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Four found positive in quarantine facilities and one at the airport

NationalOct 25. 2020

By The Nation

The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported five new Covid-19 cases over a 24-hour period on Sunday.

A 52-year-old Thai woman who had returned from the United Kingdom on October 29 tested positive at the state quarantine facility in Chonburi on October 22.

Two asymptomatic Thai women — a 36-year-old convenience store employee and a 38-year-old masseuse — returned from Bahrain on October 18. They tested positive at the Chonburi state quarantine facility on October 22.

A 60-year-old French female tourist arrived on October 22 and tested positive the same day at the alternative state quarantine hotel in Bangkok. A 40-year-old Thai woman, who had returned from the United Arab Emirates on October 23, tested positive the same day at a screening checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport after showing symptoms of coughing and sore throat.

Meanwhile, one patient has recovered and been discharged.

The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand increased to 3,736 (788 in state quarantine), 147 are in hospital and 3,539 have recovered and been discharged while 59 people have died.

According to Worldometer, as of 10am on Sunday, the total number of confirmed cases increased to 42.9 million (up by 452,886), 31.6 million have recovered, while 10.11 million are active cases ( 77,195 in serious condition) and 1.15 million have died (up by 5,598).

Thailand ranks 146th for most cases in the world, while the US has the most number with 8.82 million, followed by India 7.86 million, Brazil 5.38 million, Russia 1.49 million and Spain 1.11 million.

Related Story:

‘People must brace for new-normal lifestyle for at least two years before Covid-19 is contained’

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Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee dies at 78

NationalOct 25. 2020Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee Photo credit: Korea Herald 

By Korea Herald

Lee Kun-hee, chairman of South Korea’s top conglomerate, Samsung Electronics, died Sunday after being hospitalized for six years

.He was 78.

Born in 1942, Lee had led Samsung Group since 1987, following in the footsteps of his father, Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull.

Lee Kun-hee collapsed due to a heart attack in May 2014 and remained hospitalized since then.

He is survived by a son, Lee Jae-yong, and by daughters Lee Bu-jin and Lee Seo-hyun. 

Samsung Electronics’ press office released the following statement:

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Kun-Hee Lee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics. Chairman Lee passed away on October 25 with his family, including Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee, by his side.

“Chairman Lee was a true visionary who transformed Samsung into the world-leading innovator and industrial powerhouse from a local business.

“His 1993 declaration of ‘New Management’ was the motivating driver of the company’s vision to deliver the best technology to help advance global society.

“All of us at Samsung will cherish his memory and are grateful for the journey we shared with him.

“Our deepest sympathies are with his family, relatives and those nearest. His legacy will be everlasting.”

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‘People must brace for new-normal lifestyle for at least two years before Covid-19 is contained’

NationalOct 25. 2020Dr Yong Poovorawan, a specialist in virology at Chulalongkorn University. 

By The Nation

The Covid-19 pandemic may take about two years to slow down, after a large number of people become infected and become immune to the disease and around 60 per cent of world population receive a vaccine, a medical expert said on Sunday.

Dr Yong Poovorawan, a specialist in virology at Chulalongkorn University, said the “new normal lifestyle” is needed for at least two years until the population has been immunised to levels that are higher than the herd immunity figure.

Speaking of achieving herd immunity, he said when the majority of people become immune to Covid-19, either through infection and recovery or enough vaccination, then the disease will not spread.

Giving an analogy, he said: “It is like a person who has immunity is a white sheep, and a person without immunity is a black sheep. If there are mostly white sheep in the herd, germs or dangers that could befall the black sheep would be kept at bay because the white sheep surrounding it would make it difficult for the invaders,” said Dr Yong.

As for Covid-19, it is estimated that 60 per cent or more of the group should have immunity, or immunity should be acquired by vaccination of at least 60 per cent of the population, then the virus can be contained, but that does not mean it has been eradicated, he cautioned.

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THAI flies home over 1,100 people last week

NationalOct 25. 2020

By The Nation

Thai Airways International (THAI) has flown 1,171 Thais home from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Philippines and Taiwan from October 18 to 23, the airline revealed.

Squadron Leader Anirut Saengrit, director of the airline’s Operations Control Centre, said THAI’s flights were run in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Royal Thai Embassy in London, Canberra, Wellington, Manila and Berlin, the consulate-general in Sydney, Hong Kong, and Thailand Trade and Economic Office (Taipei), organising seven special flights:

Flight TG917 brought 268 Thais back from London on October 18, arriving in Bangkok at 2.50pm on October 19.

Flight TG476 brought 98 Thais back from Sydney on October 19, landing in Bangkok at 4pm.

Flight TG925 brought 275 Thais back from Munich on October 20, arriving in Bangkok at 11.35am on October 21.

Flight TG639 brought 176 Thais back from Hong Kong on October 21, landing in Bangkok at 8.35pm.

Flight TG492 brought 108 Thais back from Oakland on October 22, arriving in Bangkok at 8pm.

Flight TG625 brought 48 Thais back from Manila on October 22, arriving in Bangkok at 9.45pm.

Flight TG633 brought 198 Thais back from Taipei on October 23, arriving in Bangkok at 4.45pm.

The airline also delivered cargo on these roundtrip flights.

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Bangkok’s air quality 16th worst among world cities

NationalOct 25. 2020

By The Nation

The Air Visual application reported on Sunday that Bangkok’s air pollution level according to the US Air Quality Index (AQI) standard stood at 108, with the level of particulate matter less than 2.5 micrograms in diameter (PM2.5) at 38mcg per cubic metre (µg/m3), placing it at 16th on the list of cities with the worst air in the world.

AQI is a standard that indicates the quality of air and level of pollution. Level 0-50 means good air quality, 51-100 is moderate quality, 101-105 will start affecting sensitive groups, 151-200 is slightly harmful to health, 201-300 is highly harmful and 301-500 is extremely dangerous.

Meanwhile, the Pollution Control Department reported that air quality in Bangkok and its perimeter is currently fluctuating between very good to moderate with PM2.5 at around 20-42 µg/m3 detected by 71 air quality stations.

The Thai safety limit for PM2.5 is 50mcg per cubic metre of air while the safety limit for AQI is 100. As of Sunday, the five cities with the worst air quality were: 1. Lahore, Pakistan 317; 2. Delhi, India 195; 3. Karachi, Pakistan 169; 4. Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 163; 5. Chengdu, China 158.

The cities with the best air quality were: 1. Tashkent, Uzbekistan 1; 2. Melbourne, Australia; 3. Sydney, Australia 6; 4. Canberra, Australia 6; 5. London, United Kingdom 7.

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Appeal Court rejects bail plea of three pro-democracy protesters

NationalOct 25. 2020

By The Nation

The Appeal Court on Saturday upheld the lower court’s decision to deny bail to three leaders of the pro-democracy protests — Panupong “Mike” Jadnok, Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak.

They face various charges, including of inciting unrest related to their roles in the rally on September 19 at Thammasat University, Tha Prachan campus in Bangkok.

The court ruled that their alleged offences could bring damage, trigger unrest and have a wider impact. They were also alleged to have committed similar offences at many events. The court said their behaviour raised doubts that if they were granted bail, they could cause other damage and might attempt to flee.

Panupong and Parit aree being detained at the Bangkok Remand Prison, while Panusaya is at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district.

Panupong was taken on October 19 to the Bangkok Criminal Court to be detained for 12 days for alleged sedition and allegedly altering a historic site. The sedition charge was related to his participation in the September 19 protest.

The second charge related to his role in installing the 2020 coup memorial plaque in Sanam Luang on September 20. The case was filed by the Fine Arts Department.

Panusaya was arrested on the morning of October 15 on charges of sedition and illegal gathering among others in relation to her role in the September 19 rally in Sanam Luang.

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No casualties as four-storey building in Nakhon Ratchasima catches fire

NationalOct 24. 2020

By THE NATION

An apartment in Nakhon Ratchasima province caught fire early on Saturday, but there were no casualties, police said.

At 3.45am, Sawang Mettathammasathan rescue team was informed that “Saeng Tawan Apartment” in Muang district was on fire. The four-storey apartment had 52 rooms and 35 residents.

A fire alarm alerted residents but they said they could not find an exit due to the smoke that spread in the building. So, they decided to climb to the fourth floor and gathered on the balcony to shout for help.

Five fire engines were sent by the local government to put out the fire. The rescue team approached the building from a narrow alley to help the trapped residents.

Twenty-one residents were admitted to hospital after choking in smoke.

An inspection pointed out that the fire originated from a room where the control panels of electricity and TV cables were situated. Initially, this incident was caused by a short circuit.

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French tourist among four new Covid-19 cases

NationalOct 24. 2020

By THE NATION

There were four new Covid-19 cases over a 24-hour period, including three cases in state quarantine and a domestic infection, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said on Saturday.

Of the three returnees, one patient, aged 38, had arrived from Austria and two, aged 26 and 38, had returned from Hong Kong. All the Thai nationals were female.

The domestic case was a 57-year-old French tourist, who visited Koh Samui in Surat Thani province with her husband and son.

Koh Samui Hospital showed a positive result on October 21, and the result was again confirmed by the Regional Medical Sciences Centre 11 in Surat Thani on October 22.

However, her husband and son have tested negative. Further information on the French tourist can be checked here.

As of Saturday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand increased to 3,731 (783 in state quarantine), 143 are in hospital, 3,529 have recovered and been discharged and 59 have died.

According to Worldometer, as of 9am on Friday, the number of confirmed global cases had risen to 42.46 million, 31.42 million have recovered, 76,477 are in serious condition and 1.14 million have died.

Thailand ranks 146th for most cases in the world.

The US has the most number, with 8.74 million, followed by India (7.81 million), Brazil (5.35 million), Russia (1.48 million) and Spain (1.11 million).

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Government urged to increase shopping subsidy to Bt500 per day to boost consumption

NationalOct 24. 2020Somchai Pornrattanacharoen 

By THE NATION

Government subsidy in the “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) campaign should be raised from Bt150 to Bt500 per day to attract spenders, since the campaign has seen only 7 million registrants against the 10 million allowed, Somchai Pornrattanacharoen, president of the Thai Wholesale and Retail Trade Association said.

The three-month economic stimulus package started on October 16 in a bid to stimulate domestic consumption. Under the Kon La Khreung scheme, 10 million people were to get daily discounts on their shopping of up to Bt150, capped at Bt3,000. Merchants must register through the website http://www.คนละครึ่ง.com from October 1.

“Statistics from the Ministry of Finance reveal that so far registrants under the scheme have spent roughly Bt60 million, which is lower than our estimates,” he said. “The reason could be that the Bt150 daily discount is not attractive enough and probably not worth the expense of the trip to the shops.”

Somchai proposed that the government increase the daily discount to Bt500 to attract more spenders.

“Moreover, some shop owners who are not well-versed in technology might miss their chance to participate in the programme, which requires online registration,” added Somchai.

Meanwhile, Pornchai Theeravet, adviser on financial economics at the Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office, added that so far there were approximately 317,000 merchants registered under the campaign, of whom 50,000 were street vendors.

“The Finance Ministry has sought cooperation from the Ministry of Interior who would order village headmen and district chiefs to invite local merchants to join the campaign,” he said.

“We need to put the word out that registering in the campaign will not lead to merchants being audited on their tax payment history, therefore there is no need to worry.”

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Rubber sees big rebound as glove exports soar due to Covid-19 outbreak

NationalOct 24. 2020

By THE NATION

Export of Thai rubber gloves in September increased 154.9 per cent compared to the same period last year, while exports in the first nine months of 2020 expanded 61.4 per cent year on year, thanks to skyrocketing demand due to Covid-19, a source from Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

The source also added that several foreign customers chose Thai glove manufacturers over Chinese ones, as they still have safety concerns regarding importing goods from China.

“The ministry has been working with foreign partners to find business matches for Thai manufacturers. So far, 69 business matches have been secured,” added the source.

According to the source, export of all rubber products in September totalled 200,173 tonnes, valued at US$250 million (Bt7.8 billion), down 8.2 per cent year on year, while exports in the first nine months totalled 1,895,328 tonnes valued at $2.36 billion, down 12.2 per cent year on year.

Meanwhile, the Rubber Authority of Thailand (RAOT) reported on Friday that as of October 22 the price of grade 3 smoked sheet rubber was Bt64.97 per kg and continued to rise.

“The average rubber price in November could rise to Bt70.7 per kg in the Bangkok market and Bt70.4 per kg in the Songkhla market,” said the authority, explaining that China predicts its GDP expansion at 4.9 per cent and it prefers to import rubber from Thailand.

“Furthermore, some neighbouring countries that also produce rubber have been suffering from natural disasters in the past month, while Thailand’s southern region is also suffering from frequent rains and labour shortage during the outbreak, which will result in lower rubber output and hike the prices,” it added.