The Criminal Court announced on Friday (September 4) that the 150 officials who came in contact with the Covid-19 patient at the Central Special Correctional Institution had no sign of the virus.
A court official explained that the prisoner being detained over drug charges had shown up in court to hear the verdict on August 26 and had been isolated before being sent to the Central Special Correctional Institution, where he tested positive for Covid-19 on September 2.
“Initially, the court found and separated officials the patient had come in contact with and had them tested for Covid-19,” the official said. “So far, 150 officials who had come in contact with the new patient have tested negative.”
The official added that the Criminal Court is strictly following measures to curb the spread of the disease under the Public Health Ministry’s guidelines, such as ensuring everyone wears a face mask, every visitor’s temperature is checked, people regularly clean their hands with alcohol gel and maintain distancing.
“We have also applied a touchless lift technology to reduce the risk of infection,” he added.
Nonthaburi Governor Sujin Chaichumsak has ordered the closure of the “Sam Wan Song Kuen” (three days, two nights) restaurant on Rama V Road for three days after it became known that a man, who has tested positive for Covid-19, used to work there.
The man is currently in detention over drug charges in the Central Special Correctional Institution.
He worked at two branches of the restaurant from August 12-25.
The governor held an urgent meeting with the province’s contagion disease control centre officials on Friday as the new Covid-19 patient previously lived in a condo in Bangkok’s Bang Mod area and worked as a DJ in the Rama III and Rama V areas before being caught.
“To contain the spread of Covid-19, which can cost people their health, lives and properties, we have ordered closure of the restaurant from September 4 to 6,” he said.
The meeting also ordered employees in the restaurant to undergo 14 days state quarantine, while ordering employees’ families and relatives to undergo self-quarantine in their houses.
“Customers who used service at the restaurant from August 20 must monitor their symptoms. If they have any doubts, they must take a Covid-19 test at Bang Kruai 2 Hospital immediately,” he added.
The first domestic case was a prisoneraged 37. This man lived in a condo in Bangkok’s Bang Mod area and worked as a DJ in Rama III and Rama V areas before being caught.
As of Friday, total patients were 3,431 since the outbreak, of whom 3,277 have recovered while 96 patients are in hospitals. The death toll remains at 58.
Globally, as of 9am on Friday, the number of confirmed cases since the outbreak has passed 26.4 million. Of these, 18.6 million have recovered, 60,749 are in severe condition and 873,108 have died
Thailand ranks 121st for most cases in the world. The US has the highest number of infections with 6.33 million, followed by Brazil (4.04 million), India (3.93 million), Russia (1 million) and Peru (670,145).
A condominium building, in which a man who has tested positive for Covid-19 lived, has started implementing more strict measures to screen visitors since Friday (September 4).
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) confirmed on Thursday that a 37-year-old man being detained on drug charges had tested positive for Covid-19.
This is the first locally transmitted Covid-19 case in Thailand in over 100 days.
According to an investigation, the man lived in the condominium and worked as a DJ in the Rama III and Rama V areas before he was arrested. He has no record of travelling to any foreign country.
On Friday morning, Nation reporters visited the condominium building and saw the guards strictly check each visitor. They asked all visitors to identify themselves before visiting or leaving the place.
Moreover, every local living around the condo wore face mask, the reporter added.
The timeline of this prisoner can be checked here.
Kasikornbank has forecast that the baht would move between 31.10 and 31.50 per US dollar next week (September 7 to 11).
The important factors to affect the currency include Thailand’s political situation, Covid-19 in Thailand and other countries, and the situation between the US and China.
Also, US economic numbers to be announced next week include the price indexes of manufacturers and consumers for August, and the initial jobless claim. The market is waiting results from the European Central Bank, as well as economic information of China in August.
The baht on Thursday closed at 31.45 per US dollar, weakening from Wednesday’s close of 31.22.
A video recorded by a CCTV camera showed that a street sweeper was assaulted by a man in a black jacket during the royalist rally at Bangkok’s Dindaeng Thai-Japanese Stadium.
On Sunday (August 30), the street sweeper named Sukhon Puttan, 60, was attacked by a passer-by, who knocked him down to the ground.
It was speculated that a guard of the Thai Pakdee royalist group may have attacked Sukhon, as had worn red and was thought to belong to the anti-coup red-shirt movement.
However, the CCTV footage showed that he was not assaulted by the guards. The video (at 1:40), shows a man in a black jacket throw the sweeper to the ground and walk away, while a man in a yellow shirt, who could be a royalist, comes to the sweeper’s aid.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha held discussions at Government House with businessmen and entrepreneurs involved in the property sector on ways to drive the country’s economy.
The prime minister and Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow met Pornnaris Chuanchaisit, president of the Thai Real Estate Association, and representatives from Home Builder Association, Supalai, Sansiri, AP (Thailand), Land and Houses, Pruksa Holding and Goldenland Residence.
Supattanapong said they had proposed various ideas and confirmed that customers, both domestic and overseas, still have purchasing power and there was still demand for properties in Thailand.
“This is an opportunity for the government to support the business,” he said. “They offered opinions on various issues such as loans for buying properties, the loan to value measure, tax support and town planning that the government needs to study in detail later.”
He added that the government would propose to the Centre for Economic Situation Administration, within two weeks, packages to encourage people to buy residences.
“The government will use comments from the property sector to help revive the country’s economy,” he added.
In a suspected case of murder, police have found the dead body of a man in a drainage ditch in Nakhon Si Thammarat province on Wednesday (September 2).
Officers from Chamao Police Station in Tharua subdistrict, Muang district, found the body of the man aged around 30-35 years, wearing a green-black sport shirt and black-orange shorts. He was handcuffed at the back and he had a gunshot wound at the back of his head. The man also had tattoos all over his back.
Forensic experts estimated that the man had been dead for at least three days, and that he had been shot at point-blank range.
Officials have not been able to find his identity. They also speculated that he was possibly handcuffed and shot somewhere else before the perpetrators, suspected to be more than two persons, carried his body here in a car and dumped it in the ditch.
The man’s body was sent to a hospital for detailed autopsy to determine the cause of death while officials are gathering evidence to identify the dead man and track down the perpetrators.
The Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) will work with the Port Authority of Thailand (PAT) in a Bt1.6-billion project to connect Bangkok Port with Bangna-Artnarong Expressway to reduce traffic congestion.
Exat governor Surachet Laophulsuk said that the authority had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Port Authority of Thailand to build a connecting road between Bangkok Port and Bangna-Artnarong Expressway (S1 route), a distance of 1.8km.
“The project is expected to reduce traffic congestion on Artnarong Road, the entrance to Bangkok Port, and the connecting road network,” he said. “The construction will be carried out on Exat’s land therefore no land expropriation is required. However, the construction might affect the environment of surrounding communities.”
Surachet further added that Exat had held two public hearings to address concerns that the affected communities might have, and will hold a third one in November. “Exat will make sure that all community members are protected or properly compensated in case they are affected by the construction,” he said.
“After the third hearing, it is expected to take around one year to design the project in detail and receive approval from the board of directors. Construction should start in January 2023 and will take around two years, which means the connecting road will be open for public use in 2025.
“The project has an estimated budget of Bt1.6 billion and will be jointly responsible by EXAT and PAT at 50:50. It is expected to help move around 15,000 vehicles per day from Artnarong Road, 7,000 of which are trucks, through the four-lane roads [two lanes per each direction],” he added. “It will also comprise connecting ramps that direct the traffic to Burapha Withi Expressway and Chalong Rat Expressway.”
Thai authorities said they were closely tracking the travel and physical contact history of a 37-year-old man being detained over drug charges after he tested positive for Covid-19.
It is the first locally transmitted Covid-19 case in Thailand in 101 days.
After the Department of Disease Control (DDC) confirmed on Thursday about the prisoner testing positive, Dr Walairat Chaifu, director of the Epidemiology Division at the DDC, said that her division had received the report on this prisoner on September 2 and had performed laboratory tests at two institutes to confirm the result.
“The DDC together with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Health Office and the Department of Corrections has investigated the timeline of the prisoner’s symptoms and travel history,” she said. “On September 2, we collected a sample from the prisoner’s nasal cavity and found the virus, so we traced back 14 days to August 29 and found that he had displayed symptoms of phlegm.”
The man lived in a condo in Bangkok’s Bang Mod area and worked as a DJ in Rama III and Rama V areas before he was arrested. He has no record of travelling to any foreign country.
“He had come in contact with five relatives, two of whom are living upcountry. We expect to call them back by September 4,” she added. “During August 12-25, he had been working at two branches of “3 Days 2 Nights” pub in Rama III (on Monday, Thursday and Saturday) and Rama V (Friday and Sunday). On August 18, he worked at the First Café on Khaosan Road.”
Walairat added that officials are investigating those who have come in contact with the man at his workplaces. “Those who have visited these establishments during these dates while wearing a face masks and did not make direct contact with the man should have low risk of infection,” she said. “However, we advise them to monitor their symptoms closely. If you display symptoms such as fever, coughing, sore throat, loss of ability to smell and sense of taste, please contact the DDC or local hospitals to get tested.”
The three establishments were ordered shut for three days for cleaning and disinfection.
“On August 26, the man drove his car to Ratchada Court and then was was transported to the Central Special Correctional Institution in Bangkok. There were 20 people who had come in contact with him and are at high risk of infection, including 15 prisoners in the same bus, two prison guards, two prisoners who were on trial in the same case, and one lawyer,” said Walairat.
“On August 29, the man was sent to a detention cell, awaiting entry into the general population area of the prison,” she said. “There were 34 prisoners who were in the same cell and two other prisoners who are volunteering as caretakers of new prisoners who might have come in contact with him.”
Dr Weerakit Hanparipan, Department of Corrections deputy director, said that the man is the second case of Covid-19 found in the Central Special Correctional Institution, which has around 8,000 inmates.
“The department has strictly followed the procedures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 by separating new inmates for 14 days before letting them into the general population area,” he said.
“After we tested the man and found that he was Covid-19 positive, we sent him and all 34 cell mates to the department’s hospital immediately and placed each of them in quarantine. The two prisoner caretakers did not enter the cell of the man and therefore carry low risk of infection. The rest 8,000 inmates also have no risk of infection from the man.”
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