Ministry of Public Health reported on Friday (February 4) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 9,909 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 188 of whom have arrived in Thailand from abroad.
Death toll increased by 22, while 7,827 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country since January 1, 2022 are at 252,197.
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) is ready to take a major leap into clean energy and has set itself a carbon neutrality goal, Egat spokesman Jiraporn Sirikham said.
The company aims to achieve carbon neutrality” by 2050 with its “Triple S” strategy: [energy] sources transformation, sink co-creation or active carbon adsorption plan, and support measures mechanism, he said.
In 2022, a floating solar cell will be installed at Ubolratana Dam with production capacity of 24 megawatts, requiring an investment of about 850 million baht. Commercial power supply can be started in 2023.
gat will gradually invest in the installation of Hydro Floating Solar Hybrid at various hydroelectric power plants. In 2036, there will be a total cumulative volume of 5,325MW, with an investment of not less than 58 billion baht, he said.
Regarding Egat’s green policy, he said the goal is to plant one million rai (116,000 hectatres) of forest within 10 years (2022-2031), which will help absorb 1.17 million tons of carbon dioxide per year. It would involve an investment of approximately 11.438, billion baht.
In 2022, there is a plan to plant 30,000 rai (4,800 hectares) of forest, helping absorb carbon dioxide by 16 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Jiraporn said that there is also a plan to develop a repurpose battery factory, which is in the process of study and plant development planning. It would require an investment of 1.4 billion baht. It is also developing a battery and solar panel recycling plant for which approval is being sought.
The Government Gazette on Thursday published the announcement of the House of Representatives on “Setting up an extraordinary commission to consider the opening of an entertainment complex, collecting income and tax from businesses and to prevent and solve illegal gambling problems.
Atotal of 60 people were named as committee members in the announcement.
The issue of legal casinos has been widely discussed, from income to religious taboos. The committee’s latest move is to determine the target areas for casinos in various regions, such as Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the North, Udon Thani and Ubon Ratchathani in the Northeast and Pattaya, Chonburi in the East.
The multi-lane free flow system, or M-Flow system, will be activated from February 15 on the intercity highway (Motorway) No. 9 or Kanchanaphisek Ring Road (Bang Pa-in – Bang Phli) totalling four checkpoints — Thap Chang 1, 2 and Thanyaburi 1, 2 checkpoints.
“Currently, from preliminary testing, it is known that the number of vehicles passing through the system, as detected by the M-Flow system camera and the central camera monitored by the Royal Thai Police, has an accuracy of 99.99 per cent,” Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said. “As for the toll collection, the ministry has opened several channels for registration to become a continuous user of the M-Flow system.”
The Department of Highways and the Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) are looking at ways to enforce the law when a tollway user, who has not registered as a member of the M-Flow system, secretly uses that system.
At present, there are approximately 30,000 registered vehicles interested in the M-Flow system.
It is expected that within this year there will be 380,000 users of the M-Flow system from all channels that are open for application, the minister said.
The prices of pork, as well as those of eggs and chicken, are expected to go down after the end of the Chinese New Year, the Department of Internal Trade announced on Wednesday.
Director-general Watthanasak Sua-iam estimated that the general price should fall to Bt170-180 per kilogram compared to Bt220 earlier this month, peaking at around Bt300 during the Chinese New Year.
The general drop in wholesale price at the pig farms should lower to Bt100, resulting in a decrease in the retail price, he said, without explaining why the retail price had earlier jumped to the highest rate even before the Chinese New Year period. The high price had led to the government facing flak from the opposition and the general public.
The price of chicken meat is expected to go down to Bt65-82 per kilogram, which is a slight drop from the current rate, while the price of egg, the middle No. 3 size, should drop to Bt100 for a 30-egg pack, or average Bt3.33 apiece.
The price of palm oil remains stable and is priced appropriately at Bt59 to Bt62 per bottle, said Watthanasak, who explained that the price had risen earlier due to a drop in production in Indonesia and Malaysia because of the Covid outbreak in both countries.
The director of the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) on Thursday shrugged off criticism of the “Khon La Khrueng” co-payment subsidy scheme and maintained that it has been a a success.
Critics have said the the scheme cannot really stimulate the economy because low-income earners do not have enough money to top up the “Bao Tang” app, making this policy far less effective than originally envisaged.
FPO chief Pornchai Thiravej said the “Khon La Khrueng project has been in operation since the end of 2020 with the aim of restoring and stimulating the economy through the government subsidising people’s expenses.
He clarified that the project was not a cash giveaway. It’s aim is to encourage people to pass on their purchasing power to small entrepreneurs, especially hawker groups, to have an income from selling products and services continuously in a situation where the economy is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic
There were more than 1.3 million stores and more than 26 million people had participated in using their rights under the project. So, it can be said that the Khon La Khrueng project achieved its objectives with approximately 326 billion baht in circulation driving the economy, trade, manufacturing and employment activities throughout the supply chain until now, he said.
The fourth phase of the project, which started on February 1 and ends on April 30, is expected to increase the amount of money that goes into circulation to stimulate the economy by about 69.6 billion baht.
He said that on the first day of Phase 4, a total of 1.155 billion baht was injected into the economy, of which 585 million baht was the people’s money and 570 million baht was subsidy by the government.
Thailand on Friday commemorates World Cancer Day by remembering local celebrities who sadly succumbed to this disease and were missed by many.
The local media has played an important role in increasing awareness of cancer and encouraging Thai citizens to adopt hygiene and personal health habits that could minimise the chances of contracting cancer.
World Cancer Day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, which was written in 2008.
Among local celebrities, actor Saranyoo Wongkrachang and singer Ronnachai “Od” Thomyapariwat both succumbed to cancer last year. The other cancer victims were comedian Phaithoon Pumrat, better known by his stage name “The Smoky Robert”, and veteran television host Somchai Prepraphaphong (“Sena Coke”).
Special forces on Thursday killed three suspected insurgents at a house in Jana district of Songkhla province.
The shootout broke out after the insurgents opened fire on the troops in order to escape arrest. The officials had summoned a religious leader and insurgents’ family members for negotiations, but their efforts failed.
The three slain insurgents were revealed to be: Sattha Awae, Surin Kaseng and Jeerasak Pengloh. The officials recovered a sniper rifle, an AK35 assault rifle and a revolver at the scene.
This group of insurgents had caused unrest in Songkhla for a long time, especially in Na Thawi, Jana, Saba Yoi and Thepha districts, the officials said.
Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on Thursday presided over a video conference of the Overseas State Administration (Team Thailand) Committee.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said that the meeting extensively discussed the implementation of the Masterplan on Foreign Affairs, or “5S Strategy”, under the National Strategy. It aims to achieve five key strategic priorities of diplomacy – security, sustainability, standard, status, and synergy. The meeting also discussed the preparation for the first five-year (2018–2022) evaluation of the Masterplan, which will be held at the end of 2022.
The participants exchanged views on priorities in foreign affairs for 2022 which can contribute to restoring Thailand’s economy and society from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Tanee said.
They emphasised the importance of cooperation with foreign countries through various dialogue frameworks, both bilateral and multilateral, especially the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec). Thailand is the chair of Bimstec this year and wants to help restore and lay the foundation for Thai economy and society in the future and achieve sustainable development for the country, the spokesman said,
Various economic uncertainties as well as the high cost have made many couples give up thoughts of raising a child, according to a recent research.
Parents would need at least 33,000 baht to raise a child, according to survey results released on Wednesday by iPrice Group, a leading research company in the Asean region.
According to Thailand’s Bureau of Registration Administration, many people have cancelled their plans to raise a child due to various uncertainties amid the Covid-19 crisis, such as being unemployed, company bankruptcy and high cost of living.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry’s Department of Provincial Administration revealed that the country’s birth rate had decreased significantly, similar to the Philippines and Vietnam.
The birth rate between 2017 and 2021 was as follows:
▪︎ 544,570 people were born in 2021, down 7.28 per cent year on year.
▪︎ 587,368 people were born in 2020, down 4.98 per cent year on year.
▪︎618,193 people were born in 2019, down 7.22 per cent year on year.
▪︎666,357 people were born in 2018, down 5.17 per cent year on year.
▪︎702,755 people were born in 2017, down 0.18 per cent year on year.
iPrice Group’s survey on parents’ behaviour in six countries — Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand — from October 1-31 indicated that the price of child car seat, stroller, toys, bassinet, etc is around 38,000 baht.
Meanwhile, parents have to buy diapers, wipes and powdered milk worth about 1,000 baht weekly. This does not include medical expenses and other utensils in case of emergency.
The minimum wage in Thailand is around 9,000-10,000 baht, so they would have to save all their money for three months to raise one child. The case is similar to Vietnamese and Filipino people where minimum wage is US$185 (6,000 baht) and US$314 (10,440 baht), respectively.
The survey also pointed out that parents paid attention to buying toys and children’s desks online in a bid to relieve children’s stress amid the new normal.
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