The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced on Friday that so far, 36 health personnel have been infected in the second wave of infections, which hit the country in mid-December last year.
Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for CCSA, said the average age of frontline medics came in at 36 and that more women, or 2.3 to every one man, were infected.
Occupation-wise, nurses led the list with nine infected, followed by four doctors, four back-office helpers, three pharmacists, two radiographers, a dentist, a practical nurse, a medical technologist, a medical student, a physical therapist and a patient transporter. The other eight infected work in hospital-related jobs such as medicine storekeeper, public relations, financial officer, autopsy personnel, etc.
Most of the infections were found in Bangkok and Samut Sakhon – 12 each – while the other 12 were mostly in the West of Thailand, averaging one case per province.
The export of orchids last year dropped by 5 per cent year on year owing to the impact Covid-19 has had on international shipping and consumer demand, the Office of Agricultural Economics (OAE) said on Friday.
Anchana Tracho, OAE’s deputy secretary-general, said 21,872 tonnes of orchids were exported last year, of which 8,528 tonnes went to Vietnam alone, more than double the 2,913 tonnes exported the previous year. Myanmar also imported 1,069 tonnes of orchids in 2020, recording a five-fold increase from 171 tonnes in the previous year.
“This growth is generally due to the government and public sectors’ moves to seek replacement markets in Asean,” she said.
Anchana added that the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry’s subcommittee on orchids and ornamental plants has set up a working group to come up with schemes to help orchid farmers and businesses. The schemes can range from organising fairs and developing products to seeking new markets, matching businesses and granting soft loans.
“We believe these schemes will help boost the potential of manufacturing and marketing despite the economic slowdown and will also help Thailand remain the world’s largest orchid exporter,” she said.
She added that the working group on February 10 released a scheme to boost domestic consumption.
“This scheme will be proposed to the subcommittee for orchids and ornamental plants product management for consideration,” she added.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday reported 130 new cases and one death.
Of the cases, 14 are returnees in quarantine facilities, while 61 were exposed to the virus while visiting high-risk areas. Samut Sakhon leads the list with 35 cases, followed by 10 in Pathum Thani, and the rest in other provinces.
Proactive tests led to the discovery of 55 cases, with Samut Sakhon again leading the list with 36 cases, followed by 12 in Pathum Thani and seven in Nakhon Pathom.
Of the returnees, nine are Thai nationals returning from Denmark, Italy, Myanmar, Germany, United Arab Emirates and the United States. Also found infected were a Briton and Australian flying in from the UAE, as well as a German, Kuwaiti and Cameroonian flying in from their respective countries.
Meanwhile, a 66-year-old doctor who had prostate cancer became Thailand’s 83rd fatality from the virus. He had treated three patients who were linked to a Ponzi Scheme cluster at his clinic in Mahasarakham province between January 13 and 28.
The doctor then underwent his first Covid test on January 29 but was found negative. However, he tested positive two days later and began developing Covid symptoms, mainly muscle ache and fever.
After five days of treatment in Mahasarakham Hospital, he developed pneumonia and had to be put on a respirator. When his condition began worsening, he was transferred to Srinagarind Hospital, where he passed away on Thursday (February 18).
Though the doctor was not a frontline medic in the fight against Covid-19, he has been counted as the first medical personnel to be lost to the virus in Thailand.
Meanwhile, 124 patients have recovered and been discharged.
As of Friday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 25,241. Of these, 22,562 had been contracted locally, including 14,311 who were found via proactive testing, while 2,679 were returnees. So far, 24,070 have recovered and been discharged, 1,088 patients are still in hospital, while the death toll has risen to 83.
According to Worldometer, as of 10am, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 110.84 million (up by 398,268), 85.78 million have recovered, 22.61 million are active cases (97,715 in severe condition) and 2.45 million have died (up by 11,497).
Thailand ranks 114th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 28.52 million, followed by India 10.96 million, Brazil 10 million, Russia 4.13 million and the United Kingdom 4.08 million.
PTT Pcl on Thursday reported a net profit of Bt13.14 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, down 6.96 per cent or Bt973 million from the previous quarter.
“PTT’s net profit for 2020 is therefore Bt37.76 billion, decreasing 59.4 per cent or Bt55.18 billion year on year,” said president and chief executive officer Auttapol Rerkpiboon.
Auttapol added that the company was positive Thailand’s economy in 2021 would recover slowly across selected sectors.
“Different industries will recover at different paces, while some are still facing uncertainty amidst the Covid-19 outbreak despite the availability of vaccines,” he said.
“As for the five-year plan [2021-25] that is required for all state enterprises, PTT is planning to invest Bt850.5 billion in its main businesses, including the construction of unit 7 gas separation facility to replace unit 1, construction of 5th on-land natural gas pipeline, expansion of LNG receiving terminal Nong Fab, and the third phase development of Map Ta Phut Industrial Port,” Auttapol said.
“We are also looking to procure an additional Bt804.2 billion of investment fund for future projects in the next five years, including renewable energy, LNG and electricity value chain businesses, gas-to-power integration project, as well as to branch out into life science-related business that aims to promote people’s health stability,” said Auttapol.
Villagers on Friday placed flowers in front of Dr Panya Hanphanitphan’s clinic in the Muang district of Mahasarakham province to commemorate the first medic in Thailand to die after being infected with the Covid-19 virus.
Panya was the 18th person to be infected by the virus in the province during the new wave. He reportedly picked up the infection from his patients.
Panya tested positive on February 1 and was treated in Mahasarakham Hospital before being shifted to Khon Kaen Hospital. His death was announced on Thursday morning, while his funeral was held in the evening.
A villager said Panya was a kind person who cared about people’s health, adding that he treated poor people at an affordable price.
The baht opened at 30.01 to the US dollar on Friday, unchanged from Thursday’s close.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.95 and 30.05, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
He said the baht would at the most weaken to 30.15 and fluctuate in line with the dollar. The currency will move in a narrow range until new factors – such as a vaccination or economic recovery in Thailand become clear.
Meanwhile, Jitipol Puksamatanan – the head of the “Easy Invest” team at SCB Securities – added that foreign investors have sold their stocks in order to reduce the risk from capital markets around the world. The market this time is focused mainly on the US Ten-Year Treasury yield that has risen. Therefore, the baht and other emerging market currencies will not strengthen easily, even if the dollar weakens in the near future, compared to other main currencies.
A Chinese man was arrested in Samut Prakarn province for alleged illegal sale of firearms and ammunition via the internet, National Police chief Pol General Suwat Jangyodsuk said on Thursday.
The suspect, Wu Qiang, aged 37 years, was arrested at a condominium on Bangna-Trad Km.14 Road in Bang Phli district
“The suspect used an Instagram account named “dewaffen” to run his business, which included selling guns and ammo, explosives as well as gun-modifying parts to customers online,” said Suwat.
“Police from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau tracked the suspect’s Instagram account down to the condominium and raided the premises with a search warrant from Samut Prakarn provincial court.”
In his room, officials reportedly found nine barrels for assault rifles, two explosive devices, 12,000 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, 5 grams of methamphetamine, several items of gun parts as well as machines for gun modification.”
The suspect was brought to Bang Phli Police Station and was initially charged with selling and possessing unregistered firearms as well as possessing a category 1 drug.
The moderate high-pressure system from China extends to the Northeast, the Central and the East of Thailand, resulting in temperature dropping by 1-2 degrees Celsius and strong winds in the areas, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the southeasterly wind prevails over the North, bringing thundershowers and gusty winds in some areas.
The department also said that the northeast monsoon over the Gulf and the South is strengthening, resulting in more rain in the South while waves in the lower Gulf rise about two metres high. All ships should proceed with caution, the department said.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Cool weather with fog in the morning and thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas as well as gusty winds; temperature lows of 16-21 degrees Celsius, highs of 29-34°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 6-15°C.
Northeast: Cool to cold weather with gusty winds; temperature lows of 14-19°C, highs of 27-33°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 7-12°C.
Central: Cool weather in the morning and gusty winds; temperature lows of 20-21°C, highs of 32-34°C.
East: Cool weather in the morning and gusty winds; temperature lows of 20-23°C, highs of 31-34°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres offshore.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 20-23°C, highs of 30-33°C; waves 1-2 metres high and over two metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Partly cloudy with isolated light rain; temperature lows of 20-25°C, highs of 32-35°C; waves 1-2 metres high and over two metres offshore.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool weather in the morning and gusty winds; temperature lows of 21-23°C, highs of 32-34°C.
Thai businesses were coping with the sharp declines in revenue by aggressively cutting costs, stockpiling cash, and delaying capital expenditures in anticipation of a tough time ahead, according to TRIS Rating on Thursday.
For its latest economic outlook, the credit-ratings agency assessed three key aspects governing Thailand’s recovery – pace of recovery, debt levels, and liquidity.
The recovery paths for most businesses in the manufacturing sector started in the third quarter of 2020, it said.
However, the pace of recovery would likely vary significantly among industries. Recovery prospects in the service sector, especially for hospitality and aviation businesses, remain highly uncertain following the resurgence of Covid-19 in Thailand and globally, said TRIS.
Sharp declines in revenue and cash flows of rated companies would bring spikes in debt ratios, weakening of their financial profiles, said the agency.
However, it expects a recovery that started in the third quarter of 2020 to continue over the next few years, with a majority of the rated issuers projected to recover to pre-Covid levels in 2022.
It noted clear signs of reviving risk appetite for corporate credits, in particular debt issues from highly rated issuers. “However, the reviving market appetite has come with significantly higher borrowing costs for the issuers,” said TRIS.
It forecast Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by 2.6 per cent in 2021, rebounding from the 6.1 per cent contraction in 2020.
However, the GDP forecast was dependent on the arrival of three to four million tourists in 2021, since revival of Thai tourism was still the key to a swift recovery in the near term.
It noted that revival of Thai exports is slow as the world’s major economies continue to struggle with sharp increases in domestic virus infections.
Public sector expenditures would continue to be an important driver for the Thai economy over the next few years. However, the pace of recovery would be largely dictated by external factors, especially vaccinations worldwide and recovery of the global economy, said TRIS.
Householders can now hand their electronic waste (e-waste) to postal delivery staff, in a campaign launched by Thailand Post and Advanced Info Service (AIS) to protect the environment.
The growing mountain of e-waste is causing problems around the world, as countries struggle to dispose of it safely.
In response, Thailand Post launched the new campaign on Thursday as an extension of existing e-waste disposal points set up at post offices nationwide.
“People can drop their old smartphones, tablets, chargers, headphones, power banks, and smartphone batteries into a box and give it to postmen,” Thailand Post said, adding that the service is free of charge.
Meanwhile, AIS will be responsible for disposal of the e-waste in line with international standards.
“We would like to thank Thailand Post for cooperating in the campaign to help people dispose of e-waste [safely],” said Saichon Submakudom, AIS chief of public relations.
Photo credit: Supaporn Kinnarin Facebook page
