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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404490

800,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to be delivered to provinces in April: PM

NationalApr 03. 2021Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha

By The Nation

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Saturday that 800,000 doses of Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine would be delivered to provinces nationwide this month.

Of the total, he said 300,000 doses would be used to contain the spread of Covid-19 in six provinces, another 300,000 doses would be used to help tourism recover and in border provinces, and 200,000 doses would be delivered to 55 provinces.

“We have urged government agencies to use an application to facilitate registration for the Covid-19 vaccine jab,” he said.

He said the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had so far approved three Covid-19 vaccines: AstraZeneca, Sinovac, and Johnson & Johnson.

He added that the government was ready to support the private sector in purchasing and importing Covid-19 vaccines once pharmaceutical companies allow them to do so.

“Many pharmaceutical companies are preparing documents to request approval from Thai FDA, such as India’s Bharat Biotech, US Moderna and China’s Sinopharm,” he said.

To generate revenue for the country, he added that the Cabinet had approved the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s plan to reopen the country to foreign tourists.

The plan reduces the quarantine period to seven days for fully vaccinated tourists visiting Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

From July 1, vaccinated tourists can visit Phuket without undergoing quarantine.

From October 1, the quarantine measure will be lifted in Krabi, Phang Nga, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

Thailand will lift all quarantine restrictions on foreign travellers next year.

“To gain confidence among people, all tourists must take another Covid-19 test, travel in specified areas, undergo preventive measures and use tracking application,” he added.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404489

Exat to install more speed cameras on expressways

NationalApr 03. 2021

By THE NATION

Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) will install additional cameras to detect speeding vehicles as well as vehicles running on the road shoulder on expressways.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, deputy government spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul said: “This year Exat aims to have a total of 17 speed cameras installed on four expressways, which will be equipped with ‘Your Speed’ signs that will display the speeds of passing vehicles,” she said.

“In February four cameras were installed on Burapha Withi Expressway and five were installed on Chaloem Mahanakhon Expressway.

“Four more cameras will be installed on Kanchanaphisek Expressway and four on Chalongrat Expressway by the end of September,” she added.

Additionally, Exat will also install 32 cameras to monitor vehicles running on the road shoulder, or the far left lane of the expressway, which is reserved for emergency stops, on the four expressways within December.

“Vehicles exceeding the speed limit or running on the road shoulder on the expressways will be photographed, then the file will be sent to the traffic police for legal process,” she added.

“We hope that addtional cameras will help reduce the risk of road accidents on expressways.”

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404487

Woman apologises to police after FB rant over illegal parking ticket

NationalApr 03. 2021

By The Nation

A 28-year-old businesswoman on Friday apologised to police officers at Tha Kham Police Station in Bangkok for allegedly defaming a traffic police officer on her Facebook page.

On Tuesday, the businesswoman had posted a message with pictures of traffic police and a traffic ticket, attacking the police for wasting her time by issuing her a Bt500 ticket and attaching a wheel clamp on her truck for illegal parking on Rama II Road.

Later, she posted a message to apologise to police officers after many netizens condemned her.

Pol Colonel Lertsak Kheamsap, superintendent at Tha Kham Police Station, warned the businesswoman that she should think throughly before posting a message on social media because the news was shared quickly.

He said that traffic police officers perform their duty without exception to people who violate traffic laws.

“Society is willing to forgive anyone who admit to their mistake,” he said

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404486

Covid-19 alert for visitors to three high-risk outlets in Thonglor, Ekamai

NationalApr 03. 2021

By The Nation

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Friday urged people who had visited Krystal Club, Bla Bla Bar and Beer House in the Thonglor and Ekkamai area from March 25 to 31 to fill a risk assessment form via the website as soon as possible.

The authority said Health Department and Urban Institute for Disease Prevention had reported the discovery of 13 Covid-19 cases as follows:

– Five people had been infected with the virus after visiting Krystal Club on March 25.

– Eight people, including a Korean man, had been infected with the virus after visiting Krystal Club, Bla Bla Bar, and Beer House on March 27.

“The investigation team will accelerate the search for people at risk of Covid-19 infection,” the BMA said.

The authority added that people at risk of infection could contact the Health Department’s disease control division on 0 2245 4964 for a swab test.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404483

Gallstone weighing 1.7kg removed from elephant in a world-first for Thailand

NationalApr 03. 2021

By THE NATION

Thai veterinarians successfully removed a gallstone from an elephant, a unique world record for veterinarians.

Sai Thong, a 50-year-old female elephant, underwent the operation last week.

Faculty of Veterinary at Kasetsart University (Kamphaengsaen Campus) in Nakhon Pathom province on Friday held a press conference to announce the successful surgery.

“This is only the second instance in the world of a gallstone being removed from an elephant. The first time, we had performed a similar surgery on Kham Moon, a 45-year-old male elephant,” said Assoc Prof Dr Nikorn Thongthip, a professor of the faculty.

“However the case of Sai Thong is different, as we removed one big gallstone weighing 1.7kg. In the case of Kham Moon, we removed over 162 small gallstones weighing a total of 8kg.”

Sai Thong was sent to the university on March 28 after she was suffering from stomachache, loss of appetite and inability to urinate. Veterinarians diagnosed that she had gallstone due to drinking water from a source with high content of limestone. The operation took place on March 30 and took the veterinarians around six hours to remove a 12x16cm, 1.7kg gallstone.

Sai Thong is still under close monitoring and will later have to undergo intensive rehabilitation.

“The success of this operation is not only a big step for Thailand’s veterinary circles, but is also an important milestone in elephant treatment among the global veterinarian community,” said Nikorn.

“Many foreign institutes have contacted me to write a book to share the knowledge on treating large animals with other veterinarians around the world.”

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404484

Four rescuers among five killed in building collapse in Bangkok

NationalApr 03. 2021

By THE NATION

Five people were killed, including four rescuers, when a building collapsed after a fire on Saturday in Bangkok.

Thammasala Police Station was alerted about a fire in Krisda Nakhon 31 Village on Boromratchonnanee Road of Bangkok’s Sala Thammasop subdistrict, Thawi Watthana district, at 6am on Saturday.

Police and firefighters rushed to the scene and spent around one hour to extinguish the fire at a three-storey house in the village. While officials were working to rescue the residents, the building collapsed and trapped an unknown number of officials and residents under it.

Preliminary reports revealed that five people were found dead under the building’s rubble; four were rescue staff and one was the house owner. Seven residents were reportedly rescued to safety.

Bangkok Governor Pol General Aswin Kwanmuang inspected the scene at 10am to discuss a plan to rescue victims who might still be trapped under the building.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404485

Nearly half of new Covid-19 local cases in Bangkok, another person dies

NationalApr 03. 2021

By The Nation

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Saturday reported 84 new cases and one death.

The country’s 95th fatality was a 29-year-old woman who lived in Bangkok. She had cardiomegaly, heart valve regurgitation and down syndrome and she had got the infection from her parents.

She died on April 1 although her Covid-19 test on March 21 was negative. The doctor realised later that she had tested positive.

Of 84 new cases, 58 had been contracted locally, 11 were found via proactive testing and 15 were overseas travellers.

Of 58 patients who had contracted the infection locally and via proactive testing, 30 patients were in Bangkok, followed by Suphan Buri (9), Samut Sakhon (8), Nonthaburi (4), Nakhon Pathom (4), Narathiwat (1), Chonburi (1) and Tak (1).

Of 11 patients who were found via proactive testing, 4 patients each were in Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon, followed by Bangkok (2) and Nakhon Pathom (1).

The arrivals from overseas who tested positive, including Thai and foreign nationals, were from France (1), Malaysia (3), China (3), India (1), United Arab Emirates (1), Turkey (1), Switzerland (1), Bahrain (2), Bangladesh (1) and Czech Republic (1).

Meanwhile, 62 patients have recovered and been discharged.

As of Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 29,031. Of these, 25,901 had been contracted locally, including 16,084 who were found via proactive testing, while 3,130 were returnees.

So far, 27,668 have recovered and been discharged, 1,268 patients are being treated, and 95 have died (35 in the second outbreak).

According to Worldometer, as of 11am on Saturday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 130.80 million (up by 636,927), 105.30 million of whom have recovered, 22.65 million are active cases (97,614 in severe condition) and 2.85 million have died (up by 10,368).

Thailand ranks 116th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 31.31 million, followed by Brazil 12.91 million, India 12.39 million, France 4.74 million and Russia 4.56 million.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404479

Vaccines delivered for Mae Hong Son public health and border patrol staff

NationalApr 03. 2021

By THE NATION

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday delivered 2,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Mae Sariang Hospital in Mae Hong Son province to inoculate public health and border patrol staff.

These staff face high risk of infection from dealing with refugees and migrant workers from Myanmar.

Besides the vaccine, the Public Health Ministry also provided 100,000 surgical face masks, 20,000 N95 face masks and alcohol hand sanitizers to the hospital.

“Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed concern for the staff working with refugees and migrant labourers in Mae Hong Son, where an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 people cross the border into Thailand each day,” said Anutin.

“The Ministry of Public Health therefore will provide 2,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine to hospital and border patrol staff to protect them against the virus and reduce the chance of severe symptoms or death in case of infection.”

The minister also visited the quarantine facility in Mae Sariang Hospital to ensure they could handle Myanmar refugees and migrant labourers.

“If the number of patients keeps increasing beyond the hospital’s capacity, the ministry would consider setting up a field hospital in Mae Hong Son,” he added.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404478

Government to maintain VAT rate at 7 per cent

NationalApr 03. 2021

By THE NATION

The government has no plan to hike the value-added tax (VAT) in order to achieve the gross domestic product growth target this year of 4 per cent, a senior official said.

Anucha Buraphachaisri, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office, said that Thailand had set the VAT rate at 10 per cent under the Revenue Code since the change from the trade tax system to the VAT system in 1992, but the VAT rate had been mitigated.

In the past, the Cabinet would periodically issue a Royal Decree to reduce the VAT to 7 per cent, but the rate was raised to 10 per cent only during the Tom Yam Kung financial crisis of 1997.

Anucha said that each country had different VAT rates. For example, Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan collect VAT at 10 per cent, Singapore collects 7 per cent, Malaysia 6 per cent, while Thailand collects 7 per cent which is in accordance with the economic situation, to lessen the burden on the public and stimulate economic growth as well.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30404476

Monk’s death ‘likely caused by underlying health issues, not vaccine’

NationalApr 03. 2021

By THE NATION

The death of a 71-year-old monk in Bangkok on the day he received his Covid-19 vaccine might have been due to underlying causes, the top official of a hospital said.

Dr Chumni Jittreprasert director of Priest Hospital, on Friday held a press conference to discuss the monk’s death after he was given the AstraZeneca vaccine at Traimit Temple on March 31. He died the same day.

Chumni cited the monk’s medical record, saying he had diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. He had received 15 years of continuous treatment at Priest Hospital, and had been diagnosed with enlarged heart disease in 2018-19. He could not undergo treatment for the heart problem in 2020, as he was travelling abroad, Chumni said.

Before the vaccination on March 31, he was screened. His blood pressure was normal, he had no fever and no complications. He waited for 30 minutes after the inoculation to monitor symptoms before he returned to Samphanthawong Temple. There were no abnormal symptoms. Ten monks who had been inoculated from the same vial did not have any abnormal symptoms, Chumni said.

According to the unofficial autopsy report of Police General Hospital, blood clots were not found in the brain, heart and other organs. However, coronary artery stenosis — a condition often caused by wear and tear due to age — was found. This could have caused his death, the doctor said.

However, the medical team must wait for experts to summarise the investigation.

At Traimit Temple, 412 monks were vaccinated, but only two showed rashes. One was given AstraZeneca while another got Sinovac. Health officials are trying to accelerate vaccination of monks in Bangkok before Songkran Festival.