity with total capacity of 3,195 beds, while field hospitals in other provinces have around 2,000 beds,” ministry spokesman Lt General Kongcheep Tantrawanich said on Monday.
Kongcheep added that the Army has set up 12 hospitals with a total 2,200 beds at its training facilities nationwide. Meanwhile, the Navy has set up three hospitals with 726 beds in Chonburi and Chanthaburi provinces, while the Air Force has set up a hospital in Nakhon Pathom province with 100 beds.
“The field hospitals will treat the infected and also help prevent the spread of Covid-19 to nearby communities,” said the spokesman. “The ministry will ensure that strict disease control measures are employed in these hospitals for the safety of the public.”
Health authorities reported 985 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, the highest number seen in Thailand this year. The latest outbreak emerged in Bangkok late last month and has since spread across the country.
Staff of Thai Airways International (THAI) will be vaccinated against Covid-19 from April 19, the airline has revealed.
THAI said it has collaborated with the Public Health Ministry to vaccinate 4,500 employees at and around Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The Sinovac jab will be given to staff in the customer service, ground maintenance, kitchen, commercial, merchandise, mail and mechanic departments operating at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Regarded as at-risk frontline staff, the 4,500 employees will get two doses of Sinovac vaccine, the first administered between April 19 and 25.
Meanwhile, THAI has established the “TG Centre for Covid Prevention” to monitor employee and customer hygiene measures following the fresh outbreak centring on Bangkok.
THAI will resume international flights to Phuket in July as part of Thailand’s trial reopening to international tourists.
As many as 205 police officers have been infected with Covid-19 so far, the Royal Thai Police deputy spokesperson Pol Colonel Sirikul Kritphittayaboon said on Monday.
Of the 205, 130 are being treated in hospitals and 75 have been discharged.
“Of the 130 officers undergoing treatment, 54 are at the Police General Hospital, while 76 are in other facilities,” she said.
She added that the number of police officers facing the risk of infection has risen to 4,952. Of them, 1,027 are under self-isolation, while 3,925 have completed their 14-day quarantine.
An official from one of the four hospitals that allegedly refused to treat a 10-year-old Covid patient on Sunday said on the Aggressive Doctor Facebook page that the hospital had done their duty in line with medical ethics.
The official said the parents had admitted to visiting an entertainment venue and department store in Hua Hin, adding they later deleted an earlier Facebook post on their trip.
“After the child tested positive, we contacted different hospitals that may have available beds, but the parents refused our offer,” she said.
“They claimed to have money and said they preferred private hospitals where celebrities are treated,” the post read.
The official added that medical personnel also gave the parents advice on how to treat their child and to contact the 1668 Covid-19 hotline.
“The child’s mother posted her appeal on Facebook Live after leaving the hospital,” the official added.
The child’s mother went on Facebook Live to say her child had a high fever and that they had been turned away by four hospitals for different reasons, such as the “emergency room is closed” and the “wards are full”.
The post went viral and Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital decided to take the child in.
Pol Colonel Sirikul Kritphittayaboon
