Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has allowed the private sector to import Covid-19 vaccine, Government Spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri said on Sunday.
He said private firms, however, must first register the vaccine with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by submitting documents regarding the vaccine’s quality, safety and effectiveness for Thai people.
“The FDA would evaluate the vaccine’s quality, safety and effectiveness before allowing private firms to vaccinate people,” he said.
He added that the FDA had summoned internal and external experts to accelerate the approval of Covid-19 vaccine.
“However, we still cannot ease regulations regarding the procurement of vaccine because it is a product related to the life of the people,” he added.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Sunday reported 198 new cases with one death in the past 24 hours.
Seven of the cases were international travellers in quarantine.
Of the new cases, 118 were exposed to the virus while visiting high-risk areas. The province with the highest number of infections was Samut Sakhon (76), followed by Bangkok (21), and Samut Prakarn (12).
Proactive testing led to the discovery of 73 cases, 70 of them foreigners and two Thais un Samut Sakhon, and one case in Rayong of a Thai woman.
Of the overseas travellers, four are Thai nationals returning from Belgium, Malaysia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. Also testing positive were two French nationals who flew in from their country and a Myanmar man at the screening checkpoint.
A woman in Samut Sakhon, 73, who had an underlying disease (high blood pressure, Alzheimers, and epilepsy) later developed pneumonia and passed away on January 23. She got the infection from her family member on January 4 and was confirmed positive on January 9.
Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokeswoman, said infection numbers nationwide had deceased from the first week of outbreak. Thailand found infections in 39 provinces during January 3-9, in 24 provinces during January 17-23 and only in seven provinces on Sunday. At the same time, the detection rate in the outbreak area — Samut Sakhon — is at 7 per cent on average.
Meanwhile, 119 patients have recovered and been discharged.
As of Sunday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand rose to 13,500. Of these, 11,136 contracted the virus domestically, including 4,568 who were found via proactive testing, and 2,364 are returnees. So far, 10,567 have recovered and been discharged, 2,860 patients are still in hospital and the death toll has risen to 73.
According to Worldometer, as of midnight on Saturday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 99.33 million (increasing by 670,974), 71.37 million have recovered, 25.82 million are active cases (110,663 in severe condition) and 2.13 million have died (up by 16,743).
Thailand ranks 126th on the global list of most cases. The US tops the list with 25.56 million, followed by India 10.65 million, Brazil 8.81 million, Russia 3.7 million and the United Kingdom 3.62 million.
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) said the Covid-19 situation in the country is stable, but there are worries about some groups.
Dr. Chawetsan Namwat, Medical Epidemiologist at Bureau of Epidemiology of the DDC, said make-up artists should exercise caution to reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection.
Most of the new cases were found through proactive search and screening in communities and establishments, he said.
The Ministry of Public Health has continuously accelerated the monitoring of intensive search and screening, he said.
In the case of Covid 19 infection among actors and journalists, if they are concerned about high-risk or low-risk contacts, the best prevention tool is to download a “MorChana” app that will help assess individual risk as high or low risk to facilitate investigation, disease prevention and control, he added.
The most important thing is that everyone takes self-protection measures, such as by social distancing, washing hands, wearing masks and having a bath when they return from their workplace to prevent the introduction of the virus to the people in the house. In particular, the elderly may be at risk of infection and even death, he said.
He urged make-up artists on TV station sets, who work in close contact with others, to protect themselves from Covid-19 by wearing a mask at all times. If possible, they should be provided a well-ventilated work area, they should frequently wash their hands and separate the make-up kit since outbreaks of conjunctivitis have been found from using devices together. Tools should be cleaned after every use.
“I suggest that if they are very close to each other, talking without wearing a mask, and staying in a closed facility for more than 15 minutes, they are a high-risk group,” said Dr Chawetsan.
Air pollution in 33 districts around Bangkok hit unsafe levels on Sunday morning with PM2.5 readings of 39 to 72 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3), the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Air Quality and Noise Management Division reported.
Thailand’s standard for safe levels of PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter) is 50μg/m3.
The 33 districts where air pollution hit unsafe levels were:
In Bangkok: Bueng Kum (72μg/m3), Nong Chok (72μg/m3), Bang Kapi (67μg/m3), Lat Krabang (66μg/m3), Don Muang (64μg/m3), Prawet (63μg/m3), Bang Khen (63μg/m3), Thawi Watthana (62μg/m3), Klong Toei (62μg/m3), Lak Si (61μg/m3), Bangkok Yai (60μg/m3), Minburi (60μg/m3), Wang Thonglang (60μg/m3), Yannawa (59μg/m3), Bangkok Noi (58μg/m3), Taling Chan (58μg/m3), Phra Nakhon (58μg/m3), Bangna (57μg/m3), Chatuchak (57μg/m3), Khlong San (56μg/m3), Bang Sue (56μg/m3), Phasi Charoen (55μg/m3), Khlong Sam Wa (54μg/m3), Khan Na Yao (54μg/m3), Samphanthawong (54μg/m3), Suan Luang (54μg/m3), Bang Bon (53μg/m3), Pathumwan (53μg/m3), Phya Thai (53μg/m3), Lat Phrao (52μg/m3), Dusit (51μg/m3), Chom Thong (51μg/m3) and Bang Phlat (51μg/m3).
Air quality also is at unhealthy levels in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakarn, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Chiang Mai, Nan, Lampang, Phrae, Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Tak, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phetchabun, Uthai Thani, Lopburi, Saraburi, Suphan Buri, Ayutthaya, Prachinburi, Chachoengsao, Chonburi, Rayong, Nong Khai, Khon Kaen, Chaiyaphum and Nakhon Ratchasima provinces.
PM2.5 readings in different regions:
North: 34 to 79 μg/m3.
Northeast: 36 to 72 μg/m3.
Central and West: 34 to 86μg/m3.
East: 32 to 58μg/m3.
South: 9 to 33μg/m3.
People in areas where PM2.5 pollution is bad have been advised to monitor their health and reduce time spent on outdoor activities, especially the elderly, children, and patients with respiratory diseases.
Rare Siamese crocodile spotted in Phetchaburi River
NationalJan 24. 2021Photo credit: Kaeng Krachan National Park
By The Nation
Pictures of a rarely seen Siamese crocodile have been snapped by Kaeng Krachan National Park’s camera traps at the Phetchaburi River upstream, near the Ban Pong Luek and Ban Bang Kloi communities on Saturday.
Kaeng Krachan National Park chief Mana Permpool said the park’s effort has paid off. He vowed that they would continue their mission to conserve forests for wild animals.
Photo Credit: Kaeng Krachan National Park
According to Wikipedia, the Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia, Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the past, this species of crocodile could be found in water resources throughout Thailand, especially in the Bueng Boraphet swamp in Nakhon Sawan province where up to 200 crocodiles had reportedly been discovered.
Photo credit: Kaeng Krachan National Park
This crocodile is classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List,and is listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
A weak high-pressure system covers the upper Northeast and South China Sea, raising the temperature by 1-3 degrees Celsius in upper Thailand.
The weather remains cool to cold with morning fog and isolated thick patches, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Sunday.
Mountaintops have cold to very cold weather. All transport should move with caution due to poor visibility.
Meanwhile, a weak northeast monsoon prevails over the Gulf and the South.
The 24-hour weather forecast for different regions:
North: Cool to cold with morning fog and isolated thick patches; 1-2°C rise in temperature over the lower part; minimum temperature 14-18°C, maximum 31-35°C; cold to very cold on mountaintop with frost and minimum temperature 6-13°C; westerly winds 8-15kph.
Northeast: Cool to cold with morning fog and isolated thick patches; 1-2°C rise in temperature; minimum temperature 13-20°C, maximum 31-33°C; cold to very cold on the mountaintop with minimum temperature 7-12°C; northeasterly winds 10-15kph.
Central: Cool with morning fog and isolated thick patches; 1-3°C rise in temperature; minimum temperature 19-21°C, maximum 33-34°C; northeasterly winds 10-15kph.
East: Cool with morning fog and isolated thick patches; 1-2°C rise in temperature; minimum temperature 21-23°C, maximum 31-35°C; northeasterly winds 15-25kph; waves less than a metre high and about a metre offshore.
A motorway bridge under construction in Nakhon Ratchasima province collapsed on Saturday afternoon, injuring at least 12 people.
The construction work site was located in Muang district and is a part of highway number 290. Most of the injured people were reportedly Myanmar labourers working at the construction site.
Investigation into the cause of the accident revealed that the scaffoldings were old, and they collapsed as they could not bear the weight of cement.
Phuket Governor Narong Woonsiew said on Friday that the provincial communicable disease committee had approved relaxation of lockdown measures as no new cases had been reported in the province for 29 days since the new wave of Covid-19.
“Travellers from other provinces will not have to get their ID cards scanned before entering Phuket, but they still need to undergo thermo-scanning, checking in via MorChana application and pre-registering at the website www.gophuget.com before entering the province either by land, air, or sea channels,” he said.
“People from 28 provinces declared as red zone by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration due to the high number of infections, will not need to undergo mandatory 14-day quarantine before entering Phuket,” he added.
“However, those travelling from provinces in dark-red zones, namely Samut Sakhon, Rayong, Chonburi, Trad and Chanthaburi, where the number of infections is very high, would need to enter mandatory quarantine.”
The governor added that the easing of lockdown measures was aimed at helping boost Phuket’s economy which relies mostly on tourism.
“As the Chinese New Year festival [starting February 12] is drawing near, we hope to regain some of the tourists to help hotel entrepreneurs and those in related industries get back on their feet,” he said.
Other disease prevention measures announced by the Ministry of Public Health would still be strictly enforced in the province, the governor added.
Since the new outbreak was reported in Thailand in December, Phuket has found only three confirmed cases in the province — from a family who had visited a big-bike festival on Koh Lanta in Krabi province on December 11. All patients had been treated, cured of Covid-19 and been discharged.
The alleged murderer of a seven-year-old boy in Chiang Rai province was arrested at midnight and he has reportedly confessed to killing the boy because he could not tolerate his mischief.
Hunt for the suspect had begun the previous Saturday, when the boy, Thanachot Pangruean, went missing from his house. The following day his dead body was found with a hoe and two large pieces of wood nearby.
The alleged murderer was identified as Sinchai Kasetsophaphan, aged around 30. The suspect, who lived with his brother, had left the house on Monday. The house of the victim is around 150 metres from the house of the suspect’s brother.
On Friday night, locals saw him returning to the village he had left, so they alerted police.
At Wiang Chiang Rung Police Station, Sinchai confessed that he had killed the boy to avenge his naughty behaviour.
The man said that Thanachot had annoyed him several times. The boy had allegedly torn his mattress, broken his toy cars, and even eaten his dragon fruit.
On January 16, he said he had asked the boy to shoot birds with a catapult. However, Thanachot was unskilled and shot him.
In rage, Sinchai asked the boy to stand still. He found a hoe and pieces of wood nearby, and using them he killed the boy.
There were 198 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, and one death, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported on Saturday.
CCSA assistant spokesperson Dr Panprapa Yongtrakul said that of the new cases, 69 were normal ones, while 111 were found by proactive testing and 18 cases were in quarantine facilities.
There were 56 cases in Samut Sakhon province, 5 each in Bangkok and Samut Songkhram, and one in each Ang Thong, Samut Prakarn and Rayong.
Of the 111 patients found from proactive testing, 107 were in Samut Sakhon and 4 in Bangkok.
Of the 18 overseas travellers who tested positive in quarantine, 12 were Thais — one each coming from India, Switzerland and the UAE, 5 from the UK and 4 from Bahrain.
The six foreigners included an Italian, an American, a Russian and an Egyptian coming from their respective countries, and two Americans coming from the UAE and Sweden.
As of Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 13,302. Of these, 10,945 infections had been contracted domestically, including 4,495 who were found via proactive testing, while 2,357 were returnees.
So far, 10,446 have fully recovered – 6,508 from the second outbreak. A total of 2,557 patients are still in hospital while the death toll increased to 72.
According to Panprapa, an 81-year-old man had died in Phichit province after he had contracted the disease from his son who had returned from Samut Sakhon last month. The cause of death was complications caused by the disease and his age.
According to Worldometer, as of midnight on Thursday, the number of confirmed cases globally since the outbreak had risen to 98.74 million (up by 652,952), 70.91 million have recovered, and 2.11 million have died (up by 15,953).
Thailand ranks 128th on the global list of most cases. The US tops the list with 25.39 million, followed by India 10.64 million, Brazil 8.75 million, Russia 3.67 million and the United Kingdom 3.58 million.
Prayut Chan-o-cha
Photo credit: Kaeng Krachan National Park
Photo credit: Hook 31
