“This is a magnificently proud moment for me because it has taken strong belief, determination and indomitable discipline to succeed in this platform,” said Chatchai Thnarudee, CEO of JP Insurance.

“I am grateful to be among all the management team and employees, and also the dedicated staff who have worked day-in and day-out to help JP Insurance succeed in its digital transformation journey. … I would especially like to thank our partners and customers too, who believed in us and gave us continuous business which motivated us to work harder to give them the best products and services.”

The award recognises 20 leading insurance companies in the Asia-Pacific for excellence in digital technology and innovation. The award criteria cover response to market needs, implementation of digital transformation, customer feedback, operational efficiency and pursuing business opportunities for long-term sustainability.

“We are determined to ensure service quality and optimum benefits for customers and partners … the award is another success for JP Insurance’s business transformation and rebranding since 2018,” Chatchai added.

JP Insurance plans to launch blockchain-based travel insurance for customer convenience in the second half of 2020.

The struggles of 200,000 Klong Toei residents have been eased after the IVL Foundation donated Bt500,000 to install disinfectant equipment at the entrance of the community, and to provide bags of essential supplies for 300 families left without livelihoods during the lockdown. The donation will fund operations conducted by the Duang Prateep Foundation, which will also create temporary jobs for 25 people who will be hired to cook food and distribute hygenic necessities to elderly and disabled residents, as well as children in the community.

“The Covid-19 outbreak is affecting the daily lives of people, not only in terms of health, but also in its considerable impact on the labour market,” said Suchitra Lohia, chairperson of the IVL Foundation.

“We realise the importance of collaborating with other charitable entities to help those heavily affected by this unprecedented crisis. The IVL Foundation acts as a helping hand to support communities in relieving their hardship in this difficult period.”

Said Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, founder of the Duang Prateep Foundation: “We have found that numerous people in the community have lost their jobs, affecting the lives of their families as well. This fund supported by the IVL Foundation will be allocated to provide supplies and hygiene necessities for the unemployed, elderly, disabled and young people in the community.

“More help is also welcomed, as there are around 200,000 people living here and many of them are struggling just to survive.”

As COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, Huawei is taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of its employees. The company and its supplier network are working together to address the tough challenges facing production and resume operations. Huawei’s business is continuing as usual and its overall business results in Q1 2020 are in line with expectations.

Networks are a lifeline for people from all walks of life during this public health crisis, so ensuring normal network operations is of paramount importance. Huawei is doing everything in its capabilities to help carriers ensure stable and secure network operations. Together, we are working to meet the network demand created by social distancing as people switch to telecommuting, distance education, and e-commerce for daily necessities.

Since the outbreak, Huawei and its partners have rapidly launched many 5G- and AI-powered medical applications. We are using our expertise in communications technologies to help fight the pandemic and save more lives. The AI-assisted coronavirus diagnosis solution cuts CT scan review times from 12 minutes down to 2, helping doctors improve their diagnostic efficiency. 5G-enabled remote video consultation helps mitigate shortages of frontline experts and increases the efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of critical patients. AI-powered thermal imaging devices can take temperatures, increasing the efficiency of infection prevention and control in public places. In addition, Huawei has been doing its best to get masks, test kits, and other protective supplies to the countries and organizations that need them.

In the Asia Pacific region and ASEAN countries, Huawei has joined hands with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos and others to address on-ground communication challenges, ensuring connectivity and supporting essential services with innovative technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 16, Thailand Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok to observe and follow up on the utilization of Huawei’s AI-Assisted solution provided by Thailand Digital Economy and Society Ministry and Huawei. The Thailand government plans to implement this solution in more hospitals across the country, in order to enhance the performance of medical service and better protect the medical staff.

The AI-assisted technology, supported by 5G network, helped improve the efficiency and effectiveness of diagnosis by automatic analysis of 20,000 CT scan results and comparing with existing database samples, could readily detect 4,000 confirmed cases. In addition, its remote teleconsultation facility helped reduce infection risk for medical staff and lessen the burden on system by expanding the disease control ability to different areas in the country.

“It is our hope that the pandemic ends as soon as possible. We also hope that every patient around the world can be treated and cured as quickly as possible. The outbreak of COVID-19 is another reminder that we share this world and share the same fate. In order to address common challenges such as this one, we need to be united, because a virus knows no borders and may target anyone, regardless of their race, skin color, or wealth,” said Eric Xu, Huawei Rotating Chairman.

A seed that survives the storm will sprout and then blossom. Even though it is impossible to know when the tides of this pandemic will turn, we at Huawei believe that this challenge will be overcome by standing together.

Note: exchange rate at the end of March 2020: US$1 = CNY7.0915 (source: external agencies)

Policyholders can now submit claims for hospital and medical reimbursement online or through their smartphones via the PRUConnect service on Prudential Thailand’s Line channel. Existing submission channels – in person, by mail, or through agent services – remain open.

“Customers can also see the progress of their claims submission and when the claims payments are deposited into their bank accounts”, said Pasalaree Theerasas, Chief Customer Officer, Prudential Thailand.

To activate the new e-claims service, customers simply need to add Prudential Thailand as a friend in their LINE app and follow the instructions to submit claims.

Policyholders with hospital income claims can submit the required documents through the online channel, without the need to provide original medical receipts. This will significantly reduce the time spent in accessing the claims, enabling payments to be settled within three days of approval, said the company.

Customers with medical reimbursement claims are required to upload the original receipts.

The Prudential Customer Service Centre hotline at 1621 is operating as normal, while customers can also reach the company via the Prudential Thailand LINE chatbot and Facebook account.

Policyholders can pay their insurance premiums through mobile banking apps simply by scanning the QR code or barcode on the physical bill or SMS, and then clicking “Pay”.

The firm adds that customers can also continue to receive in-hospital treatment under Prudential Thailand’s hospital network without needing to make payments or claims by using their PRUCare card or National ID card.

Energy giant Banpu Pcl has donated Bt2 million to the Thai Red Cross Society’s nationwide battle against the virus pandemic. The money will help fund the “Face Masks for Protection against Covid-19” project, which has a mission to produce and distribute 10 million face masks and 180,000 sets of daily necessities to Thais across the country via provincial Red Cross branches.

Banpu said it was helping the effort to bring the Covid-19 outbreak under control so as to encourage the country and Thais to get through this crisis as quickly as possible.

“The MEA has been using the same fee calculation model as in previous months with no immediate plans for adjustment,” he said. “The reason that power bills in April may be higher than other months is because of the hot weather in Thailand, which can reach 36-40 degrees Celsius during the day. This prompts people to use air conditioners for longer and at a higher setting.”

The difference between room temperature and targeted air-conditioning temperature grows bigger during summer, he added.

“In other seasons the average room temperature is 30C, which is only four degrees higher than the recommended setting on air conditioners, at 26 degrees. However, when the temperature reaches 40C in summer, air conditioners must cool the temperature by 14 degrees to reach the target, resulting in greater use of electricity.”

“Adjusting an air conditioner’s target temperature down by one degree will consume roughly 10 per cent more power,” he added.

“Another reason for the increase in power bills in the past month is the fact that more people are working from home in line with the government’s policy of social distancing to reduce the spread of Covid-19,” said Jaturong.

“People who stay at home during the day will use electrical appliances for longer periods, including air conditioners, electric fans, computers and TVs.”

“We recommend that users download our MEA Smart Life mobile application, which is available at the App Store and Google Play or at http://onelink.to/measmartlife,” he added.

“The app will help you track your electricity usage, as well as let you conveniently pay your bill via internet/mobile banking.”

MEA also recommends turning on an electric fan when using an air conditioner, since the breeze generated helps achieve the coolness of 24 degrees without lowering the setting on the air-conditioner. AC units should also be cleaned at least twice a year to reduce accumulated dust that can lower efficiency. The Bangkok supplier also advises users to make sure they check electrical wires for any damage, install a ground wire if they haven’t already done so, and unplug their appliances when they finish using them or when they are away.

More info on safe and efficient electricity usage can be found at MEA’s Facebook page, Line: @meathailand and Twitter: @mea_news, or contact MEA’s call centre on 1130 at any time.

Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Novartis said it donated Bt7.75 million on April 15 to Thailand’s Department of Medical Services Foundation to support public hospitals designated as Covid-19 centres.

The foundation is a charitable entity that manages Covid-19 monetary donations for hospitals under its network.

The donation includes supporting additional bed capacity for diagnosed and convalescing patients, Novartis said.

The money will also be used to stock a host of medications used to treat Covid-19 patients, including Favipiravir, an antiviral drug that has seen some success in treating those infected. The drugs will be distributed to Bangkok and provincial hospitals.

In addition, funds will be used to procure testing kits and medical equipment such as PPE suits and surgical masks, and support other diagnostic costs such as X-rays, the company said.

“We are thankful for this donation from Novartis as it helps us find additional support for patients, hospitals and healthcare professionals at a critical time,” Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was quoted as saying.

“With this unconditional donation, we are proud to support the foundation’s efforts in battling this pandemic and providing optimal care for Thai patients,” Novartis Thailand president Sumalee Kristarnin said.

“Novartis established the Covid-19 Response Fund to support critical community and national programmes that can help address urgent public health needs. It is one of a number of measures we have put in place to help the Thai government and healthcare workers combat Covid-19, and we continue to provide support at this critical time as the safety of society is of paramount importance,” she added.

17th April 2020, Bangkok – Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and Digital Economy and Society Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta visit Siriraj Hospital to observe and follow-up on the utilization of the AI-Assisted solution provided by Digital Economy and Society Ministry and Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co. Ltd., which aims to help Thai medical team on the COVID-19 initial diagnosis by analyzing whether the patient is at risk of infection. This technology was officially used in many hospitals in China including Wuhan and other cities, and is now already installed at Ramathibodi Hospital and Siriraj Hospital, with plans to be implemented at other hospitals in Thailand.

The AI-Assisted technology collected 20,000 CTs examples of patients’ lungs, of which 4,000 examples are confirmed cases. This allows the medical staff to process CT scans for patients, with the system automatically analysing the CT scan results by comparing with all existing examples, and deduce whether the patient is at risk of having a COVID-19 infection.

The process only takes 25 seconds per case, as it is supported by high speed and high accuracy 5G network. Therefore, this AI technology can greatly reduce the risk of infection for both Thai people and Thai medical staff, as it allows medical staff to keep their distance from patient while processing the CT Scan. Following the scan, only patients with found high risks of infection will go into the process of conducting a secretion test, which require at least 48 hours to get the confirmed result.

The AI-assisted solution based on HUAWEI CLOUD technology is co-developed by Huawei and HY Medical, and leverages the computer vision and medical image analysis technologies to segment the multiple pulmonary ground glass opacities (GGOs) and lung consolidation and make quantitative evaluations through CTs of patients’ lungs. More than 20 hospitals in China have adopted this technology to handle the COVID-19 and after continuous training and optimization, the solution has become more efficient with classification of accuracy rate at 96% and with DICE score higher than 85.

In addition, the 5G network also enhances the effectiveness of medical service in hospital by guaranteeing the quality of a high-speed connection, high reliability and low latency. The healthcare system will benefit from improved response times with 3-4 times uploaded efficiency – when compared to WiFi, and better patient monitoring, data collection and analytics, remote collaboration and resource allocation.

Electricity users in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan can choose a variety of different e-payment channels to pay their bills:

1. MEA Smart Life mobile application, available for free download at http://onelink.to/measmartlife

2. Bank account transfer

3. Credit card payment (Visa, Master Card, BluePay)

4. Mobile banking service

5. Internet banking service

The MEA Smart Life app also allows customers to report any electricity malfunctions at any time in just two simple steps, view their bill history for the past six months and track their electricity usage in graph form. They can also download a bar code or QR code to pay bills in convenience stores.

Applications for electricity usage and meter installation can be made via the M Easy service at https://eservice.mea.or.th.

To receive bills, tax invoices and receipts in electronic form, apply at http://ebill.mea.or.th.

MEA wants everyone to stay safe during the Covid-19 situation and will continue to maintain social distancing by providing quality services via electronic channels.

The plant will deliver masks to Chulalongkorn Hospital, which will then distribute them to other hospitals across the country. If there are extra supplies, they will be handed out to the general public.

The first batch of 100,000 masks was delivered to Chulalongkorn Hospital on Thursday.

CP Group announced last month that it was investing more than Bt100 million on building the plant to ease the shortage of masks in the country. The automated plant located in Samut Prakan province has a production capacity of 100,000 masks daily and runs on a 24-hour basis.

Once things return to normal, the factory will continue producing face masks, with all profits going towards the King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital’s Cardiac Centre. Dhanin Chearavanont, CP’s senior chairman, said this reflects CP’s commitment to serve Thailand and its people.