This month’s Jet Ski World Cup Grand Prix in Chonburi will launch Thailand’s bid to become a hub of international sporting events in 2022, the government said on Friday.
The globe’s best jet skiers will roar off in the third round of the competition at Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach from January 12-16.
The event will be televised in over 90 countries, showcasing the tourism resort in living rooms across the world.
“Through the Tourism and Sports Ministry, the government will continue to host international sport events – both traditional and electronic – to attract foreign viewers and potential tourists,” said a government spokesman.
The government aims to attract 350 million global viewers for Thai-owned sports events by 2024, to benefit Thailand’s tourism industry and international reputation.
Strict Covid-19 controls will be imposed at all the events to ensure the safety of international visitors.
Thailand’s travel ban for African countries will be cancelled from January 11, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) announced on Friday.
Also from January 11, the tourism sandbox programme will also expanded to three more provinces – Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao), Phang-nga and Krabi. Under the sandbox programme, fully vaccinated Thai and foreign travellers must book seven nights in an alternative quarantine hotel and take two RT-PCR tests. Restaurants can serve alcohol in the sandbox and 26 Blue Zone provinces, although bars and entertainment venues remain closed.
Registration for the Test & Go scheme remains suspended until further notice. From January 15, bookings under the scheme will be invalid. Test & Go bookings from January 16 to 31 total 16,364, according to the CCSA.
Meanwhile, third-phase opening of Blue-zone provinces is postponed indefinitely. The five provinces are Trat (Khlong Yai district), Sa Kaeo (Muang and Aranyaprathet districts), Mukdahan (Muang district), Bueng Kan, Nakhon Phanom and Ubon Ratchathani (Muang and Sirindhorn districts).
Some 220 Myanmar nationals who sought refuge in Tak’s Mae Sot district decided to return home on Thursday evening after tensions in the border town of Myawaddy eased.
As of press time, no casualties or damages have been reported on the Thai side of the border.
The border command centre, meanwhile, is offering to escort Myanmar refugees back to their hometowns if they want. There are still some 2,000 Myanmar nationals taking refuge in Mae Sot.
Some 2,476 Myanmar nationals crossed over to Thailand in December to flee fighting between the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) and Karen National Union (KNU) rebels.
The Covid-19 crisis has hit Thailand five times – January 2020, December 2020, April 2021, July 2021 and January 2022 – each time severely impacting public health, the economy and tourism.
The virus first emerged in December 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, before arriving in Thailand in January 2020.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on January 30 and a pandemic on March 11.
Pharma giants across the world – including Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Sinovac – quickly focused their efforts on combating the virus, resulting in a variety of Covid-19 vaccines and antiviral drugs. Merck & Co’s Molnupiravir and Pfizer’s Paxlovid Covid-19 antiviral pills are the latest pharmaceutical weapons to tackle the crisis.
Thailand’s first case was a 61-year-old woman who flew from China to Suvarnabhumi Airport on January 12, 2020. The first domestic case, a 50-year-old man who ferried a Chinese passenger to hospital, was reported on January 31.
Soon after, Covid-19 clusters were emerging in venues nationwide. Among the most infamous were the outbreaks at Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and Thong Lor entertainment venues in March 2020, the Samut Sakhon Central Shrimp Market in December 2020 and Bangkok’s Khlong Toei communities in April 2021.
This week, Department of Medical Services chief Dr Somsak Ankasil announced that Thailand has officially entered its fifth wave of Covid-19, driven by the super-infectious Omicron variant.
The Department of Disease Control estimates the latest wave could see a record-breaking 30,000 new cases per day in a worst-case scenario.
“A surge in cases would trigger a switch to Home Isolation (HI) and Community Isolation (CI) as the first line of treatment. Only severe cases would be sent to hospitals,” said Dr Somsak.
Thailand is among countries that have been hit by all five major variants of concern, namely Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron.
As of Thursday, the country’s total Covid-19 caseload stood at 2,245,250 – 2,185,502 of whom have recovered, while 37,968 are still in hospitals and 21,780 have died.
According to Worldometer, cases worldwide rose to 298.29 million on Thursday. Of these, 256.82 million have recovered, 35.99 million are active cases (91,988 severely ill) and 5.48 million have died (up by 7,214).
Thailand was ranked 25th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 58.81 million, followed by India with 35.11 million, Brazil with 22.35 million, the UK with 13.84 million and France with 10.92 million.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT)’s “Hua Lamphong in Your Eyes” exhibition, showcasing the iconic Bangkok Railway Station’s history, will be wrapping up next Sunday (January 16).
The expo, which kicked off on December 22, also includes the “Hua Lamphong through the Lens” exhibition, which sheds light on the changes the railway station has undergone since it was opened in 1910 under King Chulalongkorn’s reign.
The expo gives train buffs a chance to check out steam locomotives and pick up memorabilia while enjoying live classical music on weekend afternoons.
People can also learn more about the station’s heritage by checking out its 10 historic points, including the spot where King Chulalongkorn inaugurated Thailand’s first rail trip from Bangkok to Ayutthaya on March 26, 1897. This date earmarks SRT’s birth.
Also included in the 10 historic spots is the three-headed elephant monument that was once used as an underground bunker and the maintenance depot which features steam locomotives dating back to the World War II era.
A special postage stamp collection will be given away to those who check-in at all 10 landmarks.
The Transport Ministry and SRT had been planning to close Hua Lamphong and have all trains to Bangkok stop at the Bang Sue Grand Station. However, the plan was dropped when the public and SRT staff launched fierce opposition as they feared the historic station would be turned into yet another modern commercial district.
In December SRT announced that Hua Lamphong would remain open, but Bang Sue Grand Station would serve as Bangkok’s rail hub. Up to 22 of 118 urban and long-distance trains will continue pulling up at Hua Lamphong, though trains running from Rangsit to Bang Sue will shift to the Red Line elevated track from January.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has called on the National Economic and Social Development Council to grant a budget of 13.2 billion baht for the fourth phase of the “Rao Tiew Duay Kan” (We Travel Together) stimulus scheme.
Under the scheme, registrants can receive a 40 per cent discount on hotel rooms and restaurants. They will also receive an e-voucher when checking in as well as a 40 per cent discount on the flight when they check out.
“We hope the new phase of Rao Tiew Duay Kan will help the domestic tourism industry recover from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and boost overall tourism revenue,” TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said on Thursday.
“The fourth phase of Rao Tiew Duay Kan should be open for registration by February 1.”
The scheme’s third phase, which wrapped up on January 4, saw more than 630,000 registrants who booked over 2 million room nights at some 4,321 hotels and spent a total of 8.6 billion baht.
Meanwhile, Yuthasak said on Friday that he will propose the reopening of more islands under the sandbox scheme to attract foreign travellers now that the Test & Go scheme has been suspended.
The sandbox scheme allows vaccinated travellers who test negative for Covid-19 will be allowed to travel on sealed routes to selected places without having to quarantine.
The islands being considered are Surat Thani’s Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao; Chonburi’s Koh Larn; Rayong’s Koh Samet; Trat’s Koh Chang and Koh Kut, and Krabi’s Phi Phi Islands.
“Other islands have also expressed interest in joining the sandbox scheme, but many are not ready in terms of disease prevention, entry monitoring and the logistics of sealed route travelling,” Yuthasak added.
Three measures proposed by the Agriculture and Cooperatives as well as Commerce ministries will be immediately implemented to control the soaring price of pork, deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said on Thursday.
“The first and most urgent measure will be to halt the export of live pigs for three months until April 5 to boost local supply and bring down the price of pork,” she said. “Last year’s statistics show that Thailand produced 19 million pigs and exported a million, with the rest being consumed domestically.
“The government will also waive tariff on imported animal feed as well as provide a special loan via the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives [BAAC] to attract new swine farmers,” she added.
“As a short-term measure, the government will promote the production of corn to reduce reliance on imported animal feed,” she said. “The Department of Livestock Promotion will also increase the production of breeding pigs via research and development as well as work with private partners to manufacture drugs and methods of boosting the immunity of pigs to reduce loss from disease.”
Meanwhile, the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry will employ long-term measures to improve Thailand’s pig production capacity under good-farming management (GFM) practices to attract new investors in swine farming and ensure an adequate supply of pork in the future.
“To achieve this goal, BAAC will create new loan programmes for farmers, especially those in the swine farming supply chain,” Ratchada said. “The Department of Livestock Promotion has also been told to register existing swine farmers to ensure they have access to the loans when they become available.
“Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha says he is confident that the three measures will help bring down the price of pork, provide sustainable careers for farmers and animal feed growers, as well as boost Thailand’s food security,” added Ratchada.
Ministry of Public Health reported on Friday (January 7) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 7,526 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 39 of whom have been found in prisons.
Death toll increased by 19, while 2,895 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 2,252,776 – 2,188,397 of whom have recovered, 42,580 are still in hospitals and 21,799 have died.
Separately, another 96,773 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 346,446 their second shot and 431,216 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 105,419,287.
According to Worldometer, confirmed cases globally had risen to 300.86 million on Friday, 257.56 million of whom have recovered, 37.81 million are active cases (91,745 in severe condition) and 5.49 million have died (up by 6,574).
Thailand ranks 25th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 59.56 million, followed by India with 35.22 million, Brazil with 22.4 million, the UK with 14.02 million and France with 11.18 million.
The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Friday (January 7) that the moderate high-pressure system covers upper Thailand. Cool to cold weather is forecast in the North and the Northeast, while the Central and the East regions will experience cool weather with light fog in the morning.
Mountaintops in the North and the Northeast are cold to very cold with temperature ranging from 5 to 15 °C.
The Department also mentioned that the weak northeast monsoon prevails across the Gulf of Thailand and the South and will bring isolated thundershowers to the lower South.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours is as follows:
North: Cool to cold weather with fog in the morning; temperature lows of 13-19 degrees and highs of 29-35 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 5-15 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Cool to cold weather with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 14-19 degrees and highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius. Temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 8-15 degrees Celsius.
Central: Cool weather with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 19-20 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.
East: Cool weather with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 19-23 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius; waves less than a meter high and over a meter high offshore.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 20-25 degrees, highs of 30-32 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 meters high and about 2 meters high during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 10 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 21-25 degrees, highs of 31-34 degrees Celsius; waves a meter high and over a meter high offshore.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Partly cloudy with light fog in the morning; temperature lows of 21-24 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.
The mystery disappearance of a celebrity male model three days ago in Bangkok came to a grisly conclusion on Thursday when his body was found floating in the Chao Phaya River.
Officials responded to a call that a corpse was bobbing in the water at the end of Soi Charoenkrung 76/1, before fishing it from the water near Marine Department headquarters. The corpse was decomposed but dressed in clothes that matched the description of missing model Kullapat “Kendo” Pongpraphap, 27. Officials estimated he had died around two days ago.
An autopsy at Siriraj Hospital revealed the body was adorned with tattoos on the neck and left calf.
A Siriraj Hospital patient ID card found on the corpse was also registered in Kendo’s name.
The young celebrity model disappeared from his dorm in Soi Islaphap 20 on January 4. The last person who saw him in the dormitory stated that he seemed unwell.
Investigators said they would question the dormitory’s manager and check dorm CCTV footage in a bid to ascertain the cause of death.
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