At 26 April,which provinces will fine you THB20,000 for not wearing a face mask?
In response to the third wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, some provinces have ordered people to wear face masks in public. The penalty for violating this order is a fine of up to THB20,000, according to the Communicable Disease Act.
The list of provinces that have issued the mask-wearing order includes Kanchanaburi, Prachinburi, Phetchaburi, Suphanburi, Ayutthaya, Samut Sakhon, Lopburi, Samut Prakan, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chonburi, Saraburi, Trat, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Chanthaburi, Bangkok, Suratthani, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat Narathiwat, Pattani, Phang-nga, Phuket, Ranong, Satun, Songkhla, Yala, Sukhothai, Tak, Phetchabun, Uttaradit, Lamphun, Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Yasothon Nong Khai, Ubon Ratchathani, Chaiyaphum, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Sisaket, Surin, Udon Thani, Loei, Amnat Charoen, Buriram, Nakhon Phanom and Khon Kaen
Rescue foundation suspends services after road accident victim tests positive
Staff of the Kok Sai Rescue Foundation in Phetchabun province, who helped victims of a road accident on Saturday night in Lom Sak subdistrict, have been told to quarantine after one of the victims was found to be infected with Covid-19.
“Eight staff helped transport the injured victims to Lom Sak Hospital. Later that night the hospital notified that one of the victims had tested positive for Covid-19,” the foundation said via its Facebook page on Sunday.
“Five staff had close contact with the patient, while three have low risk of infection, but they were all ordered to remain in quarantine at the foundation’s meeting hall for 14 days.
“The foundation will stop working until it tests all staff and is certain that everyone is Covid-19 free.”
The foundation added that it would supply food and necessities to the staff who have been ordered to stay in quarantine every day.
Eight more Covid-19 patients die as over 2,000 new cases reported
The Public Health Ministry reported 2,048 new Covid-19 cases with eight fatalities and 563 patients in a critical condition on Monday.
Of the 2,048 new cases, 1,991 had been contracted locally, 47 were found via proactive testing and 10 were overseas arrivals in quarantine.
The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand since the outbreak last year rose to 57,508. Of these, 54,227 had been contracted locally, while 3,281 were returnees. So far, 31,593 have recovered and been discharged, 25,767 patients are still in hospitals, and 148 have died.
Of the patients who are being treated at hospitals, 563 patients are in a critical condition with 150 patients in 40 provinces needing ventilators.
The three provinces with most number of patients using ventilators were Bangkok (60), Chonburi (12) and Samut Prakan (11).
Monks wear PPE suits to conduct funeral rituals in Songkhla
Photos of Buddhist monks wearing PPE (personal protective equipment) suits while chanting at a funeral have gone viral on social media since last week.
Pholkrit Kaewmontri, a monk from Hat Yai Nai temple in Songkhla province, posted on his Facebook page on Sunday that he and other monks from the temple were in those photos.
“A young couple aged around 20 came to me and asked if they could hold a funeral for the wife’s father who had died of Covid-19 at the temple,” he said.
“They said they have nowhere else to go as other temples had rejected them, while her mother was still undergoing treatment at a hospital.”
Pholkrit said he contacted the province’s public health office and was instructed to wear PPE suits during the funeral to prevent the virus from spreading.
“The funeral was closely supervised by public health officials, who also carried out the cremation while no one was allowed near the crematorium,” he added.
On Sunday, Songkhla province reported 51 new Covid-19 cases, taking cumulative cases in the province to 454, of whom 443 patients are being hospitalised, 10 have recovered and one person has died.
Foreign Ministry denies rumours of wealthy Indians fleeing to Thailand by charter flights
The Foreign Ministry on Sunday denied rumours that wealthy Indians were booking charter flights to Thailand to avoid the escalating Covid-19 situation at home.
“The rumour is the result of a misunderstanding stemming from a mistranslation by a foreign news agency,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Thani Saengrat said.
“The group of Indians were planning to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, while some had inquired about Thailand’s entry regulations, which might have caused the misunderstanding.
“The ministry has contacted the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi, which has confirmed that it has not issued COE [Certificate of Entry] to non-Thai nationals in India to enter Thailand via charter flights,” he said.
“The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand also has confirmed that they have not allowed any charter flights from India to land in Thailand during the period, as claimed by the rumour.”
Thani added that some Indian nationals had entered Thailand on April 17. They had notified the ministry in advance and had undergone the regular entry procedures. “This group consisted of six students and one person who holds a Thai work permit, and they did not arrive by a charter plane,” he added.
“Currently the ministry allows one repatriation flight from India per week to enter Thailand. Non-Thai nationals wishing to enter the country must meet the requirements and undergo screening and the quarantine processes,” said Thani.
He added that next month one Thai national in India had registered to return to Thailand on May 1, 70 Thais would arrive on May 8 and another 60 Thais on May 15.
On Sunday, the Royal Thai Embassy in New Delhi announced that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration had placed restrictions on non-Thai nationals who wished to enter Thailand.
“All COEs that have been issued to non-Thai nationals to enter Thailand from India with the arrival date from May 1 will be cancelled,” it said. “Therefore, the embassy will not accommodate non-Thai nationals on the flights scheduled for May 1, 15 and 22,” the embassy said.
Certificates of entry issued to non-Thai nationals flying from India in May cancelled
The Thai embassy in New Delhi has published an announcement “Cancellation and Suspension of COE Issuance for Non-Thai Nationals from 1 May 2021”.
The Thai embassy in New Delhi has cancelled certificates of entry (COE) issued to non-Thai nationals scheduled to take flights to Thailand on May 1, 15 and 22.
The embassy said the move follows restrictions imposed on non-Thai nationals wanting to enter Thailand by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration due to the Covid-19 situation in Thailand.
The embassy said that all COEs that had been issued to non-Thai nationals to enter Thailand from India with the arrival date from May 1 have been cancelled.
The embassy also said that issuance of COEs for non-Thai nationals who would be arriving in Thailand from India from May 1 would be suspended until further notice.
Thunderstorms, gusty winds and hail forecast for parts of upper Thailand
The Thailand Meteorological Department said that a high pressure area from China was expected to extend to the upper Northeast of Thailand on Monday, while the southwesterly winds prevail over upper Thailand.
Hot weather with thunderstorms, gusty winds, hail and heavy rain are forecast for some areas of the North and Northeast.
People in upper Thailand should beware of the severe conditions by avoiding outdoor places, big trees, unsecured buildings and billboards, the department said.
Farmers were warned of damage to crops.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Hot to very hot with haze and thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; gusty winds and hail are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 24-28 degrees Celsius, highs of 34-40°C.
Northeast: Hot day with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas, gusty winds and hail are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 25-27°C, highs of 36-38°C.
Central: Hot day with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 25-27°C, highs of 35-39°C.
East: Hot day with thundershowers in 30 per cent of the areas; gusty winds are possible in some areas; temperature lows of 24-28°C, highs of 31-37°C; waves less than a metre high and over a metre during thundershowers.
South (east coast): Thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 24-27°C, highs of 34-36°C; waves a metre high and 1-2 metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 22-27°C, highs of 32-34°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres during thundershowers.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Hot day with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the areas; temperature lows of 26-27°C, highs of 34-38°C.
Entertainment venues the biggest source of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok
Close to two-thirds of Covid-19 cases in the third wave in Bangkok can be traced to entertainment venues, according to statistics revealed by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
Of the 19 sources of infections, visitors to entertainment venues totalled 2,227, followed by family or home (278), workplace or company (203), cluster links from other provinces (199), SQ/ASQ/AHQ (89), banquet seminar/ordination ceremony (78), hospitals (77), markets (74), restaurants (74), stores/convenience stores (55), sports venues/gyms (32), police station (22 police), educational institutions (17), prisons (11), religious place (10), condos (9), beauty salon/massage/spa (9), public transport (6), and others (8).
Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin told a press conference that each province would have different strict measures to contain Covid-19 depending on the local situation, which had been approved by the CCSA sub-committee. He said the most common measure was people needed to wear a mask in public or face a fine of up to Bt20,000.
CCSA denies rich Indians booking charter flights to Thailand to flee virus at home
The spokesperson of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, has debunked a rumour that wealthy Indians were booking charter flights to fly to Thailand after a huge surge in cases in India exceeding 300,000 daily.
He said that there would be four charter flights to evacuate Thai people in India until May — one person on May 1, 70 on May 8, 60 on May 15, and the fourth group on May 22 for which people are yet to register.
Regarding foreigners coming from India, there is a new measure to slow down the Certificate of Entry process to reduce the risk, he said.
However, on Sunday at 3 pm, the communicable disease committee has decided to suspend the arrival of foreigners from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh due to concerns about an emerging new strain of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, all foreigners travelling from these three countries have to be strictly quarantined in their room for 14 days.
State quarantine hotel now ready to serve as hospitel
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is implementing three plans to combat the rising Covid-19 caseload: boosting capacity at Bangkok hospitals, modifying hotels to become “hospitels” for asymptomatic patients, and launching field hospitals.
On Saturday, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang oversaw the preparation of a hospitel at Elegant Airport Hotel in Prawet district. Elegant Airport Hotel has two seven-storey buildings and includes state quarantine and hospitel. The hospitel has 230 rooms with a medical team that can provide treatment to Covid-19 patients all day.
Patients who wish to be treated at a hospitel must have eligibility, such as age less than 50 years without risks of severe symptoms and able to communicate and take care of themselves. Meanwhile, hospitals can take patients back if there are any changes in patients’ symptoms. This hospitel will gradually open rooms for patients as follows: 70 rooms on April 26, 80 rooms on April 30, 40 rooms on May 15, and another 40 rooms on May 30.
“Elegant Airport Hotel’s state quarantine was able to perform duties in line with standards and there is no report of Covid-19 infection among the medical team after it was opened for a year,” Aswin said. Aswin added that the hospitel had both single and shared rooms with a medical team to evaluate patients’ symptoms and provide treatment advice via video call and Me-More application.
“Instructions would be given to patients before entering the hospitel, while City Law Enforcement Department officers and police in the area had been instructed to provide safety for patients,” he added.
