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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022465

Ministry downplays Covid spike as virologist issues mask warning

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

The Public Health Ministry downplayed concern over the spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths on Friday, saying infections would begin falling after New Year.

Confirmed infections in the week ending November 19 rose 25% from the previous week to 3,957 or an average of 565 per day, the Department of Disease Control (DDC)’s latest report showed. The death toll also rose to 69, up from 40 in the previous week.

“The recent rise in confirmed cases is within our estimates for a ‘small wave’ at year-end,” said DDC director-general Dr Opas Karnkawinpong.

Most new cases have mild or no symptoms and can be treated as outpatients, he said. The occupation rate of hospital beds has not risen significantly, he added.

The DDC expects more people to get Covid-19 jabs in the coming weeks amid concern over rising infection rates. It has asked provincial public health offices and hospitals to increase staff levels and notify the public of vaccination schedules to prevent crowding.

Opas said the Public Health Ministry has also deployed mobile vaccination units to reach people in remote areas, especially the elderly, those with chronic diseases and pregnant women.

Dr Yong Poovorawan, a Chulalongkorn University virologist, warned on Friday that the current Covid-19 strains have evolved to spread more easily.

“Now that most [disease] restrictions have been lifted, it will be even harder to evade this virus,” he said in a Facebook post.

“To stay safe from Covid-19, we should exercise regularly for strength, get adequate rest and eat hot, clean and nutritious meals.”

Yong advised everyone to get at least three jabs plus a booster every six months to maintain their immunity.

He also warned people not to stop wearing face masks and advised them to avoid crowded areas, and isolate for five days if they display symptoms or test positive.

Related Stories

Infection is as good as vaccine against Covid-19: virologist

Covid infections surge in Thailand, 3,957 more patients hospitalised last week: DDC

Thailand stops procuring Covid-19 vaccine

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022464

Heavy rain to hit Bangkok, 44 provinces on Saturday: Met Dept

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2022

The Thai Meteorological Department forecast that 45 provinces including Bangkok will be hit by heavy rain on Saturday.

The 24-hour forecast is for heavy isolated downpours across the lower North, Central Region including Greater Bangkok, East, and South.

The department warned people to beware of flash floods, especially along foothills, near waterways and in low-lying areas.

Waves in the upper Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea will be 1-2 metres, rising higher in thunderstorms. Ships have been advised to proceed with caution and keep off thundershowers.

The severe weather is being produced by a low-pressure cell in the upper Andaman and a monsoon trough across the upper South.

The department issued separate forecasts for each region.

North:

• Cool morning with scattered thundershowers in upper North.
• Isolated heavy rain in Tak, Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit and Phetchabun.
• Minimum temperature of 21-24C, maximum of 29-32C. Falling to 9-16C on mountaintops.
• Easterly winds 10-15kph.

Northeast:

• Scattered thundershowers in Loei, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Nong Bua Lamphu, Udon Thani, Kalasin, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, Chaiyaphum, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram and Surin
• Minimum temperature 21-23C, maximum 30-34 °C. Falling to 14-18C on mountaintops
• Southeasterly wind 10-20kph

Central:

• Widespread thundershowers and isolated heavy rain in Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Ayutthaya, Suphanburi, Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Songkhram and Samut Sakhon
• Minimum temperature 23-25C, maximum 30-33C
• Southeasterly wind 10-25 km/hr

East:

• Scattered thundershowers and isolated heavy rain in Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat.
• Minimum temperature 23-25C, maximum 30-33C.
• Southeasterly wind 15-35kph.
• Waves 1-2 metres, rising in thundershowers.

South (east coast):

• Scattered thundershowers and isolated heavy rain in Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Narathiwat.
• Minimum temp 23-25C, maximum 30-33C.
• Surat Thani upwards: Variable winds 15-35kph.
• Wave height 1-2 metres and above 2 metres in thundershowers.
• Nakhon Si Thammarat downwards: Southwesterly wind 15-30kph.
• Waves 1 metre, rising in thundershowers.

South (west coast):

• Scattered thundershowers and isolated heavy rain in Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi and Satun.
• Minimum temp 22-25C, maximum 30-33C.
• Southwesterly wind 15-35kph.
• Waves 1-2 metres, rising in thundershowers.

Greater Bangkok:

• Widespread thundershowers and isolated heavy rain.
• Minimum temperature 24-25C, maximum 30-32C.
• Southeasterly wind 10-20kph.

Related stories

• Cooler days ahead in upper Thailand as cold winds blow in from China
• Downgraded Typhoon Nesat expected to bring only light rain in North
• Thailand to escape typhoon Nesat but South gets flash flood warning

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022453

Anti-drug agency seizes alleged Chinese mafioso’s private jet in Hua Hin

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has confiscated a plane belonging to a Thailand-based Chinese businessman, who is believed to be running a drug trafficking ring.

Thanakrit Jitareerat, secretary to Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin, said on Friday that ONCB officials had confiscated the plane registered to Chainat Kornchayanan, aka “Tuhao”, at Hua Hin Airport in Prachuap Khiri Khan province on Thursday evening.

He said Chainat will be given a chance to explain his ownership of the plane, otherwise, it will be auctioned off.

“That’s not all. More assets will be confiscated … wait and see,” Thanakrit told the press.

The ONCB move came after former politician and massage-parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit handed to the police a document detailing Chainat’s assets estimated at more than 1 billion baht.

Chainat, a naturalised Thai by marriage, surrendered to police on Wednesday after an arrest warrant was issued over alleged drug-related crimes and overseeing a drug trafficking ring. The suspect, whose wife is an officer at the Foreign Affairs Division of the Royal Thai Police, has denied all charges.

Chainat was arrested as part of a crackdown on suspected Chinese mafia bosses believed to be behind drug parties in Bangkok.

On October 25, more than 200 Chinese nationals were arrested during a police raid on what was believed to be a drug party at a restaurant-cum-karaoke joint in Sathorn area.

Chuwit later surfaced, claiming that he knew several Chinese mafia bosses running illegal businesses in Thailand, prompting the Royal Thai Police to step up crackdowns.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022452

Proposal to let nightspots remain open till 4am rejected

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

The Alcohol Control Committee on Friday rejected a proposal for entertainment venues to stay open until 4am so that alcoholic drinks can be sold for 11 consecutive hours from 5pm.

They cited the findings of a study that extending the open hours of nightspots could increase road accidents by 27% and lead to 10-20 casualties every day due to drunk driving.

They also noted that records showed, despite police checkpoints and strict enforcement of the law, no more than 50% of drunk drivers have been intercepted.

Friday’s meeting of the Alcohol Control Committee was chaired by Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Opas Karnkawinpong and attended by representatives from the relevant agencies.

At present, the closing time for bars and nightspots is 1am.

Sales of alcoholic drinks in Thailand are allowed from 11am to 2pm and from 5pm to midnight, according to a Prime Minister’s Office directive in force since 2015, which is a legacy of a 1972 order by coup-makers.

The panel also endorsed proposed measures to control alcoholic drinks during the upcoming New Year holidays under the “Driving without drinking, drinking without driving” campaign as part of a bid to promote safe driving and curb road accidents, according to Dr Opas.

He said the campaign would be implemented in three stages — before the New Year, during the long holiday, and after the holidays.
In the first stage, the public and shops will be told to respect the alcohol sale time and follow the ban on sale of alcohol to people aged under 20.

During the New Year holidays, police checkpoints will be set up to check the alcohol content in suspicious motorists and the drunk driving law will be strictly enforced.

In the last stage, convicted drunk drivers will be put probation and administered treatment.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022450

Mohan checkpoint offers Thai fruit growers new entry into China

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

It has been confirmed that the new Mohan railway checkpoint in Yunnan will be opened in early December, offering Thai fruit growers a new gateway to China.

Alongkorn Ponlaboot, an adviser to the agriculture minister who also sits on the Thailand Fruit Board, said on Friday that Thai fruit can now be transported to the mainland via the Laos-China railway.
The railway connects the Laotian capital of Vientiane,
which shares a border with Thailand’s Nong Khai province, and China’s Kunming city in Yunnan.
Alongkorn said he has learned from Thai diplomats based in China that construction of the Mohan checkpoint had been completed on November 22 and it would go into operation on December 3 as scheduled. December 3 marks the first anniversary of the start of the Laos-China railway.

In a move to help with the new transport option, the Fruit Board will hold a meeting with fruit growers, cooperatives, middlemen, fruit associations, exporters and logistics operators to educate them about relevant rules and regulations, Alongkorn added.
So far, no Thai fruit has been delivered to Kunming via the Laos-China railway, even though the service has been running for nearly a year. This is because there was no railway inspection checkpoint at Mohan town.

Previously, Thai fruit was transported by train from Vientiane to Boten on the China-Laos border before being trucked into the mainland.
Last year, Thai fruit dominated the Chinese market with a 40% share, followed by Chile (15%) and Vietnam (6%). China was also the major market for Thai durian — with 875,097 tonnes worth 109.2 billion baht exported last year. That was a historic 68.4% surge from a year ago, despite China’s “zero-Covid” policy and related restrictions.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022449

Can’t pay your creditors? Don’t worry, just pretend you’re dead

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

A 19-year-old woman chose a novel way of escaping her creditors. She decided to get her death announced on Facebook.

An unnamed netizen posted a Facebook message earlier this week saying her sister, Rungtiwa (last name withheld) had died. The post was accompanied by a photo of the “deceased” at a funeral.

The post read: “Rest in peace … [I] did not think that my sister would do this. I was shocked by this unexpected event. Rest in peace, my sister. [I hope] both mother [Rungtiwa] and her daughter become angels in heaven.”

As soon as the message was posted, many friends and acquaintances responded by expressing their condolences and sharing news of her purported death.

Later, however, it was found that the post was fake and aimed to mislead her friends and creditors.

However, as of press time, the post had disappeared.

Rungtiwa’s Facebook page showed an earlier message from a user named โอ๊ต ซอยสิบเอ็ด (Oat Alley 11) saying, “Hey you, transfer the money or you will be embarrassed.”

The post came with images of chat messages between the two of them, with him asking for his money back and Rungtiwa dodging the subject.

This message was shared by several other creditors who tried to track her down.

Intrigued by this mystery, a Nation TV reporter travelled to Chonburi on Thursday to meet Rungtiwa’s friend Sudarat Chaiyasuwan, 24.

Sudarat said she had known Rungtiwa for a long time and always helped her out. She said Rungtiwa had told her this week that she was returning to her hometown in Nong Bua Lamphu province, and after that, her creditors were unable to track her.

The day after Rungtiwa “returned” to her hometown, Sudarat said she found the Facebook post announcing her death. She said she was also surprised to find out that Rungtiwa was pregnant.

“Baifern [Rungtiwa] is only 19 years old, yet she managed to trick people a lot older than her,” Sudarat said.

She said she and others had contacted the teenager’s mother in Nong Bua Lamphu, only to learn that she knew nothing about her daughter’s “death”.

After failing to get an answer from the mother, Sudarat then tried to contact the sister who had posted the death announcement. However, she said, the sister responded rudely, saying the funeral would be held in Chaiyaphum, where their father lives.

She then contacted her father, only to learn that there was no funeral and that he did not know his daughter had died.

Sudarat said judging by all these developments it is clear that Rungtiwa was faking her death and pregnancy to avoid having to pay back the money she borrowed to fund her expensive habits.

She added that she and other people will be dumping Rungtiwa and would not forgive her even if she apologises.

Related stories

• Household debt rises to 14.64 trillion baht
• Public debt, false forecasts will put Thailand in crisis: Pheu Thai
• Debt spectre haunts Thailand despite Q1 growth of 2.2%

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022448

Ministry denies selling Thai-Danish to foreign company

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

The Agriculture Ministry on Friday refuted rumours that it was selling the “Thai-Danish” milk brand to a foreign company to produce and sell powdered milk. The brand has been well known in Thailand for 51 years.

The rumour, reported by some media outlets, has stirred up a controversy. Such a deal is seen as going against the objective of the Dairy Farming Promotion Organisation (DPO), a state enterprise under the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry, which was established to supervise the production of Thai-Danish milk for the benefit of Thai farmers.

“We are not selling the brand. We will only allow the company to use the ‘Thai-Danish’ trademark for its powdered milk for infants,” Deputy Agriculture Minister Mananya Thaiset said on Friday.

Under the deal with an Austrian company, the firm must share profits of at least 30 million baht per year from sale of milk, as well as permit technology transfer in producing powdered milk for infants aged six months to one year to the DPO, starting from cow raising techniques to personnel development.

“Currently, there is no factory in Thailand having the technology to produce such a product,” she pointed out.

Mananya added that the deal has yet to be finalised and is still being studied by the Office of the Attorney-General to make sure that it will not affect Thai farmers.

DPO director Somphon Srimuang added that the estimated cost of setting up a factory and purchasing technology to produce powdered milk for infants was over 2.4 billion baht.

“Furthermore, the production needs to be supervised by foreign experts and requires a scientific laboratory. Without the deal, the Thai-Danish brand would have a hard time competing against other foreign brands, which are dominating the market for powdered milk for infants in Thailand,” he said.

Related Stories

DPO targets 500 ‘Milk Land’ shops in five years, eyes 10 per cent boost in sales

Thai-Danish milk maker eyes China, Vietnam; confident it will meet Bt12 bn target

Maker of Thai-Danish milk adopts aggressive strategy to boost sales this year

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022446

Emergency extended until March in deep South after Narathiwat car bombing

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

The emergency decree in Thailand’s restive deep South has been extended for three more months. The decision was made on Friday by the Emergency Situation Management Committee.

The decision comes after a deadly car bomb attack in the southern border province of Narathiwat on Tuesday, which killed a police officer and left at least 31 people injured.

Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan chaired the meeting, which was attended by relevant security agencies at the Five Provinces Bordering Forests Preservation Foundation.

After assessing the situation in the southern border provinces, the panel resolved to retain the emergency decree’s “serious emergency” designation for the region for three more months — from December 20 to March 19.

The committee also resolved to retain the list of districts exempted from the emergency decree. They are Si Sakhon, Sungai Kolok, Waeng and Sikhirin districts in Narathiwat province; Yaring, Mai Kaen and Mae Lan districts in Pattani province; and Betong and Kabang districts in Yala.

Prawit advised the Internal Security Operations Command to manage the emergency decree efficiently while avoiding human rights violation.

He also instructed relevant agencies to expedite the investigation and find the culprits behind the latest bomb attack while also stepping up vigilance to prevent such incidents in future.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022445

Officials find hidden pathway linking Satun province to Malaysia

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

The authorities have uncovered a hidden path through Satun’s mountains on the border with Malaysia and believe it is being used for the trafficking of drugs and humans.

The hidden route goes over a mountain near Wang Prachan Border Market in the southern province’s Khuan Don district, which shares a border with Malaysia’s Perlis town, district chief Pheeraphat Ngerncharoen said on Friday.

Investigators found a wooden ladder hidden behind trees leading up the mountain for about 150 metres and after that, they found a short tunnel and a kilometre-long route leading into Malaysia.

Scattered empty water bottles and instant food packages show that the route was used recently, officials said.

A local villager, meanwhile, said that even though border police patrol the area regularly, they had no idea a secret route was hidden right under their noses.

Pheeraphat said he had been alerted by villagers who noticed cars and motorcycles stopping near the area several hours before the market opened. This had been happening for about a month, prompting villagers to notify authorities of possible illegal operations.

The district chief has ordered officials to tear down the ladder and for security personnel to be deployed on a 24-hour patrol. He has also notified the Internal Security Operations Command to find out if the route is connected to any known crime syndicates.

Related Stories

Kids among 51 Rohingya rescued after boat breaks down off Satun

Satun governor orders removal of sunken fishing boat over fear of environmental impact

Satun sisters offer to sell 7.5kg lump of precious ‘whale vomit’

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022442

EXAT seeks THB110 billion to build 5 new expressways

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2022

The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) is seeking over 110 billion baht to fund the construction of five new projects planned for next year, EXAT governor Surachet Laophulsuk said on Friday.

He said the planned expressways or expressway extensions are aimed at easing traffic congestion due to the urbanisation of provinces and the growth of tourist cities.

Among the new projects is the N2 northern section of the Stage 3 Expressway in Bangkok linking Prasert Manukit Road and the Western Ring Road. This section is 11.3 kilometres long and requires a budget of 18 billion baht.

Surachet said bidding for its construction could be held early next year if the project gets Cabinet endorsement by December.

The second project is the MR10 section of Bangkok’s Third Ring Road connecting Chalong Rat Expressway, Nakhon Nayok and Saraburi provinces. The section is 17 kilometres long and requires an investment of 18 billion baht. Environmental impact assessment of the project is underway, the EXAT governor said.

The agency also would seek Cabinet endorsement for the construction of the MR6 section of the Kanchanaburi–Sakaeo expressway later this year. Construction could start next year with completion in 2025, he said.

Also, the EXAT would seek an estimated 20 billion baht to fund the construction of the 18km-long M7 section linking Chalong Rat Expressway, Srinakarin Road and Suvarnabhumi Airport, Surachet said.

He said a public hearing was underway for a project to build a new 17km-long double-deck expressway linking Ngam Wongwan Road and Rama IX Road, with an estimated budget of 30 billion baht. If things go as planned, the construction could start in 2025 for be completed in 2030.

The EXAT also plans a new expressway connecting Khanom district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province and Samui Island. It will be 17km long and require an investment of 25 billion baht. Construction is expected to be completed by 2030.