Korea Provides Thailand Additional Covid-19 Vaccine
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2023
The Republic of Korea decided to provide 501,120 doses of Pfizer, the BA.1 bivalent Covid-19 vaccine, to help Thailand fight variants more effectively. The vaccines reach Thailand on Feb 15th.
This is the second time that Korea provides vaccines to Thailand, after the delivery of 470,000 doses of AstraZeneca in October 2021.
This donation is expected to contribute to mitigating the worldwide Covid-19 crisis and to promote the two countries further cooperation, marking the 65th anniversary of Korea-Thailand bilateral ties.
Covid-19 Bivalent Vaccine
The bivalent Covid-19 vaccines consist of an mRNA component that targets both the original Covid-19 and its variants. Like the existing vaccines, the bivalent vaccines prevent severe diseases and death, and also provide protection against the variants that are currently circulating.
More than half of the 1,005 fires recorded in Thailand on Wednesday were in the North, causing dangerous levels of pollution, according to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency.
The three provinces with the highest number of fires were Chiang Mai (205), Tak (156), and Mae Hong Son (146).
Of the total number of fires in Thailand, 501 were in protected forests, 361 in reserved forests, 55 in areas under the Agricultural Land Reform Office, 45 on farms, 42 in local communities, and one along a highway, the agency said.
The northern part of the country saw the highest number of fires due to a traditional farming method in which fields are burnt before planting, it said.
Data from its “Check-Foon” pollution-monitoring application showed that PM 2.5 levels in northern provinces – including Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Tak, Lamphun, Nan, Lampang, and Phrae – reached harmful levels late this morning.
Myanmar ranked as the nation with the highest number of fires (3,168) in the region, followed by Thailand, Laos (542), Cambodia (200), and Vietnam (61).
Wildfire smoke froBangkok coordinates with neighbouring provinces to control air pollution, urges companies to allow working from homem neighbouring nations blowing into the country can worsen air pollution in border areas and cause health, economic and social damage, the agency said.
Thailand’s public health centres keeping a close watch on Ebola-like virus
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Public health centres all around the nation have been warned to keep an eye on the potential spread of the Marburg virus, which belongs to the same family as Ebola, said Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control.
Dr. Opas said the Marburg virus is spreading in the central African region, particularly in Equatorial Guinea. There have been nine confirmed deaths and 16 suspected cases of the disease.
Both Marburg and Ebola viruses belong to the same family — Filoviridae.
He said that Marburg virus was listed as one of 13 dangerous communicable diseases under the Communicable Disease Act (2015).
Those infected were found to develop symptoms including severe headache, high fever, and bloody diarrhoea, with the fatality rates varying up to 88% depending on the virus strain and the quality of case management, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The virus was first discovered in bats before it spread to humans. People can contract the Marburg virus through direct contact with blood and excretion of those infected, as well as through virus-contaminated surfaces and materials, he added.
He said symptomatic treatment has been utilised as there is neither vaccination nor specific medication available.
Dr Tares Krassanairawiwong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said that no Marburg cases had been reported in Thailand so far.
Owing to the increasing number of visitors to Thailand, the department would closely monitor the situation through the WHO, he added.
Tares said that even though travellers from Equatorial Guinea and its neighbouring countries are currently not prohibited from entering Thailand, entrance restrictions would apply to travellers from those nations.
Thailand has tightened restrictions and urged health centres throughout the country to be on alert, as the two possible cases of the virus on the Cameroon – Equatorial Guinea boundary have just been reported, he added.
Tares advised those who might have the illness to notify local health service centres.
Parents of Thai killed in Turkey quake seek clarity if government would pay for bringing her body home
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
The family of a Thai woman killed in Turkey’s recent earthquake that has killed over 36,000 people, remained uncertain if the cost of transporting her body home for cremation would be covered by the government.
Chamaiporn Homsantia, the 28-year-old Thai victim, was reportedly sleeping when the devastating 7.8-magnitude quake shook the southern Turkish town of Iskenderun, where she worked as a traditional Thai masseuse.
A native of the northeastern Chaiyaphum province, the woman had reportedly worked there without documentation for over four years. She had travelled to Turkey on a tourist visa and was not registered with Thailand’s Ministry of Labour to work overseas.
Her body was expected to arrive at Don Mueang International Airport at 10pm on Thursday and then be transported to her parents’ house in Chaiyaphum around 5am on Friday for the funeral.
The cremation is scheduled for next Monday (Feb 20) at a local Buddhist temple.
Her parents, Boonchu and Ken, said on Thursday that they had received conflicting answers from Thai authorities regarding the cost of bringing the body.
They said they had learned from some news reports that Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda had said the family would not have to pay anything for flying Chamaiporn’s body from Turkey to Thailand.
However, the Thai Embassy in Turkey later told the parents that the cost of sending the body to Thailand was 250,000 baht.
The distraught parents said they had collected slightly over 160,000 baht in donations from several organisations and groups of people, but that was still far below the required amount.
“If necessary, we are ready to enter into an agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the money to be repaid in instalments,” Boonchu said.
She called for clarity over the matter. “We don’t know yet if the family has to cover this cost of over 250,000 baht. If we get help, we will be grateful,” the mother said.
According to the parents, they have received a 5,000-baht donation from the Chaiyaphum governor, as well as financial aid from other local administrators and reporters.
Earlier, Chaiyaphum’s Social Security Office told the parents that their daughter had quit the social security fund in 2015 and had pending benefits of 15,017 baht. The sum was given to her family for funeral arrangements.
The family said on Thursday that no other aid was offered by the government.
On February 6, a strong earthquake and several aftershocks rumbled through southern Turkey and northern Syria, leaving over 36,000 people dead as of Thursday and affecting millions more in both countries.
BMA, US Embassy, Tesla promote electric vehicles in Bangkok
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Thursday participated in an activity to promote the use of electric vehicles (EVs) at City Hall in Phra Nakhon district.
Co-hosted by Embassy of the United States in Bangkok and private partners, EV-promotion events were also organised simultaneously at four other locations:
Thammasat University (Tha Phra Chan Campus), Phra Nakhon district
Talat Noi, Samphanthawong district
Metropolitan Electricity Authority’s Phloe Chint Office, Pathum Wan district
Central World shopping mall, Pathum Wan district.
During his opening speech, the governor said the city has been working on climate change and a plan to reduce carbon emission in the city.
A top priority is the management of PM2.5 fine dust, which causes air pollution and health risk to city residents, said Chadchart.
“The city has been working on classifying types of PM2.5 [particulate matter 2.5 micrometres or less in diameter] to pinpoint their sources in the metropolitan area,” he said.
“We have also been accepting people’s complaints regarding air quality via Traffy Fondue applications, as well as providing air quality forecasts three days in advance using readings from air-quality monitoring stations,” the governor added.
Information from these stations will also be used to formulate an air-pollution prevention plan in high-risk areas throughout Bangkok, he said.
“Bangkok has a goal of achieving zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2030,” Chadchart said. “The city has been working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which analysed Bangkok’s emission rate and developed a climate-change master plan to achieve this goal in 2021.”
Bangkok also received assistance from Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation to calculate the city’s carbon footprint to formulate the master plan, Chadchart added.
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has provided EV public buses on some routes and improved the ecosystem for EV users, such as establishing charging stations throughout the city, the governor said.
The BMA has also developed urban infrastructure to facilitate the use of bicycles and low-emission vehicles, improved waste- and water-management systems to minimise their environmental impacts, promoted the use of energy-saving technology and clean energy in office buildings, and increased public parks and green spaces throughout the city, Chadchart said.
After the speech, Chadchart visited activities in the fair with US Ambassador Robert Godec and executives of Tesla (Thailand) Ltd and Energy Absolute Plc.
UK football academy mourns loss of Thai boy who survived flooded cave
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
The English football academy Duangphet “Dom” Promthep was attending when he died on Tuesday is working closely with the Royal Thai Embassy in the United Kingdom to arrange memorial events for him, according to one of two heartfelt letters from the school to parents and caregivers of its students.
“We are communicating a message that no Principal or School Proprietor would ever wish to pass on,” begins the letter sent on Wednesday by Brooke House College Principal Ian Smith. “With the heaviest of hearts [we] inform you that Duangphet Promthep, known to many as Dom, passed away yesterday afternoon.”
“We have lost one of our own,” Smith wrote.
Duangphet, 17, was one of the 12 members of the Wild Boar football team trapped in Tham Luang Cave by flooding for 17 days in 2018 before he, his teammates, and coach were rescued.
Duangphet received a scholarship to study at Brooke House Academy, located about 150 kilometres north of London, in August last year, and subsequently flew to England in September.
Duangphet was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment on Sunday, the letter said.
He remained in critical condition under the care of a dedicated medical team, while three members of the college – including its principal – were at his side when he passed away, the letter says.
“Duangphet was a popular boy who conducted himself with generosity of spirit … He will be hugely missed,” it says.
The college said activities are being organised for Duangphet in collaboration with the Royal Thai Embassy in the United Kingdom. Mentor groups are being created to help his friends deal with his passing, and a book of condolences will allow them to express their emotions.
In June 2018, the world was transfixed for 17 days as an elaborate international mission unfolded to rescue 12 members of the Wild Boars football team and their coach after they were trapped by rising water in a Chiang Rai cave system.
The 200-metre-deep Chamber 1, which visitors use to enter the complex, was the command centre for a rescue operation led by Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn and Thai Navy Seals. Duangphet was part of the second group of boys carried out of the cave on July 9.
The Wild Boars became celebrities. A series of films and documentaries were made about their ordeal and survival.
In August last year, Duangphet thanked the Sports Education Foundation, Zico Foundation, and Brooke House for granting him the scholarship.
He also thanked Vachiralai Bee School, Thai football manager and ex-player Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang, for their support, saying: “I promise to work hard and do my best.”
“In the days ahead, I am sure we will all reflect on Dom’s life, which saw significant moments of challenge and adversity as well as great moments of personal and sporting accomplishment,” Smith wrote.
Kiatisuk says ex-Wild Boar Duangphet, who died in England, dreamt of playing for Thailand
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Thai football manager and former player Kiatisuk “Zico” Senamuang offered updates on the sudden death in England of one of the 12 boys rescued from a cave in Chiang Rai in 2018.
Duangphet “Dom” Promthep (17), one of the 12 members of the Wild Boar football team who was rescued after being trapped in Tham Luang Cave in 2018, reportedly collapsed and died on Tuesday.
After being rescued from the cave, Duangphet went to Chiang Mai to study sports and later received a scholarship to study in England.
During a Zoom conference, Kiatisuk, who is currently in Vietnam as coach of Hoang Anh Gia Lai football team, said Duangphet lost consciousness in his dormitory room on Sunday. He added that a teacher at the dormitory got him admitted in a hospital.
“On Tuesday, medical staff at the hospital told the Royal Thai Embassy in UK that Duangphet’s breathing had stopped and his body was not responding to treatment,” Kiatisuk said.
He said the embassy had informed Duangphet’s parents, but they were waiting to know the cause of death.
Kiatisuk confirmed that Duangphet was healthy, as he had taken a physical examination before going to study abroad. Kiatisuk vowed to do his best to bring Duangphet’s body back to Thailand.
“Duangphet went to England around September last year as he wanted to study at a university there,” he said.
Kiatisuk posted a message on Duangphet’s Instagram mourning his death on Thursday, saying that Duangphet was a good student, polite and considerate.
He added that Duangphet had nurtured a dream to become a professional football player and wanted to make it to Thailand’s national team.
In June 2018, the world was transfixed for 17 days as an elaborate international mission unfolded to rescue 12 members of the Wild Boars football team and their coach after they were trapped by rising water in the Chiang Rai cave system.
The 200-metre-deep Chamber 1, which visitors use to enter the complex, was the command centre for a rescue operation led by Chiang Rai Governor Narongsak Osotthanakorn and Thai Navy Seals. Duangphet was part of the second group of boys carried out of the cave on July 9.
The Wild Boars have since become celebrities, depicted in a series of films and documentaries about their ordeal.
Police raid ‘unlicensed’ gay bar in Pattaya, test patrons for drugs
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Fifteen patrons tested positive for drugs after police and local officials raided Dragon Man Bar in Pattaya City in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Officials raided the gay bar in Soi Pattaya Klang 12 after 3am, following a tip that it had been operating without a permit, serving drinks after 2am, and selling drugs to patrons.
Police said they found drug-like substances in small zip-lock plastic bags that had been discarded on the floor and in trash cans. Others were found hidden in staff lockers, police said.
Used condoms were also found on the venue’s dance floor and sofas, and in dressing rooms, indicating that the Dragon Man Bar was also a sex club, police said.
Urine tests on about 50 patrons found that 15 of them – 14 men and one woman – had been using drugs.
The manager was unable to show permits for operating an entertainment venue and selling alcoholic drinks, police said. He was brought to Pattaya Police Station, along with the 15 patrons who tested positive for drugs, and charged.
Bang Lamung district chief Phisit Sirisawasdinukul will ask the provincial governor to ban Dragon Man Bar from opening for five years, he said.
PM orders strict checks on Thai nominees facilitating foreign businesses
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed government agencies concerned to strictly check if any Thai tourism-related firms nationwide were nominees of foreigners, a senior official said on Thursday.
Government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri said Prayut has been closely monitoring the issue of foreigners using Thai nominees to open businesses prohibited for foreigners or who avoid registering their businesses.
“The prime minister has instructed government agencies concerned to closely follow up on the issue by sending officials to check firms and strictly enforce the laws to prevent foreigners from carrying out businesses reserved for Thais,” the spokesman said.
He said Prayut asked for more checks now, as Thailand has fully reopened to foreign tourists.
The spokesman said the prime minister instructed the Commerce Ministry to ensure that its commercial offices around the country and the Business Develop Department carefully checked registrations of companies and partnerships so that they would not violate the Foreign Business Act of BE 2542 (1999).
“The prime minister wants checks in all provinces, not only in major tourism provinces. The checks will focus on businesses related to tourism, such as restaurants, hotels, resorts, car renting services, souvenir shops, spa and massage parlours.
The spokesman said Prayut had been informed of the Business Development Department’s ongoing operation to check some 200 businesses in four major tourist destinations in Bangkok — Yaowarat or China Town, Huai Khwang, Samphanthawong and Ratchadaphisek.
Senior officials from the department and the Commerce Ministry announced on Monday that the ministry is checking some 200 businesses in the four areas to find out whether they are nominees of foreigners or whether they are foreigners running businesses reserved for Thais.
Earlier last month, the Business Development Department warned Thai nominees of Chinese-owned shops in Bangkok’s Chinatown that they could face up to three years in jail and/or a maximum fine of one million baht if they were found to be acting as nominees.
The warning came after some food vendors in Yaowarat alleged that Chinese nationals were using Thai nominees to run shops and eateries in Chinatown and competing with local operators.
The spokesman on Thursday listed nine types of businesses reserved for Thais:
– Newspapers, radio and TV broadcasting
– planting and gardening
– Animal raising
– Reforestation and logging
– Fisheries
– Thai herb extraction
– Trading of Thai antiques or or historical products
Taksin Hospital celebrates 119 years of brain treatment, calls for donations
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Taksin Hospital, a public hospital under the Bangkok Medical Service Department, celebrated its 119th anniversary of treating brain and cerebrovascular patients on Wednesday.
The anniversary ceremony, titled “119 years Taksin Hospital”, was presided over by Bangkok permanent-secretary Khajit Chatchavanich.
Among activities at the event was a video presentation of the real-life experience of patients suffering from stroke who have been treated by doctors, neurosurgeons, and the multidisciplinary teams at the hospital. There was also a ceremony to reward hospital employees who have demonstrated exceptional performance, and a presentation of mementos to the hospital’s patrons.
Taksin Hospital is seeking to improve the efficiency and quality of treatment for cerebrovascular patients but still lacks necessary machines, including the transcranial doppler ultrasound device, which is crucial in saving patients’ lives.
Donations to Taksin Hospital can be made to TMBThanachart Bank account number 033-1-07003-7, under the name “Taksin Hospital Fund”.
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