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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016125

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Pubs, nightclubs and other entertainment venues will be allowed to reopen in 31 provinces from Wednesday (June 1), as Thailand prepares to declare Covid-19 an endemic disease in July.

The easing of restrictions comes amid a downward trend in the daily infection rate, which fell to 3,854 cases on Tuesday. As a result, the Covid-19 warning level may be reduced from 3 to 2 this week, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said on Monday.

From Wednesday, entertainment venues in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Chonburi and 27 other Blue and Green zone provinces will be permitted to serve alcohol until midnight.

However, venue operators must request permission from the provincial communicable disease committee and self-assess via the Thai Stop Covid 2 Plus platform before reopening.

Customers may be asked to show proof of vaccination, while people at risk of infection have been advised to avoid entertainment venues.

The reopening offers hope to the hospitality and tourism sectors, which have been devastated by the extended Covid-19 shutdown. Authorities said that if the reopening does not cause a spike in the infection rate, Covid-19 restrictions will be eased further to boost the economy.

Restrictions will remain for entertainment venues in 46 provinces under the Yellow zone of highest surveillance.

The DDC added that from Wednesday, the government’s Covid-19 situation report will be based on patients instead of infections. It said 79.5 per cent of people have now received their second vaccine dose while 42.7 per cent have had their third jab.

Published : May 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016121

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The Commerce Ministry says the cost of Pepsi will not rise after June 1 despite the manufacturer’s warning that cans and bottles will be hiked by 1-2 baht from Wednesday (June 1).

Carbonated drinks are among 18 basic products and services whose prices cannot be raised without Commerce Ministry approval.

Suntory PepsiCo Beverage (Thailand) said on Sunday it would increase the price of Thailand’s second-most popular soft drink by 1 baht for small cans/bottles and 2 baht for large bottles.

The company cited higher packaging costs but said the price of its other soft-drink brands, including 7-Up and Mirinda, would remain the same.

The announcement threatened to add to rising living costs that the Bank of Thailand says are suppressing economic recovery.

The U-turn came after the ministry’s Department of Internal Trade (DIT) contacted the manufacturer to query the hike, said director-general Wattanasak Sur-iam on Monday.

“However, the manufacturer notified the department that it is facing rising costs for plastic beads, aluminium cans, and transportation due to rising cost of fuel,” he said.

He added that the DIT is monitoring the price of consumer products closely.

Manufacturers who wish to raise the prices of monitored goods must report the reasons to the DIT.

“Product hoarding, unfair price hiking, and refusing sale carry a penalty of up to seven years in jail, a fine of 140,000 baht, or both,” Wattanasak warned. Consumer could report violations by calling the 1569 hotline or contacting their provincial commerce office, he added.

The 17 other consumer goods whose prices are controlled by the DIT are instant noodles, eggs and meats, canned foods, bagged rice, seasoning sauces, vegetable oils, milk and dairy products, electrical appliances, cleaning products (including detergents), fertilisers, insecticides, animal feed, iron, cement, paper, drugs and medical equipment, and services of wholesale and retail shops.

Published : May 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016118

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Ministry of Public Health reported on Tuesday (May 31) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 3,955 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, one of whom has arrived in Thailand from abroad.

Death toll increased by 21, while 6,607 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 2,227,022.
 

Published : May 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016117

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Chadchart Sittipunt, who made history with a record mandate in the Bangkok governor election on May 22, has come up with a campaign called: “Bangkok, a livable city for everyone” , which consists of 214 policies under nine “good” categories:

They are:

1. Good safety

• Designate areas at risk of crimes, traffic and disaster

• Set up a command centre to tackle disaster

• Check for damaged roads and power outages

2. Good travel

• Install a smart traffic management system to facilitate traffic

• Improve public transport, as well as increase main and minor bus lines at cheap fares

• Discuss BTS Green Line issues to reduce the burden on people

• Improve pavements

3. Good health

• Enable Bangkok hospitals to access patients’ medical history to improve medical treatment

• Improve Health Service Centres’ potential

• Implement telemedicine service

• Increase exercise areas and sports grounds

4. Good creative

• Change Bangkok City Hall and Lan Khon Muang Town Square into a museum and creative space

• Organise open-air art exhibitions to attract people

• Set up a database on government and private areas to facilitate public activities

5. Good environment

• Plant trees to boost green areas and tackle air pollution

• Hire arborists to take care of trees in each district

• Launch a project to detect black exhaust smoke

• Launch a project to manage waste

6. Good structure

• Rearrange city structure

• Improve infrastructure

• Create jobs

• Reduce congestion in the city

• Launch a project to dredge pipes and canals

• Set up high-quality water pumps

• Reduce flood-prone areas

• Seek natural flood-intake areas

7. Good management

• Develop tracking systems for applications with Bangkok agencies

• Amend Bangkok related canons

• Enable people to participate in budgeting

• Allow people to assess Bangkok district directors and governor

8. Good education

• Open schools on holidays as activity and learning spaces for students and community members

• Extend school hours to match with parents’ working hours

• Organise creative activities from speakers inside and outside schools

• Add foreign language courses

• Apply technologies in schools, so students’ skills can be built up for the future

9. Good economy

• Build a creative economy across Bangkok

• Promote Bangkok districts to stimulate the grassroots economy

• Improve street vendors’ quality of life

• Increase access to financial resources

• Provide technical assistance and create trade venues

• Launch a project to create a Made in Bangkok brand

• Select and develop products from manufacturers in Bangkok

• Promote and expand products in e-commerce markets

Published : May 31, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016112

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The Cabinet on Monday announced August 12 as the “Thai National Fabric Day” in honour of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother.

During the weekly meeting which was moved up from Tuesday, the Cabinet approved the proposal of the Culture Ministry to declare the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit as “Thai National Fabric Day” to mark the 90th of birthday of the Queen Mother, Culture Minister Itthiphol Kunplome said.

Itthiphol said the Cabinet also instructed government agencies to carry out PR campaigns on the royal activities of the Queen Mother so that Thai children and people would learn from various royal projects.

He said the government set the national fabric day to honour the Queen Mother’s hard work to promote Thai traditional textiles, which were once on the brink of extinction, to become popular again and thus help create income for rural people.

Itthiphol said the royal projects of the Queen Mother promoting the use of Thai traditional textiles have also helped conserve national culture and local wisdom in textiles and eventually helped promote Thai textiles in international markets.

The Culture Ministry will also organise an exhibition of traditional textiles in August to honour the Queen Mother, Itthiphol added. He said Thai fabrics with unique attributes from 76 provinces would be on show during the fair and there will also be demonstrations on how villagers weave their fabrics.

Published : May 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016110

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Chiang Mai’s night-time venues can start operating as normal from Wednesday now that the Covid-19 situation has improved, the authorities said.

Provincial governor Prajon Pratsakul said on Monday that he has approved the reopening of the northern city’s nightlife in line with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA)’s regulations.

CCSA decided to allow the reopening of pubs, bars, karaoke outlets and massage parlours in green and blue zone provinces starting from June 1 now that the daily Covid-19 infections and fatalities have dropped.

Prajon said all venues will be closely monitored to ensure they strictly adhere to universal Covid-19 prevention measures.

Meanwhile, the manager of Sayuri Complex massage parlour in Chiang Mai’s Muang district welcomed the decision.

Somsak Chaiket said members of staff are happy that the parlour is reopening because they have been suffering from a loss of earnings since April 9, when the parlour was closed.

He said many customers had also called to check if the place was indeed opening on Wednesday, so he expects the place to be busy on the first day of reopening.

He said that the 50 staff members, including masseuses, have confirmed they will show up for work on Wednesday. The parlour used to employ more than 100 people before the pandemic, he said.

Chaiket said the parlour’s ventilation system has been improved and its set-up has met the Thai Stop Covid requirements.

Clients, meanwhile, will have to show proof of full vaccination and negative ATK test results before entering the venue, while its staff will be required to undergo tests every three days, he said.

Chaweewan Chaimanee, a cook at the complex, said she was happy to return to work after she has been without a regular income for more than a year. She said she has been relying on odd jobs to survive, adding that other members of the staff are excited to go back to work.

Published : May 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016105

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Twelve persons are under close surveillance after they came into contact with a confirmed monkeypox patient who took a transit flight from Thailand, the Public Health Ministry announced on Monday.

Dr Chakkrarat Pitthaya, director of the Epidemiology Division of the Disease Control Department, said the passenger was in Bangkok for two hours before he caught a flight to Australia, where he was confirmed to have monkeypox.

The confirmation of the infection prompted the department to closely monitor the condition of 12 airline crew and passengers who were in close proximity to the patient, Chakkrarat said.

He said the 12 individuals have not shown any symptoms of the disease so far. He did not provide any details of the flight.

Separately, he said, the five suspected cases in Phuket turned out to be the herpes simplex virus (HSV), not monkeypox as feared earlier.

He said the cases included three Irish brothers who were in Phuket to learn muay Thai. They had clear blisters that were initially suspected to have been caused by monkeypox, but RT-PCR tests revealed the infection to be HSV.

Two Thai nationals, who used the same gymnasium as the three tourists, also developed blisters, but they too tested positive for HSV.

Chakkrarat said the five were admitted to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute for treatment.

Meanwhile, 20 others, including trainers and students, were put under close surveillance for HSV infections.

So far, there have been 406 confirmed monkeypox cases and 88 suspected cases in 32 countries. The five countries outside Africa with the highest number of monkeypox cases are the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Canada. No monkeypox cases have been detected in Thailand so far, Chakkrarat added.

He advised that people with fever, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes and blisters on limbs and face should see a doctor, especially if they have returned from countries where monkeypox cases have been detected.

Published : May 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016102

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The Land Transport Department (DLT) is pushing for a law that bans public transport drivers from using cannabis before driving. Cannabis intoxication will then likely be made illegal for all drivers on Thai roads.

The move comes as Thailand prepares to legalise cultivation of cannabis/marijuana for home use on June 9. However, cannabis extracts that contain more than 0.2 per cent THC – the substance that gets people high – will remain illegal after June 9.

Relaxation of the law has sparked concern it could lead to traffic accidents caused by cannabis intoxication.

Thailand’s roads are already among the most dangerous in the world, with drunk-driving responsible for the majority of traffic fatalities.

The DLT is now studying new cannabis regulations for public transport, with similar regulations for all drivers in the pipeline, the Public Health Ministry said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Act will be used to deal with the smell of cannabis smoke that could permeate neighbourhoods once home cultivation becomes legal.

Cannabis use – especially in marijuana parties – is illegal under the act, warned ministry deputy permanent secretary Thongchai Keeratihatthayakon.

The ministry will also liaise with the Consumer Protection Board to prevent advertising of illegal cannabis products and services, he added.

Published : May 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016098

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Government and private organisations can face a fine of up to 5 million baht and/or a year in prison for violating the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which goes into effect on Wednesday.

Under PDPA, government and private sectors worldwide, including officials responsible for data administration and evaluation, will be required to seek permission before collecting, using or revealing people’s personal data.

This act covers activities such as promoting products and services as well as monitoring internet browsing data to determine consumer behaviour.

Under the Act, violators will be required to pay compensation worth twice the value of damage to the affected party.

Civil penalties for violating the PDPA are as follows:

• Up to 1 million baht for using personal data without permission

• Up to 3 million baht for unlawfully collecting, using or revealing personal data

• Up to 5 million for unlawfully collecting, using or revealing “sensitive” data

Violators will also face criminal liabilities as follows:

• Up to six months in prison and/or 500,000 baht fine for causing others to be dishonoured, insulted, hated or humiliated.

• Up to a year in prison and/or up to 1 million baht fine for unlawfully using personal data for the benefit of themselves or others.

• Up to six months in prison and/or 500,000 baht fine for sharing personal information without permission.

Executives or employees of organisations violating the PDPA will also face criminal penalties.

Published : May 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016096

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A fire believed to have been caused by short circuit severely damaged a warehouse of Samsung appliances in Samut Prakan province late Sunday night, police said.

No one was injured in the fire at the warehouse of Samsung SDS Global SCL (Thailand) Co Ltd on Bang Na-Trat Road in Tambon Bang Pli Yai of Samut Prakan’s Bang Pli district.

The Bang Kaew Police Station was alerted to the fire at 11pm and 20 fire engines from the Bang Pli Yai tambon administrative organisation (TAO) and nearby TAOs were rushed to the scene.

Firefighters found that the blaze had started from the back of the warehouse, where washing machines and cooler coils of air-conditioners and other appliances with a lot of paper packaging boxes were stored.

Firefighters took about an hour to control the blaze but it had swept through the pile of electric appliances and paper boxes at the back of the warehouse before it spread inside the warehouse and damaged some goods stored there.

A security officer told police that he had left his watch point to use the washroom when the fire started.

He and other security officers tried to control the blaze with chemical extinguishers but failed, so they called police.

Police suspected that the fire was caused by a short circuit.

The company has yet to estimate the damage.

Published : May 30, 2022

By : THE NATION