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One shot person will curb Covid-19 more efficiently, advises lung expert

NationalJan 13. 2021Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs

By The Nation

Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs, a respiratory and critical care specialist at Bangkok’s Vichaiyut Hospital, is advising the government to administer one dose of Covid-19 vaccine to members of the public and migrant workers because the supply of the vaccines will not be able to meet the global demand.

He said Thailand has ordered 63 million doses, which will cover slightly over 30 million people at the rate of two doses per person.

Of the 63 million vaccines, 2 million doses will come from China’s Sinovac and 61 million from AstraZeneca.

“I advise the government to administer one dose each to people in Thailand, including migrant workers. That way we will have enough vaccines available to deliver two doses to medical personnel and people in the vulnerable group,” he said.

For instance, he added, a study in Chicago showed that Pfizer’s vaccine boosts immunity against Covid-19 in 14 days, so people can afford to wait for a year for a second dose of the vaccine.

“I think inoculating more people with one dose will help curb the spread of Covid-19 better than delivering two doses to more than 30 million people this year and leaving the rest of the population to wait until next year,” he added.

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Military forced to move Pattani command centre as floods swamp temple

NationalJan 13. 2021

By THE NATION

Pattani’s 25th Special Infantry 15323 company, which had set up a command centre at Santikaram Temple in Muang district’s Pakaharang subdistrict, had to quickly move their tents and redeploy on the road temporarily after 1-metre-high flood waters engulfed the temple situated in a low-lying basin.

The command centre had been set up on January 6 to monitor the flood situation and provide assistance to affected villagers.

The flood was the result of water being released from the Bang Lang Dam in Yala province earlier this month.

As the temple became completely inundated, soldiers had to use a boat to transport food to the only two monks still residing in the temple’s two-storey building.

So far nearly 10,000 people in seven districts, 16 subdistricts and 101 villages in Pattani have been reportedly affected by the flood.

Officials estimate that it would take at least one month for the flood in Pattani to subside.

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Sa Kaeo’s Wang Nam Yen municipality has Bt20 million ready for vaccine

NationalJan 13. 2021Wanchai Nareerak

By THE NATION

Wang Nam Yen municipality in Sa Kaeo province aims to invest Bt20 million to purchase a Covid-19 vaccine for its residents.

Wang Nam Yen mayor Wanchai Nareerak said the vaccine would help the locals lead a normal life, and his municipality had readied Bt20 million for the purpose.

“I expect the government to agree to our project guaranteed by the law as this is an urgent issue caused by a fatal disease,” he added.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha stated that local authorities are allowed to purchase vaccines by themselves.

“It is their right to do so, but the vaccines they purchase must pass a standard set by the Food and Drug Administration,” he added.

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157 new Covid-19 cases confirmed, including 21 Thais who sneaked back into country

NationalJan 13. 2021

By The Nation

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Wednesday reported 157 new cases, including 25 people who tested positive at border areas and in quarantine.

Of the 157, Bangkok confirmed 24 cases, Samut Sakhon 25 and Samut Prakan 15.

Some 90 of the 157 contracted the virus after visiting high-risk places or being in occupations that exposed them to virus patients.

Proactive testing led to the discovery of 42 positive cases in Samut Sakhon (six foreigners and four Thais), Pathum Thani (nine from Myanmar, three other foreigners and one Thai), Rayong (12 Thais), Chon Buri (five Thais), and Samut Prakan (one Thai and one from Myanmar).

Meanwhile, 21 Thais caught returning from Myanmar without permission on January 11 have Covid-19 with five of them are asymptomatic.

Also, two Thais who flew back from Iceland and the United States as well as a Dutch man from Germany and a man from Qatar have Covid-19.

As of Wednesday, 211 patients in the second wave have recovered and been discharged.

The number of confirmed cases in Thailand has now increased to 10,991. Of these, 8,791 contracted Covid-19 domestically, including 3,006 found after proactive testing. Some 2,200 were returnees.

So far, 6,943 patients have recovered and been discharged, 3,981 are presently being treated in hospital, and 67 have died.

According to Worldometer, as of midnight on Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases globally has risen to 92 million (an increase of 663,353 in 24 hours), 65.82 million have recovered, 24.21 million are active cases (110,135 in severe condition) and 1.97 million have died (up by 15,711).

Thailand ranks 128th on the global list of most cases. The US tops the list with 23.37 million, followed by India 10.49 million, Brazil 8.19 million, Russia 3.44 million and the United Kingdom 3.16 million.

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Alleged ‘K Nomphong’ sellers say they bought deadly drug on Facebook

NationalJan 13. 2021

By THE NATION

Three narcotics sellers, arrested from allegedly selling the deadly “K Nomphong” powder, confessed that they had purchased the powder via Facebook.

The police reportedly arrested the three on Wednesday. Two of them, aged 19 and 20, were charged at a condominium located in Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani.

The third suspect, named Rattanachot (his surname was not revealed), 21, was arrested at a village in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district.

The three arrests came after an alleged dealer named Sirikarn, 23, was nabbed on Monday in the district.

The three dealers confessed they had bought K Nomphong from a Facebook user called “High”, said to be aged around 20.

K Nomphong is a mixture of ketamine, methamphetamine, heroin and a sleeping pill called “Rose”. It is believed to be popular on the outskirts of Bangkok near Pathum Thani province.

The drug is called K Nomphong because it looks like milk powder, or “nomphong” in Thai.

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Govt plans to create 1,000 SMEs in five years with revenue exceeding Bt1 billion per year

NationalJan 13. 2021Kittipong Promwong

By THE NATION

The Education Ministry will work with the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) in setting up an innovation fund for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with the aim of creating at least 1,000 start-up SMEs with revenue exceeding Bt1 billion per year within five years.

Kittipong Promwong, director of the Office of the National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council (ONES), said the campaign would be financed by two funds.

One is the Research and Innovation Promotion Fund, from which the government has allocated Bt20 billion per year to research-based government agencies.

“This fund would be used to promote research on products that can be marketed immediately. Related research agencies will join hands with private partners to come up with these products, which will yield commercial profit as soon as the research is completed,” he said.

The other fund will be established by ONES and the FTI and will be managed by private partners.

“The innovation fund for SMEs will be replenished partly by large corporations, which the government aims to attract by granting up to 200 per cent tax exemption privileges based on their contributions to the fund,” Kittipong said.

“In addition, the government will help support the fund at a maximum Bt1 billion per year for three years.”

According to Kittipong, the innovation fund will help SMEs create marketable innovations and cooperate with large corporations to mass manufacture them for wider markets, including government procurement.

“We expect the fund to be fully operational by 2022,” he said.

Kittipong also said there are about 5,000 SMEs which earn Bt400 million-Bt500 million per year and cannot expand any further because they lack innovation and funds to upgrade existing manufacturing technologies.

“The Education Ministry will task agencies under its administration, including universities, research centres and innovation funds, to help these SMEs create innovations that will push their revenue to Bt1 billion,” he said.

“We expect to create at least 100 Bt1-billion SMEs this year and steadily improve until we achieve a target of 1,000 SMEs in five years,” he added.

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Diving paradises Kra, Losin islands to become protected areas

NationalJan 13. 2021

By The Nation

The islands of Kra and Losin in the Gulf of Thailand will become coastal marine protected areas, government deputy spokeswoman Ratchada Thanadirek said on Tuesday.

The Cabinet has approved two ministerial regulation drafts covering protection of marine animals and coral reefs at the two small islands in the gulf.

Kra island falls under the administration of Nakhon Si Thammarat province and Losin island comes under Pattani.

The drafts focus on prohibiting any individual from using sea mines, releasing waste into the sea, land reclamation or any other activity that would harm rare sea creatures or coral reef, Ratchada said.

She added that the two islands have one of the most healthy ecosystems in the Gulf of Thailand. They are well known for being the best hotspots for diving. Kra island is a vital area for rare sea creatures such as the green turtle and hawksbill turtle because this is where they lay eggs.

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The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.93 and 30.13, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, the head of the Easy Invest team at SCB Securities.

NationalJan 13. 2021

By THE NATION

The baht opened at 30.04 to the US dollar on Wednesday, strengthening from 30.10 at close on Tuesday.

On Tuesday night, the S&P 500 and Stoxx 600 indexes rose only 0.04 per cent, supported by bank and energy stocks.
At the same time, investors did not rush to sell stocks that benefit from Covid-19 policies. Most investors did not move, waiting to see in which direction US politics was headed, Jitipol said.

The gold price meanwhile rose to $1,858 (Bt55,903) per ounce after the dollar index dropped by 0.47 per cent to 90 points. The yen strengthened to lower than $104, reflecting the fact that investors were still confident in Asian markets despite the Covid-19 situation.

The US Ten-Year Treasury yield stayed at 1.15 per cent.

In Thailand, foreign investors decided to buy Thai stocks after China’s CSI 300 index rose by 2.85 per cent yesterday, Jitipol said.

He added that there would be more investment in Asian markets if returns were better than their western counterparts, and this would be to the baht’s advantage.

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Driving licence renewal rules relaxed

NationalJan 13. 2021

By THE NATION

Those who need to renew their driver’s licence will not be required to undergo written or driving tests for now in a bid to curb Covid-19 from spreading, the Department of Land Transport announced on its Facebook page @PR.DLT.News on Tuesday.

The tests have been cancelled for people whose licence has expired as per the following:

> The holder of a licence that has expired more than a year ago but not exceeding three years to the dates between January 4 and March 31, 2021, will not be required to take a written test. However, they will need to pass a physical checkup and classroom training.

> The holder of a licence that has expired for more than three years to the dates between January 4 and March 31, 2021, will not be required to take a driving test. However, they will need to pass a physical checkup, classroom training and a written test.

The department will also accept required documents (a doctor’s certificate, classroom training certificate) that have recently expired to be usable when renewing a licence until March 31.

It has informed the Royal Thai Police that holders of expired licences can still use these for identification when required by police until March 31.

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Bangkok surveys areas to set up more field hospitals with up to 1,700 beds

NationalJan 13. 2021

By THE NATION

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is converting the Bangkhuntian Geriatric Hospital into a field hospital for quarantine and Covid-19 treatment, with a capacity of up to 600 beds, Bangkok Deputy Governor Pol Lt-General Sophon Phisutthiwong said on Tuesday, adding that the BMA aims to set up more field hospitals.

“We are surveying other areas to set up 3-4 more field hospitals, with an estimated capacity of 1,700 beds,” he said after a key meeting. “Officials are in talks with local communities to ensure mutual understanding.”

The meeting also acknowledged 32 new Covid-19 patients in Bangkok on Tuesday, most of whom travelled to high-risk provinces such as Samut Sakhon, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, and urged officials working at eight checkpoints across the province to maintain strict screening procedures for travellers coming from other provinces.

The eight checkpoints are:

– Phutthamonthon Sai 3 intersection, Borommaratchachonnani Road, Thawi Watthana district.

– In front of Asia University, Phetkasem Road, Nong Khaem district.

– In front of PTT gas station, Rama II Road Soi 92, Bangkhuntian district.

– In front of Suksa Naree Wittaya School, Ekachai Road, Bang Bon district.

– Warehouse Gate 8, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Don Muang district.

– Intersection under Maha Nakhon Expressway, Suwintawong Road, Nong Jok district.

– In front of Je Ngor Restaurant, Bang Na-Trat Road.

– In front of PTT gas station, Kanchanapisek Road, Talingchan district.