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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001884

First 1 million doses of Sinopharm to arrive June 20-21

Chulabhorn Royal Academy (CRA) expects to import Thailands first batch of 1 million Sinopharm vaccine doses on June 20-21, according to its secretary-general Dr Nithi Mahanon.

Dr Nithi told Sutichai Yoon in a Facebook interview on Thursday that the batch would undergo 2-3 days of quality checks by the Department of Medical Sciences. The CRA will then distribute the vaccine on a non-profit basis at 888 baht per dose to interested agencies and organisations.

“The vaccine must be offered free to recipients, with the purchasing agencies bearing the cost,” he said.

The college will open an online vaccine reservation service on Monday, June 14. Organisations who have already sent an expression of interest would still have to register online for doses, said the CRA chief. Organisations will be prioritised according to four criteria: organisation’s size, social and economic security, Covid risk, and inequality. “Large organisations may not be allocated large amounts of doses at one time,” Dr Nithi said.

The CRA aims to plug gaps left by shortages of government-procured vaccine over the next 2-3 months. It plans to import a total of 5-6 million doses of Sinopharm in batches every 10 days. Meanwhile, the academy is considering whether to administer third-dose booster shots using the same or different vaccine at the end of 2021 or start of 2022.

Published : June 11, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001880

Justice minister kicks off vaccination in Covid-ravaged Thai prison system

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin announced the vaccine rollout in Thailand’s overcrowded prisons on Thursday, where more than 22,000 inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 during the latest wave.

Somsak urged the ministry’s Department of Corrections to distribute vaccines to prisons nationwide to ensure that all officials and inmates receive jabs.

He said prisons in provinces with a high infection risk will be first on the list for vaccine delivery.

“This move aims to contain the spread of Covid-19, gain confidence among prison officials and inmates, reduce loss of life and budget, and comply with human rights,” he said.

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Hundreds of new cases per day in prisons across the country are driving the third wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, where mass vaccination began on Monday.

The third wave, which emerged around the start of April, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the country’s total infections and 90 per cent of deaths from Covid-19.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001878

Army of Minions deliver lese majeste file to police, demand prosecutions

Former politician Nangnoi Assawakittikorn on Thursday led an army of royalist “Minions” to the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD), where they urged police to crack down on violators of the lese majeste and computer crime laws.

Calling themselves the Thailand Help Centre for Cyber-bullying Victims, Nangnoi’s group wore yellow shirts and blue overalls to mimic the popular cartoon characters from the “Despicable Me” and “Minions” films.

Army of Minions deliver lese majeste file to police, demand prosecutions

Yellow is the colour traditionally worn by royalists in Thailand, while Nangnoi is a former MP candidate for the Action Coalition for Thailand Party and a prominent royalist activist in Phitsanulok province.

The lese majeste law (Section 112 of the Criminal Code) states that “whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, will be punished with imprisonment of three to 15 years”.

Army of Minions deliver lese majeste file to police, demand prosecutions

Nagnoi handed what she said was evidence of lese majeste to the police. Most of it consisted of comments posted on media websites such as The Standard, Channel One News, Workpoint Today, Nation TV and TikTok.

TCSD chief Sunatthaphol Niramitsupphachet said Nangnoi had delivered comments from about 90 individuals, all of which the division would investigate for possible criminal content.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001876

43 deaths, 2,310 new cases as Thailand’s third wave rages on

Thailand’s Covid-19 caseload came in at 43 deaths and 2,310 new confirmed cases over a 24-hour period on Thursday.

Of the confirmed cases, 1,467 were patients admitted to hospitals, 703 were found via proactive testing, 102 prisoners tested positive, while 38 were overseas arrivals.

Bangkok again led the list with 788 cases, followed by 308 in Pathum Thani, 209 in Samut Prakan and 132 in Nonthaburi.

All returnees were Thai nationals – 37 from Cambodia and one from the UK.

Meanwhile, 3,035 patients have recovered and been discharged in the last 24 hours.

As of Thursday, the number of confirmed cases in Thailand had risen to 187,538. So far, 139,287 have recovered and been discharged, 46,876 patients are still in hospitals, and 1,375 have died.

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Meanwhile, another 293,719 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, while 42,955 were given their second shot, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccines administered in Thailand to 5,443,743.

According to Worldometer, as of 11am on Thursday, the number of confirmed cases globally had risen to 175.17 million (up by 420,270), 158.67 million of whom have recovered, 12.73 million are active cases (85,299 in severe condition) and 3.77 million have died (up by 14,091).

Thailand ranks 80th in the global list of most cases, which is topped by the US with 34.26 million, followed by India 29.18 million, Brazil 17.12 million, France 5.72 million, and Turkey 5.3 million.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001874

Mass vaccine rollout pushes Thailand up in Asean ranking

Thailand has now risen to the third spot among Asean countries that have administered the highest number of Covid-19 jabs, Chulabhorn Royal Academy secretary-general Dr Nithi Mahanonda said in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

As of June 9, more than 60 million Covid-19 jabs had been administered in Asean countries.

In terms of jabs delivered, Asean countries are ranked as follows:

• Indonesia: 30,155,028

• The Philippines: 6,314,548

• Thailand: 5,443,743

• Cambodia: 5,005,585

• Singapore: 4,392,067

• Malaysia: 3,790,121

• Myanmar: 2,994,900

• Vietnam: 1,354,856

• Laos: 1,034,588

• Brunei: 58,450

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Dr Nithi also applauded the Public Health Ministry and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19 and said he hoped the country would overcome the crisis once more shots are delivered.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001873

Snake hunters snare two of 20 cobras terrorising Trang village

Two of the 20 or so cobras that have killed one villager and many small animals in Ban Khok Kho in Trang’s Muang district were captured by a special team on Wednesday.

The two snakes were caught after the team spent more than a day combing 2-rai of forested land.

Team leader Prangmat Charoenwai, 36, was the first to capture an 80-centimetre-long cobra but ended up in hospital with a bad bite.

Other officials then spent 10 to 15 minutes trying to snare a 4-metre-long king cobra, which had wounds on its neck, body and tail. They treated the snake’s wounds before putting it in a bag, to applause from some 100 villagers watching the operation.

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Snake hunters snare two of 20 cobras terrorising Trang village

The team will continue hunting for other members of the cobra den to ensure villagers’ safety.

Snake hunters snare two of 20 cobras terrorising Trang villageSnake hunters snare two of 20 cobras terrorising Trang villageSnake hunters snare two of 20 cobras terrorising Trang villageSnake hunters snare two of 20 cobras terrorising Trang village

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Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001872

Million more Sinovac doses arrive in Thailand

Another one million doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine landed in Thailand on Thursday, bringing the total number of doses bought from China to 7.5 million.

The Chinese biopharmaceutical company, Sinovac Biotech, has allocated more than 600 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to more than 40 countries. The World Health Organisation last week approved the Sinovac vaccine for use among the general public.

So far, more than 430 million doses of the Sinovac jab have been administered across the world.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001871

AOT launches projects to prepare airports for new normal

The Airports of Thailand (AOT) board on May 31 gave the green light to the bidding of four projects worth about 965 million baht to match the new normal era.

The projects are:

• Procuring and setting up a visual docking guidance system worth 248 million baht – won by Advance Vision Engineering.

• Procuring and setting up real-time passenger counting system worth 380 million baht – won by Turnkey Communication Services. AOT has called on the company to consider applying the system to Covid-19 screening in line with the country’s public health system.

• Renting body scanners at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket and Chiang Mai airports for two years from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2023, worth 255 million baht – won by MIT Solution. AOT is negotiating the price in line with the scanners’ service life.

• Hiring engineers to maintain carry-on baggage X-ray machines in Suvarnabhumi Airport’s passenger terminal from July 4, 2021, to June 30, 2024, worth 81.8 million baht – won by Aero Corporation.

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AOT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said the agency is preparing to apply new technology to provide services in the new normal, like automatic check-in and passenger density management.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001870

Parliament gives go-ahead to 500bn-baht loan to tackle Covid crisis

Lawmakers on Thursday approved the government’s plan to borrow an additional 500 billion baht to deal with the Covid-19 crisis in Thailand.

Of the 469 lawmakers present, 270 voted yay, 196 vetoed and three abstained.

The Royal Gazette website said last week that the emergency decree stipulates that no more than 500 billion baht will be borrowed to provide necessary aid and compensation to people in all occupations who have been affected by the new wave.

A source said the 500 billion baht will be divided as follows:

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• 30 billion baht for buying drugs, vaccines, medical equipment as well as for research and development of manufacturing vaccines locally and other medical-related expenses.

• 300 billion baht on cash handouts to ease people’s financial burden.

• 170 billion baht on stimulating the economy, generating jobs and launching investment promotion campaigns to boost the economy once the pandemic is resolved.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001869

Tax incentives to boost EV market ‘must not affect other manufacturers’

Automobile tax adjustments to turn Thailand into a manufacturing base for electric vehicles (EVs) should not affect the production of other vehicles like pick-up trucks, a source from the Excise Department said this week.

“The department is considering the new structure and accepting input from related parties, especially in the manufacturing sector,” the source said.

The current automobile tax is based largely on the emission of carbon dioxide – vehicles emitting the least CO2 are taxed lowest.

“If the new tax structure only offers tax breaks to manufacturers of BEV or battery electric vehicles to attract investment, manufacturers of internal combustion vehicles may move out of Thailand, as the need for vehicles running on fossil fuel is still high, especially in nations that lack the infrastructure for electric vehicles, like African countries,” the source added.

The source also pointed out that Thailand is one of the world’s key manufacturers of one-tonne trucks, which cannot be replaced by an electric alternative as petrol-fuelled trucks are most suitable for heavy loads and long-distance travel.

“Electric vehicles are bound to the availability of charging stations and are not meant for long-distance travel. If Thailand were to become a manufacturing hub for EVs, it should only focus on sedans or personal vehicles,” the source said.

The Excise Department is also considering non-tax incentives to promote the manufacturing of BEV, as well as revising the tax structure for completely knocked down (CKD) and completely built-up (CBU) electric vehicles to promote sales in the country.

In March, the National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee under the Energy Ministry set the target of devoting 50 per cent of the country’s total manufacturing capacity to electric vehicles by 2027, with at least 1.05 million EVs on the roads by 2025 and 15.58 million by 2035.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : THE NATION