Daily Covid-19 deaths reach new high on Thursday at 98 deaths with 9,186 new infections
Ministry of Public Health reported on Thursday (July 15) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 9,186 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 79 of whom have been found in prisons.
Death toll increased by 98, which is the country’s new high, while 5,543 patients were cured and allowed to leave hospitals.
Cumulative cases in the country are at 372,215 with 3,032 total deaths.
Bed situation for Bangkok virus patients reaches critical level
The bed situation for Covid-19 patients in Bangkok is at a critical level, especially for those in the red group, for which there are only 10 per cent of beds available, the Public Health Ministry revealed.
“Bangkok hospitals have a total capacity of about 1,000 beds for red-group patients. There are now only 10 per cent of these beds vacant,” said Dr Korakrit Limsommut, director of the ministry’s Health Administration Division.
“For patients in the yellow group, there are [only] 415 vacant beds, plus some 449 beds available in hospital isolation rooms. As for patients in the green group, there are 500 vacant beds at field hospitals, plus about 4,200 at certified hospitels,” the doctor said.
Patients in the red group are those with severe symptoms that require respirators, while patients in the yellow group display moderate symptoms but have underlying health problems that require close monitoring. Those in the green group have tested positive but are still asymptomatic.
Korakrit also said the ministry has 1,613 Remdesivir and 4,017,781 Favipiravir tablets in stock for treating Covid-19 patients.
“We are planning to procure 21 million more Favipiravir tablets to cope with the rising infections,” he said.
“The first big lot of 16 million tablets should be delivered within this month; two million will arrive in August and another two million in September. Negotiations are being conducted with the manufacturer for the remaining one million tablets,” he added.
Bangkok dispatching 69 teams to test high-risk community residents for Covid-19
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will on Thursday dispatch 69 Comprehensive Covid-19 Response Teams (CCRTs) to 69 communities with a high risk of infections, Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Wednesday.
“The CCRTs will conduct rapid tests on people in risky groups with antigen test kits and also provide locals with knowledge on the correct way to isolate at home to prevent the virus from spreading at the community level,” he said.
“Those who test positive will be immediately sent to community isolation centres in case hospital beds in the area are not available.”
Aswin said the city would soon have 200 CCRTs to cover wider areas of the metropolis, especially slums which have a high density of population.
Bangkok dispatching 69 teams to test high-risk community residents for Covid-19
Each CCRT comprises public health officials, security officers and volunteers from NGOs.
Bangkok reported 2,332 new infections on Wednesday, topping the country’s daily infections chart, with cumulative patients since April 1 being 103,907 people.
Bangkok dispatching 69 teams to test high-risk community residents for Covid-19
Thundershowers, isolated heavy rains forecast for most of country
All regions across Thailand will see thundershowers, with isolated heavy rains in the Northeast, the Central part, the East and the South as a moderate southwest monsoon prevails over the country, the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said on Thursday.
It advised people to beware of the severe conditions.
Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-26 degrees and highs of 34-37 degrees Celsius.
Northeast: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees and highs of 32-34 degrees Celsius.
Central: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees, highs of 33-35 degrees Celsius.
East: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 25-26 degrees, highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 31-34 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 24-25 degrees, highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 26-28 degrees, highs of 30-33 degrees Celsius.
Thailand moves to limit exports of locally-made AstraZeneca
Thailand is moving ahead with plans to limit exports of locally-made AstraZeneca vaccine as domestic Covid-19 cases soar.
Adraft document specifying limits on vaccine exports was agreed by the National Vaccine Board on Wednesday and passed to the National Vaccine Institute and Department of Disease Control (DDC).
National Vaccine Institute director Nakorn Premsri did not reveal any figures for the limit.
AstraZeneca Thailand’s partner, Siam Bioscience, has been contracted to produce 180 million doses this year – 61 million for Thailand and the rest for other countries in Southeast Asia.
However, Thailand quickly ran short of AstraZeneca doses after its mass vaccination launched on June 7, while deliveries to the Philippines and Malaysia have been delayed.
AstraZeneca delivered 6 million doses for Thailand last month and is expected to match that number this month, missing its target of 10 million doses for July.
Meanwhile, the vaccine institute and DDC resolved to hasten moves to procure 100 million doses of vaccine for Thailand this year, Nithi said.
Barely 5 per cent of the population has been vaccinated in Thailand, where the daily caseload has surged to almost 10,000.
Phuket bans entry to unvaccinated domestic travellers
Only fully vaccinated travellers will be permitted to enter Phuket from Thursday (July 15), when tightened Covid-19 restrictions come into effect in the island province.
The ban on unvaccinated travellers will be effective from July 15-31 or until the order changes, Phuket authorities said on Wednesday.
Those vaccinated with AstraZeneca must have had their second jab at least 14 days before arriving in Phuket.
Travellers who have recovered from Covid-19 must show a negative RT-PCR or antigen test taken no more than seven days before entering the province.
Those arriving from the 10 provinces under maximum controls – Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat – must also download and Bluetooth-enable the MorChana tracing app.
CRA to open Sinopharm booking on Thursday and Friday
The public can book Sinopharm jabs online via Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA) on Thursday and Friday (July 15-16), CRA announced on Wednesday.
Between 30,000 and 50,000 people would be able to book this week, with another booking session planned for next week, said CRA secretary-general Dr Nithi Mahanon.
Nithi said the cost will be no more than 888 baht per dose, the same price paid earlier by organisations. If possible, the price would be lower, he added.
People will be able to book the vaccine, transfer payment online and then receive the jab at a listed hospital, he said. Details of the payment method will be released on Thursday.
Nithi explained that more than one booking session was required because the academy could only store a limited number of doses.
The academy is also seeking to import other vaccines for booster shots, he said.
9 social-media users face arrest for allegedly defaming Thai Army
Thailand’s Army chief on Wednesday demanded the arrest of nine people for allegedly claiming that Thai soldiers were being flown to the United States for Covid-19 booster shots.
Army chief General Narongpan Jittkaewtae announced that eight Facebook users and one Twitter user will be arrested over defamation charges and may face up to two years in prison and/or a fine of no more than 4,000 baht.
The general also had Colonel Nakhonsom Naowabut from the Army’s office of the judge advocate file a complaint with the Nang Loeng police station on Wednesday.
Recently, social-media users shared images of Thai soldiers heading to the US to participate in the July 10-26 Strategic Airborne Operation at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Accompanying the images were captions accusing the soldiers of travelling to the US to get a Pfizer booster and using the taxpayers’ money to fund this exercise.
Meanwhile, deputy Army spokesman Colonel Srichan Ngathong pointed out that the vaccination card pictured in the posts is that of a 58-year-old, while soldiers heading to the US are a lot younger.
No foreign tourists on first day of Samui reopening
Tourism operators on Surat Thanis resort islands of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao are ready for a slow return of foreign travellers from tomorrow (Thursday).
Only 11 foreigners – all members of the media – will take the Bangkok Airways flight from Bangkok to Samui on Thursday, according to the Koh Samui Tourism Promotion Association.
“We do not expect a lot of travellers to visit Thailand in the third quarter this year as the rise in the country’s daily Covid-19 cases would affect their confidence,” association chairman Ratchaporn Poolsawas said on Wednesday.
“However, what we can do is start tourist operations in line with standard procedure in a bid to stimulate the country’s tourism.”
He expects Thailand’s Covid-19 caseload to fall in the fourth quarter, boosting confidence among Thai and foreign travellers.
Tourists arriving under the Samui Plus model from Thursday must stay in an Alternative Local Quarantine (ALQ) hotel on Koh Samui for seven days. After that, they can stay in an ALQ or SHA+ hotel on Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan or Koh Tao.
After the first three days on Samui, they can also travel across the island on sealed routes.
“Each room package includes charges for three RT-PCR Covid-19 tests and other services. Travellers will get a refund on the second and third tests if they stay less than 14 days,” Ratchaporn said.
If the number of Covid-19 cases under the Samui+ Model rises over 20 within two weeks, the mandatory period of stay in an ALQ hotel will be extended to 14 days.
If the number of cases rises above 40 within two weeks, Covid measures will be tightened. Koh Samui disease control centre will decide whether the Samui+ Model needs to be suspended, said the chairman.
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said 80 foreign travellers have booked Bangkok Airways seats from Bangkok to Samui between July and October this year.
Chattan Kunchorn na Ayudhya, TAT’s deputy governor of International Marketing (Asia and South Pacific), added that the 11 foreign travellers arriving on Thursday are all media representatives on a junket to test the Samui+ Model.
Four international travellers will arrive on Friday. Some 177 of Koh Samui’s 671 hotels have reopened.
Thailand’s chief campaigner turns spotlight on new consumer council
Activist Srisuwan Janya on Wednesday called on the Justice Ministry to launch an investigation into the 152 consumer organisations that got together to form the Thailand Consumer Council (TCC) in December 2020.
“Isuspect some of these organisations have only been set up to meet the quota required to establish the TCC,” Srisuwan said. “I have done a random check and found that 16 organisations do not have head offices in provinces listed in the documents submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office. When I interviewed local administrators and villagers in those provinces, they said they have never heard of these organisations.”
Srisuwan, who is vice president and secretary-general of the Society for Defence of Thai Constitutions, said he has also submitted evidence including photos and recordings of testimonies. Hence, he said, the Department of Investigation can start investigating these 152 organisations, which he believes may have violated Article 5 of the 2019 Establishment of Thailand Consumer Council Act.
Article 5 stipulates that organisations under the TCC should have been working on consumer protection in their respective area for at least two years and should be able to provide evidence of such work.
“Organisations that use fake evidence to join the TCC are also in violation of Article 137 of the Criminal Code, which says that anyone who provides false information that is likely to cause injury to a person or the public shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding 10,000 baht or both,” he said.
Srisuwan added that if these organisations are found guilty, the establishment of the TCC should be deemed invalid and any decisions or legal actions taken by the body be nullified as well.
Bangkok dispatching 69 teams to test high-risk community residents for Covid-19
Bangkok dispatching 69 teams to test high-risk community residents for Covid-19
