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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015735

The Public Health Ministry will on Friday propose new Covid-19 zoning that reclassifies some provinces as “green zones” where restrictions can be lifted.

Ministry permanent secretary Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit said the new colour-coded zoning system will allow people in low-risk provinces to live their lives as normally as possible now that the Covid-19 situation is steadily improving.

The move will add low-risk “green zones” to the current two-tier system of yellow zones (highest surveillance) and blue zones (tourism pilot provinces).

Green-zone provinces (low surveillance) will be allowed to lift restrictions on public activities – likely including pubs and entertainment venues.

The new zoning will be proposed at Friday’s meeting of Centre for Covid-19 Situation. Administration (CCSA).

The lifting of restrictions in green-zone provinces would be another step towards declaring Covid-19 endemic, which the government plans to do in July.

Currently, 65 provinces are in the high-surveillance yellow zone while the remaining 12 are blue-zone tourism provinces.

On Friday, Thailand recorded 6,463 Covid-19 cases and 41 deaths, while 7,091 patients recovered and left hospital. Cumulative cases this year since January 1 stand at 2,177,943.

Published : May 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015731

Ministry of Public Health reported on Friday (May 20) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 6,463 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, one of whom has arrived in Thailand from abroad.

Death toll increased by 41, while 7,091 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.

Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 2,177,943.
 

Published : May 20, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015730

Thailand’s national football team stormed into the final of the SEA Games, beating Indonesia 1-0 in extra-time on Thursday evening.

Both sides failed to score during the first 90 minutes of their gruelling semi-final match at Thien Truong Stadium in Vietnam.

Thailand striker Weerathep Pomphan broke the deadlock in the 95th minute, which was enough to ensure Thailand a place in final after keeping Indonesia at bay for the rest of the extra-time.

The intense battle resulted in three players being shown the red card — two Indonesians and Thai midfielder William Weidersjo.

Thailand will face the winner of the match between hosts Vietnam and Malaysia in the final on Sunday evening.

A victory will bring Thailand its 17th gold medal for football.

Published : May 19, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015725

The Metropolitan Police Bureau will deploy 16,817 policemen to keep security at 6,817 polling stations on Sunday when elections for Bangkok governor and the Bangkok Council are held.

Pol Maj-General Jirasant Kaewsaeng-ek, deputy commissioner of the bureau, said the police forces would keep security when some 4 million voters are expected to come out to vote on Sunday.

Jirasant warned shops and restaurants in Bangkok against selling alcoholic drinks from 6pm on Saturday until 6pm on Sunday, as it would be a violation of the election law.

He said candidates would also be prohibited from campaigning from 6pm on Saturday.

The bureau has been monitoring violations of the election law from May 9 to May 15 and did not detect any serious offence that would affect the election results, Jirasant said.

He said police had received six complaints of election campaign signs being removed. The suspects have been arrested. They admitted to removing the signs because the posters blocked the front of their shops, Jirasant said.

The bureau also stepped up crackdowns on crimes from May 9 to 15 ahead of the elections. Police arrested 4,309 suspects in 4,295 criminal cases during the period, Jirasant added.

He said the bureau had learned that seven groups of protesters are planning demonstrations on Thursday and Friday, and two groups would stay overnight at the rally sites.

The two groups are the Committee for Siam’s Strategic Reforms, which will rally under the Rama VIII bridge, and the World People Council, which will rally in front of the Russian Embassy, both on Thursday.

Jirasant added that a group of Ukraine people will rally in front of the Russian Embassy on Thursday, and a group of protesters will rally at the Ratchaprasong intersection at 5pm on Thursday.

At 5pm on Thursday, the Musicians for People group will rally in front of Bangkok Remand Prison and the Resistant Citizen group will rally in front of the Supreme Court at 5.30pm, while the Thalu Kook (piercing through prisons) group will rally at Victory Monument at 6pm.

On Friday, a group of protesters will organise a vehicle rally from Democracy Monument to the Criminal Court at 11am and from the Criminal Court to Bangkok Remand Prison at 3pm.

Since July 2021, the Metropolitan Police have been investigating 840 cases against demonstrators and 482 cases have been wrapped up and passed on to public prosecutors, Jirasant added.

Published : May 19, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015721

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was assured on Thursday that construction of the new Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC) will finish in August in time for hosting the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit 2022 in November.

Prayut was given the assurance by executives of Frasers Property (Thailand), the owner of the project, while the prime minister was making an inspection trip to the construction site to check its progress, according to Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

Thanakorn said Prayut and Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda visited the QSNCC construction site at 11.30am and was welcomed by Frasers Property executives.

The executives reported to Prayut that construction was 88 per cent complete and the contractors would hand over the finished job in July-August, while all other work would be finished within August.

The old QSNCC building was demolished to pave way for the construction of a larger and more modern centre.

Frasers Property has said the new Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre boasts an area of 300,000 square metres, 78,500sqm of which are for organising events. It said the new centre’s bigger parking lot can now accommodate up to 3,000 cars while there are also MRT connections.

Prayut also met and provided moral support to the construction workers and officials.

Prayut told the executives that the centre must be designed with multi-purpose usage. He also expressed his appreciation for the designs that reflect Thai traditions.

After the inspection, Prayut and Anupong also oversaw renovation work in the Benchakitti Forest Park, which will have facilities to receive leaders of countries who will participate in the Apec Summit 2022.

Published : May 19, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015718

With Thailand easing rules for entry, Phuket will likely attract as many as 5 million foreign tourists this year, making up 50 per cent of the pre-Covid arrivals, according to the island resort province’s Tourism and Sports Office.

Rachadaporn Oin, head of Phuket’s Tourism and Sports Office, said on Thursday that since the cancellation of the Test & Go programme on May 1, the island province has seen 2,000 to 3,000 arrivals per day.

The number is expected to rise to 10,000 per day during the high tourism season in the fourth quarter of the year, she said.

“We expect that throughout this year, about 5 million foreign tourists will visit Phuket. That’s a recovery of 50 per cent compared to the pre-Covid period when there were 10 million foreign visitors per year,” the official said.

From May 1-17, Phuket saw accumulated arrivals of 45,806 via 413 international flights. The provincial Tourism and Sports Office estimated that at least 200,000 foreign tourists will arrive in Phuket throughout May.

“During the rainy season, the low season for Thailand’s tourism, Phuket expects to get tourists from the Middle East and India. People from these markets like to travel during the rainy season,” Rachadaporn said.

“In the fourth quarter, which is Phuket’s high season, we expect 10,000 foreign tourists per day, accounting for a third of the province’s pre-Covid arrivals,” she added.

Since July 1, 2021, when the Phuket Sandbox programme started for people entering Thailand, until May 17, Phuket received 5,207 international flights and welcomed 544,653 visitors, according to the official.

Meanwhile, a source from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports disclosed that a group of Thai tourism operators earlier this month held roadshows in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, where they met thousands of tour operators and travel agents from across the world.

The delegation was led by Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

In the UAE, the Thai group joined the Arabian Travel Market 2022 in Dubai on May 9-12. They held a roadshow in Saudi Arabia earlier this week, following up on the recent restoration of bilateral ties, the source said.

Published : May 19, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015717

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clarified on Thursday that people would be free to grow marijuana and hemp after a directive from the Public Health Ministry takes effect on June 9.

Dr Withit Saritdeechaikul, deputy FDA secretary-general, was referring to the directive of the Public Health Ministry to delist ganja (marijuana) and hemp from the list of Category 5 narcotics.

Withit said once the directive takes effect, no part of ganja and hemp, except extracted substance with more than 2 per cent of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), would be regarded as narcotics.

As a result, people can grow hemp and ganja without having to seek permission. They are required only to inform the number of ganja or hemp plants they are growing to the FDA via an app called “Pluke Gan” or “growing ganja”, Withit added.

The same rules will be applied to those wanting to grow hemp and marijuana for commercial purposes, Withit said.

But the FDA deputy chief said people who want to import seeds or other parts of hemp and ganja will have to seek permission in accordance with the provisions of the Plant Variety Act BE 2518 (1975) and Plant Quarantine Act BE 2507 (1964).

He noted that the import of food products with substance from hemp and marijuana will have to based on the law on air travel and international parcels.

He added that the FDA is still drafting its regulations on the prohibition of herbal products made with hemp and ganja and exceptional cases.

The regulations will be aimed at promoting local growers and manufacturers of herbs, Withit said, adding that the FDA would have to revise seven regulations on the issue.

Published : May 19, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015716

Police swooped down upon a call-centre gang at a Chiang Mai resort and nabbed 24 suspects, the majority Chinese, for allegedly preying mostly on Japanese investors.

Pol General Wisanu Prasartthong-osoth, chief of the Combating Transnational Criminals and Illegal Immigrants Centre (CTIC), held a press conference at Chiang Mai Police headquarters on Thursday morning to announce the arrests of the 24, including two women.

Wisanu said the gangsters used pictures of pretty women to allegedly create false profiles and chat with their targets – both Thais and foreigners – via dating apps.

Once the victims got hooked to the gangsters, they would be deceived into investing in forex trading and the gang would allegedly keep the transferred money for themselves without really investing in the forex trade, Wisanu said.

He said most of the victims were Japanese businessmen.

The CITC chief did not say when the arrests were made but he did mention that police received a tip-off that a large group of Chinese were staying at a resort in Chiang Mai’s Fang district.

Police obtained a search warrant from the Chiang Mai court and searched BK Resort and BK Coffee in Moo 7, Tambon Mae Soon, and arrested 20 Chinese suspects, one Thai and three locals who have no nationality.

Police also seized ten notebook computers, 20 computer monitors, ten CPUs, 244 mobile phones with SIM cards, six extra SIM cards, and two flash drives.

Wisanu said the gang are a sort of “hybrid” one because they started with allegedly using false profiles of beautiful women to lure victims and make them fall in love before inviting them to invest money in a fake trading business that did not really exist.

He said the gangsters used the Metratrader app to allegedly deceive their victims to invest money and even created a false trading platform to deceive the victims.

Once the victims transferred money to them, they would cut off all communication, Wisanu added.

He said the suspects admitted they were hired at THB25,000 to THB35,000 to contact and deceive the targets. They “worked” from 9am to 9pm on weekdays and 12pm to 5pm on weekends.

All were charged with gathering unlawfully with the intention to deceive the public by pretending to be someone else. They were also charged with uploading distorted or false information into the computer system with intention to deceive others and the public.

Additionally, the Chinese suspects were charged with being illegal immigrants or immigrants whose visas had expired. They had been in Fang district for two or three months.

Wisanu said foreign criminals love to use Chiang Mai as their base because they can easily pass off as tourists.

He said he instructed Chiang Mai police to investigate whether there were any more members of the gang hiding in the province.

Wisanu said police would check all transactions of the gang and will coordinate with the Japanese Embassy to try to locate the victims so their testimonies would make the case more solid.

The CITC chief also sought cooperation from the public to alert police if they notice a gathering of an unusually high number of foreigners at a hotel or resort so that police could investigate.

Published : May 19, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015715

Thailand expects to see an end to the Covid-19 pandemic by the year-end despite concerns that mutations can cough up new variants, Deputy Health Minister Satit Pitutecha said on Thursday.

He said the country is moving ahead with its plan to designate Covid-19 endemic although the World Health Organisation has made no clear recommendation.

To prevent a new variant outbreak, the Public Health Ministry is “employing all available means” to meet the target of administering booster shots.

Satit also said the ministry was closely following the Covid-19 situation in North Korea, which is witnessing a surge in new cases, to see if a new variant develops.

Satit was speaking during his speech on “New Normal Health Behaviours” while opening an academic meeting at Mahidol University’s Faculty of Public Health in Nakhon Pathom province.

The deputy minister said Covid-19 has completely changed some behaviours, including attending public gatherings, travelling, and eating out.

He cited results of a survey of 1,218 people by Suan Dusit University last year, when Thailand was hard hit by Covid-19.

According to the survey, more than 90 per cent of the respondents said one new behaviour after Covid would be to always wear a face mask and buy various masks.

To stay safe from Covid, Satit stressed on the “VUCA” measure, which stands for vaccine, universal prevention, a Covid-free setting, and ATK testing.

Published : May 19, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015712

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said his trip to Saudi Arabia with a delegation of state officials and business operators was a success.

Speaking to reporters upon his return, Don said he regarded his official visit to Saudi Arabia a success because the trip proved to the Middle East nation that Bangkok could be a good ally while both countries can be strong economic and trade partners.

The trip followed Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s official visit to Saudi Arabia in January to normalise ties after three decades of sour relations.

“We started with the visit [to Saudi Arabia] by the prime minister. We must join hands to make all subsequent road maps and activities a sustainable partnership and have quality ties with the country,” Don said, “so Thailand’s role can be upgraded from just a provider of workers”.

The minister said he also held talks on the feritiliser shortage in the country and high-level Saudi officials pledged to support Thailand.

Don said the officials and business operators who accompanied him on the trip are highly qualified, so they “impressed” the Middle East country.

The delegation prompted Saudi Arabia to want to pursue cooperation with Thailand on a variety of issues, Don added.

He said the Saudi government told him it did not want to see Thai-Saudi relations dipping lower than those at present.

“Saudi Arabia expects and wishes to see cooperation between the two nations move forward, including in tourism and investment,” Don said.

Saudi Arabian Investment Minister Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih flew from Riyadh to see off Don at Jeddah airport as the Thai minister ended his official visit to the Gulf nation.

Published : May 19, 2022

By : THE NATION