Thai police promise ‘good news’ on drug trafficking soon
Thailand’s police bureau told the press on Tuesday that it will soon have some good news on international drug trafficking, especially on shipments to countries like Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand.
The announcement was made by deputy police commissioner Lt-General Manoo Mekmok.
Manoo said 11 suspects had been arrested in three separate cases, in which police seized a haul of 516 kilos of methamphetamine and 4.2 million pills of amphetamine.
He said police now have some strong evidence in hand, which will lead to some good news in the future.
Recent reports show that methamphetamine has become more easily available during the crisis, and the sources have been traced to five Asian countries, including Thailand.
Over 100 SHA+hotels in Phuket ready to welcome tourists from July 1
More than 100 hotels in Phuket have passed the SHA+ healthy safety standard and are ready for the launch of the tourism sandbox campaign in the province on July 1, Kongsak Khupongsakorn, president of Thai Hotel Association’s Southern Chapter, said on Monday.
The SHA+, or Safety & Health Administration Plus standard, was launched by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Ministry of Public Health as guidelines for hotel entrepreneurs to append safety and health measures to the service quality standards to ensure safety of customers and staff during the pandemic.
“Over 100 hotels in Phuket with combined rooms of over 10,000 are SHA+ certified, while 430 hotels with over 40,000 rooms are certified at SHA level,” he said.
“To get an SHA+ approval, 100 per cent of hotel staff must be vaccinated.
“The association believes that the vaccination of hotel staff should not be a problem, as so far over 200,000 Phuket locals have been vaccinated, and some of them are hotel staff,” added Kongsak.
“The province expects to vaccinate another 200,000 locals before the end of June, so before the campaign starts we should have plenty of hotel staff who are vaccinated.
“Furthermore, some 10,000 rooms at SHA+ certified hotels should be adequate for foreign tourists in the early phase of Phuket sandbox,” he added.
“The TAT has estimated that in the first three months of the campaign, around 100,000 foreign tourists will enter Phuket, averaging around 30,000 people per month. This number of tourists will usually occupy 2,000 to 3,000 rooms per day.”
Kongsak added that the current hotel occupancy rate in Phuket is only 5 per cent, forcing hotels to provide discounts to attract customers.
“Five-star hotels are offering rooms at as low as THB2,000 per night, while the rate for villas has dropped to THB4,000 per night from the original price of over THB10,000 per night,” he said.
“The association expects that once the sandbox programme passes its three-month pilot phase, foreign tourists will start pouring in and the occupancy rate in Phuket will climb up.”
Under the sandbox scheme, foreign tourists who can verify they have been inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly into Phuket and move around freely in the province without having to quarantine.
After staying in Phuket for 14 days and testing negative, the tourists can then travel to other provinces in Thailand.
Nearly 7,000 organisations register for Covilo vaccine
Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA) said on Monday that 6,938 organisations had applied for Chinas Sinopharm vaccine for 3.18 million staff on the first day of registration.
CRA opened registration for organisation customers starting June 14 from 8am to 4pm. It will import and sell Sinopharm’s Covilo vaccine at THB888 per jab. The price includes transportation and storage fees and insurance in case of side-effects.
“To register, log on to https://vaccine.cra.ac.th and apply using the company’s registration certificate with the signature of the authorised person,” said the CRA.
“The registrant must specify the number of vaccine doses they need for their staff and the academy will contact them within five working days to notify the number that can be allocated, the payment method, the vaccination date and venue.”
Sinopharm’s Covilo vaccine is an inactivated vaccine like Sinovac. It has been approved by the World Health Organisation and Food and Drug Administration for use in Thailand. Covilo is suitable for those over 18 years old with no upper age limit. Two doses are required 3-4 weeks apart, and it can be stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius.
Some 65 million doses of Covilo have been administered in 57 countries with overall efficacy of 78.1 per cent and 100 per cent prevention against severe symptoms and death.
Health department tells food delivery operators to strictly follow Covid safety measures
The Department of Health has urged food delivery businesses to adhere to disease control measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“During the pandemic more people refrain from dining out and turn to food delivery services instead,” Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingjaroenchai, the department’s director-general, said.
“Our latest Anamai Poll showed that up to 53.9 per cent of respondents residing in red zone provinces have used food delivery services in the past month, while 35 per cent of people residing in orange zone provinces also use the service.
“The poll showed that most food delivery staff follow disease control measures, such as wearing a face mask while working (97.5 per cent) and using e-payment methods to avoid touching cash [93 per cent],” he said.
“However, it is a matter of concern that 27.6 per cent of delivery staff said that they did not wash their hands before and after handling the food.
“The department has urged the companies to provide their staff with alcohol hand sanitizers and have them clean their hands before and after they touch the food packaging, even when they wear gloves,” he added.
“We have also urged them to follow other disease control measures, including screening staff using thermo-scanning before dispatching them, performing online self-evaluation every day on the department’s website (https://savethai.anamai.moph.go.th/), and logging staff travel history to help with contact tracing in case of infection.”
Meanwhile, users of food delivery services are also urged to wear face masks and stand at least a metre away from delivery staff, use cashless payment method or prepare exact amount of cash so the staff won’t have to give the change, and wash their hands thoroughly after accepting the food.
19 deaths, 3,000 new cases push Thailand’s caseload over 200,000 mark
Thailand recorded 19 deaths and 3,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases, including five overseas arrivals, over a 24-hour period on Tuesday.
Bangkok led the list with 872 cases, followed by Samut Sakhon (336), Pathum Thani (202) and Samut Prakan (163).
Meanwhile, 4,774 patients have recovered and been discharged in the last 24 hours.
Of the five arrivals, three were Thai nationals from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Cambodia, while the other two were a Belgian national and a Japanese citizen from their own countries.
As of Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 202,264.
So far, 162,718 have recovered and been discharged, 38,061 are still in hospitals, and 1,485 have died.
Meanwhile, another 230,149 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, while 92,911 people were given their second shot, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in Thailand to 6,511,184.
According to Worldometer, as of 11am on Tuesday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 177.02 million (up by 300,347), 161.2 million of whom have recovered, 12 million are active cases (84,628 in severe condition) and 3.82 million have died (up by 6,729).
Thailand ranks 79th on the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 34.33 million, followed by India 29.57 million, Brazil 17.45 million, France 5.74 million, and Turkey 5.33 million.
Thundershowers forecast for all regions, isolated heavy rains in the North
The southwest monsoon prevailing across the Andaman Sea, Thailand, and the Gulf of Thailand is weakening, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Tuesday.
Thundershowers are forecast all over Thailand with isolated heavy rains in the upper North. People in this region should beware of the severe conditions, the department said.
Waves in the Andaman Sea are expected to rise two metres high and more than two metres high during thundershowers. All ships should proceed with caution, the department said.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Thundershowers in 80 per cent of the areas with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 21-23 degrees Celsius, highs of 30-35°C.
Northeast: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-25°C, highs of 32-35°C.
Central: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-25°C, highs of 33-35°C.
East: Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-27°C, highs of 32-35°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-25°C, highs of 32-36°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 21-26°C, highs of 32-34°C; waves two metres high and over two metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-26°C, highs of 32-34°C.
Electric ferries buzz Saen Saep canal ahead of August launch
Twelve electric ferry boats that will ply the eastern end of Bangkok’s Saen Saep canal from August were anointed in a religious ceremony on Monday.
Bangkok deputy governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul presided over rites invoking the boat-guardian spirit Mae Yanang as the e-ferries took a trial run from Wat Si Bun Rueang pier in Bang Kapi district to Minburi District Office pier in Bang Bo district, Samut Prakan.
Each boat has 40 seats and is powered by solar panels and batteries. The batteries will take 90-120 minutes to charge and run for 2-3 hours before being switched at piers when they run out of power.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says the boats will cause fewer waves, less noise, be eco-friendly and will discharge no waste along their 11-kilometre route.
The route will feature 12 stops and link with the existing ferry service to central Bangkok at Wat Si Boon Rueang pier.
Construction of eight piers is currently underway and due for completion by August. The e-ferry service will operate from 5.30am-8.30pm, except on public holidays when it will run 6am-7pm.
The e-ferries are due to start running around the end of August this year.
Electric ferries buzz Saen Saep canal ahead of August launch
18 Royal Thai Police pistols found for sale online
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) reported on Monday that 18 guns from police stations across the country had been seized from an online arms-trafficking gang.
CSD officers swooped on suspected members of the gang – which operated in Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Ratchaburi, Songkhla and elsewhere – on June 10. They also seized 154 firearms including pistols and rifles, plus 14 explosive devices and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Among the seized firearms were 18 Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer and Glock pistols carrying the shield symbol of the Royal Thai Police (RTP). The pistols also carried markings identifying the police station from which they were drawn.
Five of the guns came from Thammasala Police Station and five were from Lak Song Police Station – both in western Bangkok.
The others were from Nakhon Pathom Provincial Police Investigation Division (2), Phutthamonthon Police Station in the same province (2), Bang Sao Thong Police Station in Samut Prakan (1), and Krathum Baen (1) and Khok Kham (1) police stations in Samut Sakhon. One of the RTP pistols is still under investigation.
Investigators believe police officers drew out the guns from stations and handed them to pawn shops that were in league with the arms traffickers. The CSD spotted the pistols before they could be sold.
18 Royal Thai Police pistols found for sale online
Khlong Toei smart community project forced to slice off 10 storeys
Port Authority of Thailand (PAT)’s smart residential project at Khlong Toei Port in Bangkok needs a major change to building plans to comply with the land utility law, said PAT deputy director Somchai Hemthong on Monday.
“The original plan was to build four 20-storey apartment buildings for residents of communities around Khlong Toei Port, but the law stipulates that buildings located on a secondary road must not exceed 10-storeys,” he said. “Therefore, we will change the plan and build six to eight 10-storey buildings instead.”
The Khlong Toei Smart Community project will develop 58 rai of land around Khlong Toei Port with apartment buildings containing 6,048 residential units, plus offices, government buildings, a public health office, market, school, public park and parking space for residents. It aims to provide standardised accommodation for residents of Khlong Toei slums and is part of PAT’s long term initiative to turn Bangkok Port into a smart port.
The development project launched in 2019 with a completion date of 2038 and a budget of THB9.85 billion. PAT is currently conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA) study and estimates construction could start by 2023.
Third phase of co-payment scheme opens to another 31 million people
Registration for the third phase of the “Khon La Khrueng” (Lets Go Halves) co-payment scheme opened on Monday (June 14). The third phase covers an extra 31 million people with a government budget of THB93 billion. The first two phases of the Covid-relief scheme covered a total of 15 million people.
Under the scheme, participants get a 50 per cent daily discount at participating shops and stalls. The discount is capped at THB3,000 per participant throughout 2021.
The first THB1,500 will be distributed to each registrant via the Paotang digital wallet from July to September, with the remaining THB1,500 disbursed from October to December.
The Finance Ministry expects the scheme to inject THB186 billion into the economy, half from the government and half from participants.
The Thai Chamber of Commerce forecast the first and second phases of Khon La Khrueng would add 0.3 per cent of economic growth. The higher budget for the third phase is expected to trigger greater growth than phase one and two.
Third phase of co-payment scheme opens to another 31 million people
Electric ferries buzz Saen Saep canal ahead of August launch
18 Royal Thai Police pistols found for sale online
Third phase of co-payment scheme opens to another 31 million people
