Thailand recorded 21,038 Covid-19 cases and 207 deaths on Wednesday
Ministry of Public Health reported on Wednesday (August 11) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 21,038 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 173 of whom have been found in prisons.
Death toll increased by 207, while 22,012 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country are at 816,989 with 6,795 total deaths.
Thundershowers, isolated heavy rains forecast for most of Thailand
The North, the upper Northeast, the East and the South’s west coast will experience thundershowers with isolated heavy rain as the southwest monsoon prevails over the country, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said on Wednesday.
It advised all ships to proceed with caution as waves in the Andaman Sea and the upper Gulf of Thailand are 1-2 metres high and more than 2 metres during thundershowers.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 25-27 degrees and highs of 29-35 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-27 degrees and highs of 30-35 degrees Celsius.
Central: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.
East: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 26-28 degrees, highs of 28-34 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 23-27 degrees, highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 21-25 degrees, highs of 29-31 degrees Celsius; waves 1-2 metres high and over 2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 26-28 degrees, highs of 32-35 degrees Celsius.
Red Line to launch contactless card payment by December
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) Red Line will launch contactless payment by credit and debit cards by December, the Transport Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Passengers will be able to pay their fares via an EMV (Europay Mastercard and Visa) ticketing system for journeys on the Bang Sue-Rangsit and Bang Sue-Taling Chan lines.
The EMV system will be operated with Krung Thai Bank.
Meanwhile, cross-system ticketing that also covers the MRT Blue Line and Purple Line is expected to launch around February next year. The Transport Ministry has asked the SRT and MRTA to determine conditions for a single-payment system that covers both networks.
The Red Line fare rate has been set at 12-42 baht, though the fare structure per kilometre will be finalised after passenger data is examined next month. For example, it may cost 12 baht to travel one station and 14 baht to travel two stations. However, the fare to travel the entire line must not exceed 42 baht.
8 Covid patients caught for partying in Buri Ram field hospital
Eight Covid-19 patients put up at a field hospital in Buri Ram were caught on CCTV having a booze-fuelled party on August 5.
This was in clear violation of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which carries a penalty of up to six months in prison and/or up to 10,000 baht in fine as well as the Emergency Decree, which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison and/or a fine of 40,000 baht.
Four members of the party have confessed, two said they were only chatting, one denies allegations, while one is in critical condition in hospital and cannot be reached.
The patients will be summoned for interrogation and legal action once they have been discharged from the hospital.
Thailand plugs electric vehicle mission into Asean energy plan
The Cabinet acknowledged the results of the June 21 “Meeting on Energy” between the ministers of Asean and Japan, government spokesman Ratchada Thanadirek said on Tuesday.
“Asean countries have a common aim in implementing the Asean Cooperation Action Plan on Energy Phase 2, which will help transform the region’s energy into a clean, resilient and suitable [resource] for the global energy environment,” said Ratchada.
Thailand has adopted the following guidelines under the plan:
1. Adjust long-term strategic plans and approaches to reduce carbon emissions through key policies.
2. Increase low-carbon electricity generation by boosting the proportion of renewable energy, aided by the BCG (bio-economic policy, circular economy and green economy) to add value to local resources and increase people’s well-being.
3. Develop the electric vehicle industry by 2025 so that EVs account for 30 per cent of total car production, as well as supporting the adoption of innovations and clean energy technologies.
4. Support urgent plans for reforestation to increase the carbon-absorbing area and achieve the goal of reducing carbon dioxide in line with the Paris climate agreement.
The meeting also delivered a common intention to promote energy transition in Asean through exchange of information and expertise with Japan in the development and use of various clean energy technologies such as clean coal technology, carbon capture, and utilisation and storage.
Contagion in Thai prisons subsiding, with 398 new cases but 710 recovered
Thai prisons reported 398 new cases of Covid-19 and one fatality on Tuesday, as the Corrections Department logged a reduced rate of infection in its facilities.
Ayuth Sintoppant, director-general of the department, said 395 cases were found in Covid hotspot prisons and the other three in quarantine rooms. Meanwhile, 710 inmates had recovered from the virus.
A total of 7,313 infected inmates and staff are still under the care of the Corrections Department – 383 in Bangkok, 2,012 in the metropolitan area, and 4,918 in other provinces.
Most of these (82.9 per cent) are Green-coded patients with mild or no symptoms. Meanwhile, 16.7 per cent of patients are Yellow-coded (moderate symptoms) and 0.4 per cent are Red (severe symptoms).
Of the accumulated 51,097 Covid-19 cases in prisons, 43,098 (84.3%) have recovered while 75 (0.1%) have died.
Ayuth also revealed the department is poised to release more inmates under a royal amnesty. The inmates will receive Royal Project training before their release. Those who are infected with Covid-19 will be quarantined for 14 days at prisons or correctional institutes, or shelters or medical facilities outside prison.
Uninfected prisoners will be tested, quarantined for 14 days, and then retested before their release.
Fisherman survives night of terror at sea after falling overboard
A fisherman who fought for his life for nine hours in the dark after falling from a trawler off Nakhon Si Thammarat province got a lucky break on Monday.
The Royal Thai Navy launched a rescue mission on Sunday night and eventually found the man floating, exhausted, in the sea. Personnel from the Second Naval Area Command plucked him from the water and sent him to hospital.
Front-line medics get donated Pfizer as US pledges another $55m for Thailand
Front-line health workers in Bangkok rolled up their sleeves to receive the first of 1.5 million Pfizer jabs donated by the US on Tuesday.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield hailed the health workers as Thai heroes as she witnessed the mRNA vaccine going into arms at MedPark Hospital in Klong Toei district. She also pledged another $55 million (1.85 billion baht) in relief aid for Thailand.
“This morning, I met frontline healthcare workers – Thailand’s heroes – as they received their first doses of the vaccine. And I was inspired to hear about their life-saving work,” said Thomas-Greenfield, who is visiting Thailand as President Joe Biden’s representative.
She said the US had stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Thailand for over 200 years.
“We do so much together, from our trade and people-to-people exchanges, to our steadfast military alliance, to our cooperation on public health.”
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Front-line medics get donated Pfizer as US pledges another $55m for Thailand
The 1.5 million Pfizer doses for Thailand are part of over half a billion doses that the US is donating to over 100 nations, “with no strings attached”, said a US Embassy press release.
“We are proud to say we will soon be providing another 1 million doses [for Thailand],” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“President Biden has committed America to providing vaccines to the world. He understands that no one is safe until everyone is safe.”
Front-line medics get donated Pfizer as US pledges another $55m for Thailand
She added that the US government is also providing $55 million of additional aid, mainly to help Thailand’s humanitarian response to the crisis in Myanmar.
We are also providing assistance to support the pandemic response that will help alleviate the strain on Thailand’s health systems. Of this $50 million would “provide emergency food assistance, lifesaving protection, shelter, essential healthcare, water, sanitation, and hygiene services to vulnerable people from Myanmar, including more than 700,000 refugees and internally displaced people”.
The other $5 million will provide support to Thailand’s vaccination programme and ability to prevent, detect, and respond to Covid-19, she said.
Delta variant of Covid-19 fast becoming mainstream, survey shows
More than 90 per cent of Covid-19 patients have been infected by the Delta variant of the virus, a survey conducted by the Department of Medical Science revealed.
“The department has been studying new infections every week and of the 1,632 samples surveyed last week, 1,499 or 91.9 per cent had been infected by the Delta variant, formerly known as the Indian strain,” the department’s director-general Dr Supphakit Siriluck said on Tuesday. “Of the samples, 129 or 7.9 per cent had picked up the Alpha variant or UK strain, while four or 0.2 per cent had the Beta or South African strain.”
No other strains of Covid-19 have been detected in Thailand so far.
Of the 1,632 samples, 1,157 were collected in Bangkok, 95.4 per cent of whom had picked up the Delta variant and the rest Alpha variant. The remaining 475 samples had been collected from the provinces, where 83.2 per cent were found to have been infected by Delta and 16 per cent by the Alpha variant.
“The trend of infections in Thailand shows that the Delta variant is fast becoming mainstream and can be found in every province, while the Alpha variant will eventually cease to exist,” Supphakit said. “As for the Beta variant, it will remain in southern provinces and not spread to other regions. Currently, there are 354 patients with the Beta variant in Narathiwat, four in Phuket and one in Phatthalung.
“Unlike Delta, the Beta variant spreads more slowly and is, therefore, easier to contain,” he added.
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has dismissed accusations that it is misusing state assets by deploying aircraft to transport fruit to RATF bases.
RATF spokesperson Air Marshal Thanat Chanampai said on Tuesday that the fruit was transported as part of a government campaign to help farmers. Transportation did not incur extra expenses as the aircraft was already being used for flight training, he added.
Air Force defends fruit-flying missions
His explanation came in response to social media posts earlier this week accusing the RATF of misusing SAAB 340 aircraft to transport mangosteens and longans from Surat Thani, Chiang Mai and Lamphun. Critics complained that deploying air force planes to transport fruit was not cost-effective.
The campaign is a collaboration between the RATF and Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives’ Cooperative Promotion Department to transport 30 tonnes of fruit from three provinces where farmers are facing oversupply, to sell to air force personnel and their families at RATF bases.
Air Force defends fruit-flying missions
“The SAAB 340 aircraft is scheduled to perform regular flight training to improve the skills of pilots and staffers even during Covid-19 situation,” said Thanat. “The RATF did not charter any additional flights apart from the scheduled training flights. Furthermore, the aircraft have plenty of available cargo space.”
He added that the transportation of fruits did not incur any additional expenses for the RTAF.
“Rather, this is a way of making the fullest use of air force assets and personnel to help farmers who are unable to transport their produce to markets due to travel restrictions during Covid-19 situation,” he said.
Front-line medics get donated Pfizer as US pledges another $55m for Thailand
Front-line medics get donated Pfizer as US pledges another $55m for Thailand
Air Force defends fruit-flying missions
Air Force defends fruit-flying missions
Air Force defends fruit-flying missions
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