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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001866

Baht likely to strengthen amid stock purchases by foreign investors

The baht opened at 31.17 to the US dollar on Thursday, unchanged from its closing rate on Wednesday.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.15 and 31.25 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.

He said the baht would weaken slightly this morning due to a strengthening dollar. However, the Thai currency would itself strengthen later, due to stock and bond purchases by foreign investors.

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Poon also said the baht in the short term would be supported by foreigners, who have started investing in Thailand again after seeing a smoother distribution of vaccines across the country.

He suggested that investors monitor the Covid-19 situation in Thailand, as well as vaccine distribution, as these would be key factors in influencing the direction of the baht in the second half of this year, due to factors related directly to foreign investment.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

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https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001864

Daily virus deaths hit new June high

Daily Covid-19 deaths reached a new June high of 43 deaths on Thursday, with 2,310 new infections.

Of the 2,310 latest Covid-19 cases, 102 have been found in prisons, the Public Health Ministry reported on Thursday morning.

It added that 3,035 patients have recovered and been discharged.

Cumulative cases in the country now stand at 187,538, with a total of 1,375 deaths.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001858

First semester for academic year 2021 will commence on June 14: education minister

The first semester for academic year 2021 will go ahead on June 14 and will not be postponed again, Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong announced on Wednesday.

The date was originally set for May 17 but was changed twice – to June 1 and then June 14 – in a bid to curb Covid-19 from spreading.

“The ministry has tasked all schools to prepare for the reopening and adjust their teaching based on one or more of five approaches to suit the situation in their respective area,” she said.

The five approaches are:

1. On-site: schools offer teaching at their facilities as usual.

2. On-demand: teaching is provided via mobile applications.

3. Online: teaching is provided online via the internet.

4. On-hand: lesson and exercise materials are delivered to students at home.

5. On-air: teaching is provided via satellite TV programmes to students in remote areas.

“Schools that choose the on-site approach must prioritise the safety of students from Covid-19 and provide necessary facilities such as hand-washing stations and spaced seating in classrooms to maintain social distancing,” Treenuch said.

“They are also urged to include lessons on Covid-19, such as its nature and how to stay safe from the virus,” she said.

So far more than 33,000 teachers and school staff in Bangkok and surrounding areas have registered to receive Covid-19 vaccinations at Bang Sue Grand Station, Treenuch said.

“As of Wednesday about 70 per cent of these teachers and staff have been inoculated to prepare for the school reopening on June 14,” she added.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001857

Foreign tourists voice displeasure about 14-day mandatory stay under Phuket sandbox

Many foreigners took to the Facebook group “Phuket Sandbox – Better Phuket By I Asia Thailand” to express discontent and opposition to the latest regulation that requires international tourists to stay in the province for 14 days under the sandbox scheme before they can travel to other provinces.

The Centre for Economic Situation Administration last Friday approved the launch of the Phuket tourism sandbox from July 1 after the centre changed the requirement from a 7-day mandatory stay to 14 days to ensure foreign visitors are free of Covid-19.

Under the scheme, foreign tourists who can verify they have been fully inoculated against Covid-19 and test negative can fly directly into Phuket and move around freely in the province without having to quarantine. After staying in Phuket for 14 days and still testing negative, they can then travel to other provinces in Thailand.

“Staying in Phuket for 14 days is too long and requires more money,” said one of the group members. “In the end many tourists who can’t afford this will cancel their trips altogether and this will eventually hurt Phuket’s local businesses.”

Many others posted that due to the prolonged-stay requirement, they decided to switch their destinations from Phuket to nearby countries.

Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said last week that the Phuket sandbox is a pilot scheme to find and test suitable measures to be used in other top tourist provinces.

“There will be an evaluation within the first month with focus on the number of infections from foreign tourists,” he said. “If the infection rate does not increase, we could adjust down the requirement to seven days to attract more tourists.”

Pipat also said the 14-day requirement is only mandatory for those who wish to travel to other provinces.

“Those who plan to travel within Phuket for seven days or less and then return home can still do so,” he said.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001849

Isolated heavy rains forecast for upper Thailand, South west coast

The North, the Northeast, the East and the South’s west coast will experience isolated heavy rains as a monsoon trough lies across the North and the upper Northeast while a strong southwest monsoon prevails across the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Meteorological Department said on Thursday.

It advised small boats to stay ashore until June 12 while all ships should proceed with caution as waves in the Andaman Sea are 2-3 metres high and more than 3 metres during thundershowers.

Here’s the weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 24-25 degrees and highs of 31-33 degrees Celsius.

Northeast: Thundershowers in 70 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees and highs of 29-32 degrees Celsius.

Central: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 33-34 degrees Celsius.

East: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 23-28 degrees, highs of 28-32 degrees Celsius; waves 2 metres high and over 2 metres during thundershowers.

South (east coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 23-25 degrees, highs of 32-34 degrees Celsius; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area with isolated heavy rains; temperature lows of 22-28 degrees, highs of 29-34 degrees Celsius; waves 2-3 metres high and over 3 metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the area; temperature lows of 25-27 degrees, highs of 32-36 degrees Celsius.

Source: Thailand Meteorological Department

Published : June 10, 2021

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001848

Chiang Mai field hospital closes after discharging last two patients

Though Chiang Mai’s field hospital has shut its doors after discharging its last two patients, it will be ready to kick into action if there is an emergency.

Dr Amporn Eiamsri, director of Mae Wang Hospital, said the field hospital had been set up on April 9 and is scheduled to stop operations on June 30. So far, some 2,500 patients have been treated, said Amporn, who oversaw the operation.

Medical personnel, meanwhile, are making preparations to return the medical equipment, like oxygen tanks, blood pressure monitors, stretchers and patient gowns, that had been lent by different hospitals.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001847

Timeline of woman, 46, who died hours after AstraZeneca jab

Authorities are investigating the case of a 46-year-old woman who died in Bangkok on Tuesday just hours after receiving her first AstraZeneca vaccination.

The body of Panyapat Itthitanawong was found at her house at Soi 16, Sinsap Nakorn village, Bang Khen district on Tuesday night.

On Wednesday, the body was sent for an autopsy at Bhumibol Adulyadej Hospital.

Bang Khen police are questioning the relatives of the deceased who were at the house at the time of her death, before reporting their findings to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) this afternoon.

The victim’s timeline for Tuesday (June  is as follows:

11.45am – Goes for her first AstraZeneca shot, which is administered by a Taksin Hospital medical unit at the Thai Business Administration College of Technology Injection Centre in Bang Khen. Returns home to rest.

6:30pm – Suffers slight fever of 37.8 degrees Celsius and takes paracetamol.

8:10pm – Suffers arm pain.

9.10am – Pain subsides but she has severe headache. Takes anti-migraine pill.

10pm – Suffers back pain and feels cold. Urinates once. Decides to take more paracetamol for the pain.

10.30pm – Suffers seizure, choking and loses consciousness. Relatives call an ambulance, but she later dies.

Authorities are now awaiting results of the autopsy before announcing the cause of death.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001846

VIPs slammed for jumping queues at vaccine centres

Thai social media has been buzzing this week with complaints and comments about VIPs skipping queues to get a Covid-19 jab first.

In fact, clips showing these “important persons” responding to questions like “why do you get the vaccine before us?” with a blank face are being widely shared.

Twitter user @kerncle posted a similar clip with the comment: “There’s a lot of VIPs showing up for shots. The general public has been queuing for three hours and it’s still not our turn, but they grab a VIP queue ticket and off they go.”

Another clip posted on Wednesday showed a VIP blatantly skipping the queue and the crowd applauding and shouting “super VIP”. This clip also went viral, sparking furious comments.

None of the posts indicated where the incidents took place.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001845

Street vendors and motorcycle taxis get new rules

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved new plans to manage street vendors and motorcycle taxi operations on Bangkok footpaths, including paying fees to occupy public space.

Ministers agreed short-term and long-term measures for reform of the law on occupation of public places and pavements in the Bangkok area.

In the short term, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Metropolitan Police, Public Health Ministry and Department of Land Transport will cooperate to create clear policies and plans for management of street vendors and motorcycle taxis in public areas.

In the long term, there will be a clear set of criteria for legitimate operation of “street businesses”, taking into account local conditions and the needs of people and local stakeholders. Tourism and livelihood hubs for small-scale street entrepreneurs will be created to boost the cultural identity of communities.

The new law will require hawkers, stalls and motorcycle taxi operations to pay a fee for the use of public places or roads. Meanwhile a committee will plan the use and management of public places for small-scale enterprise in Bangkok and at the national level. The committee will also supervise vendors and moto-taxi stops in public places as well as complaints channels.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40001844

Parcel of ‘Ice’ bound for Australia intercepted at Suvarnabhumi

Staff at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok have seized a parcel bound for Australia after discovering it was stuffed with crystal meth or “Ice”.

The Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF) found 750 grams of Ice in a package sent by international express mailbox (EMS) to an address in Melbourne. The drugs were discovered hidden inside motorcycle spare parts. The AITF team is gathering evidence for investigation by the drug-enforcement police, who will coordinate with Australian police to trace the recipient.

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin recently ordered the Narcotics Control Board to seek regionwide cooperation on combating the flow of narcotics from the Golden Triangle borderlands of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

Parcel of ‘Ice’ bound for Australia intercepted at Suvarnabhumi

Somsak will chair a videoconference on July 5 with representatives of Mekong countries Myanmar, Laos, China, Cambodia and Vietnam, plus the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), aimed at solving problems related to the narcotics trade.

Published : June 10, 2021

By : The Nation