Category: Medicine

Thailand’s cabinet has confirmed that Phuket will reopen to fully vaccinated tourists on July 1st, under the “Phuket Sandbox” project, as planned. Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao, in Surat Thani province, will follow a similar model on July 15th, said Government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri today (Tuesday).

Incoming tourists will be required to present their Certification of Entry (CoE) to Thailand, register themselves through www.entrythailand.go.th, and install the “Thailand Plus” and other local apps (in the case of Phuket the “Mor Chana” app) upon arrival, so that their locations can be tracked.

They will also have to undergo a COVID-19 test, either at the airport, their hotel or at a checkpoint. Tourists in Phuket with negative results can travel anywhere on the island. They will have to stay at SHA+ certified hotels for a minimum of 14 days before being allowed to travel elsewhere in Thailand.

Tourists on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao will have to stay at their hotel for the first three days. During Day 4-7, they will be allowed along sealed routes. After that, during the second week, they can travel the islands freely. Two RT-PCR tests will be conducted on the 6th or 7th and on the 12th or 13th days.

Before departing the islands, tourists are required to present evidence of their stays at SHA+ hotels and their COVID-19 negative results.

Phuket has set up a committee for Immigration Control, to monitor foreign and domestic tourists entering and leaving the province.

Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao in Surat Thani will also impose control over arrivals and departures by air and sea.

Meanwhile, Phuket has further eased restrictions as follows:

– Schools and educational institutes can open as usual.

– Malls and community malls can open as usual but amusement parks and game zones will remain closed.

– Restaurants can stay open until 11 pm. Alcohol beverages can be served. Bars and pubs will remain closed.

– Supermarkets and convenience stores can open as usual.

– Snooker, pool or billiard tables outside of households can only be used between 15.00 – 23.00.

– Computer and online game shops can open as usual.

– Cinemas, theatres and water parks can open as usual. Amusement parks can only be open between 16.00-20.00.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Samut Sakhon Governor Veerasak Vichitsangsri is publicly complaining that his province will be getting fewer vaccines than requested, as many netizens in this coastal province change their profile hashtag to “Give Back Vaccines to Samut Sakhon People.”

In his Facebook post today (Tuesday), the governor said that, for the past seven months, since the worst outbreak of COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon began in mid-December, all sectors in the province have joined forces to cope with the problem, including the business sector which is being hard hit.

He said he does not think his province should be treated as a priority, but it does want sufficient vaccines to help in fighting the contagion, adding that he understands the need for the vaccines to be distributed across the country.

He said that the initial vaccine allocation of 330,000 doses for Samut Sakhon has been cut. While he understands the vaccines need to be distributed nationwide, however, it should not be reduced to the extent that “we won’t be able to fight (the disease).”

Governor Veerasak himself has been through a long ordeal with COVID-19. He spent 82 days under treatment at Siriraj hospital in Bangkok, including 42 days unconscious and on a ventilator. At one point, he nearly died. He was discharged from the hospital in mid-March, after he had tested positive on December 28th.

Veerasak said yesterday that the widespread change of profile hashtags by people in the province reflects their keen awareness of the need to get inoculated quickly after his province was allocated just tens of thousands of doses of vaccines. He explained that his province should be allotted 300,000 doses for three legitimate reasons.

First, the COVID-19 situation in the province has not improved, as evident in the number of infections, which have now soared to over 6,000 since April 1st, 2021, making Samut Sakhon one of the top ten provinces for high infection rates.

Second, the field hospital in the province is accommodating people from other provinces, in addition to local patients.

Third, Samut Sakhon is an economically significant province, which is home to more than 7,000 factories that generate between 500 and 600 billion baht in revenue each year.

The governor, however, said that there are further reasons to justify the province’s need for vaccines, as he sought sympathy from the government.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Respected Thai virologist, Prof. Dr. Yong Poovorawan, of Chulalongkorn University, has predicted that the Delta (Indian) variant of COVID-19 will replace the Alpha (UK) variant as the dominant strain around the world in the next 4-5 months, because it is 1.4 times more transmissible than the Alpha strain.

He also said, however, that the severity of the symptoms caused by the two variants are not that different, but the mutated virus has an impact on the efficacy of vaccines produced from the original virus strain from Wuhan in China.

To cope more efficiently with the variants, Dr. Yong stressed the need for the development of a second generation of vaccines, which several pharmaceutical companies are now doing and which will take at least six months to roll out.

Regarding the Beta (South African) variant, Dr. Yong said that it has been found in Thailand, but the infections are more limited than the Delta strain infections.

He cited a study on the impact of the Delta variant on vaccines in Scotland, which shows that the efficacy of both Pfizer and AstraZeneca dropped by about 10%.

In the case of Thailand, he said a study is underway to determine whether third booster vaccine jabs are necessary, noting that safety concerns must come first and that the study on mixed vaccine use, which is currently underway, will have to be completed first and assessed, before there is a change of vaccine policy in Thailand.

The best defence against the onset of the Delta variant in Thailand is to delay the spread of the strain, he said.

Commenting on the government’s plan to reopen Thailand to fully vaccinated foreign arrivals from low-risk countries in the next 120 days, Dr. Yong said that, if there are still thousands of new infections each day in Thailand by then, foreign tourists will not visit Thailand anyway, so full cooperation is urged from everyone to contain the pandemic.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

As the new spokesman of the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA), Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana’s first job was to defend the government’s relief measures for people affected by COVID-19.

His opening move was to dismiss claims that the measures favoured wealthy people, insisting their aim was to reduce living costs and stimulate the economy.

“I call on all sides to understand that [Prime Minister] General Prayut [Chan-o-cha] is speeding up assistance to the people,” Thanakorn said on Tuesday (June 15), just days after he was appointed.

A prominent politician from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, the 48-year-old has regularly defended Prayut against attacks by opposition politicians and government critics, especially over the third wave of infections and stumbling vaccine rollout.

Thanakorn’s June 10 appointment was endorsed by Prayut on the same day. The new CESA spokesman is also secretary to PM’s Office Minister Anucha Nakasai.

Targeting ‘fake news’

Thanakorn thanked Prayut for trusting him and vowed to work to the best of his abilities in the new role.

“I will focus on simple communication to build strong understanding among people and fight fake news,” he said.

The “simple communication” refers to explaining the government’s fight against COVID-19 to the public, as well as its measures to rebuild the economy and restore national normalcy as soon as possible.

“The government’s strategies will certainly ease the COVID-19 situation,” said Thanakorn, who is a former spokesman for the ruling party.

CESA works alongside the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and is tasked with reviving the pandemic-hit economy. It recently endorsed Tourism Authority of Thailand’s “Phuket Sandbox”, a pilot scheme to gradually reopen Thailand to foreign tourists.

Previously, only the CCSA had spokespersons – and since its only task is to handle the public health aspect of the virus crisis, the PR team is mainly staffed by medical personnel.

Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, an inspector-general from the Public Health Ministry, serves as CCSA spokesman alongside his two deputies – Dr Apisamai Srirangsan and Dr Panprapa Yongtrakul – who are also from the ministry.

The spokesman and his deputies have proved awkward at times when having to deal with media questions of political nature.

Naturally, they are more familiar with health issues, but lack experience in handling the political attacks raining down on CCSA and CESA from the opposition and government critics.

Filling the void

Thanakorn is expected to fill this void efficiently thanks to his many years in politics. Defending Prayut and his government became a routine task for Thanakorn, especially after being appointed secretary to the PM’s Office minister.

From August 2019 to July 2020, he served as secretary of then-finance minister Uttama Savanayana and was also spokesperson for Palang Pracharath from November 2019 to July 2020.

Last August, Thanakorn became a candidate to replace Narumon Pinyosinwat as the government spokesman after she was appointed deputy labour minister. But he failed to get the position.

Born on May 19, 1973, Thanakorn graduated with a bachelor’s in mass communications from Krirk University and a master’s in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University. He then took a doctorate in public administration at Western University in Pathum Thani.

Thanakorn made his political debut in 2007 when he joined the now-defunct Matchima Thippatai Party, which was dissolved by court for electoral fraud a year later. He then moved to Bhumjaithai in 2008 only to leave the party six years later.

He joined Palang Pracharath shortly after it launched in 2018 and contested the 2019 general election as a party-list candidate but failed to win a seat in Parliament. His previous attempts to get elected as an MP, in the 2007 and 2011 elections, also ended in failure.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

A parachutist was killed as he encountered sudden wind turbulence, after parachuting from the summit of a mountain in Thailand’s central province of Lopburi on Sunday.

The victim, a 53-year-old sub-lieutenant, and five colleagues, scaled Khao Do Mountain, in Nikhom Sang Ton Eng sub-district, during the weekend to reach the 500-metre summit for a base jump.

The summit is a favorite location for both Thai and foreign amateur parachutists.

One of the victim’s colleagues told the police that they had trekked to the summit and, after taking a rest, they started to jump, one after another.

He said that the first jump went smoothly and that the sub-lieutenant was the second to jump, adding that it went well as his chute opened but, all of a sudden, there was wind turbulence and the chute was blown toward the steep mountain cliff and hestruck the cliff face.

According to the witness, the victim was still conscious when he was dangling from the cliff face, but both the collapsed chute and the victim then plunged several hundred metres into the dense forest below.

A search and rescue team was sent to the scene and, after about an hour’s searching, the man’s body was found.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Thailand’s Ministry of Interior has made an abrupt U-turn over its decision to grant privileged COVID-19 vaccination access to employees of Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, or ThaiBev, and their families, after the move came under widespread criticism on social media.

ThaiBev, Thailand’s largest and one of Southeast Asia’s largest beverage companies, with offices in six countries, asked the Interior Ministry for an allocation of vaccines to inoculate its 43,201 employees and 28,244 family members in all provinces of Thailand including Bangkok.

On June 17th, Interior Permanent Secretary Chatchai Promlert sent an urgent tele-message to all provincial governors instructing them to spare vaccines to inoculate ThaiBev’s employees and families.

The action by Mr. Chatchai, in favour of ThaiBev, drewwidespread criticism from members of the public on social media, prompting the permanent secretary to issue a second tele-message to overrule the his instruction.

Defending his previous action, Mr. Chatchai said the decisionwas in line with the National Communicable Disease Committee’s guidelines and went through proper channels, including the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration ThaiBev, employees and families, Interior Ministry, U-turn, criticismChatchai Promlert(CCSA)’s secretariat, the Ministry of Public Health and provincial communicable disease committees.

More than 10,000 state agencies and private companies and organizations have booked Sinopharm vaccine with the Chulabhorn Royal Academy with their own funding for their employees.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

The Department of International Trade Promotion has launched a campaign, known as “Thailand Delivers with Safety,” to boost confidence about Thai food production among importers of Thai food products and trading partners worldwide.

The campaign has been carried out along with strict safety measures to ensure that Thai food products are free from COVID-19 and meet international standards. It has also been stepped up in every process of production.

In factories, the Ministry of Industry has implemented measures to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 in factories nationwide, based on “Good Factory Practice,” set by the Department of Health.

All factories have been urged to take part in the self-assessment through the online platform “Thai Stop COVID Plus” every two weeks. As for factory workers, they must also conduct self-assessment through the “Thai Save Thai” platform before entering workplaces. They have also been encouraged to exercise in various forms to develop a healthy lifestyle and build up an immunity against diseases.

Both systems will enable entrepreneurs and workers to handle risk management and adopt the “new normal” to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

With strict measures against COVID-19 in factories, Thai exports, especially food products, are likely to grow continuously and earn greater recognition from importers and consumers worldwide.

Source: The Government Public Relations Department

Most schools, students, and their parents are not ready for online learning, required by the COVID-19 situation, for a number of reasons, according to an opinion survey conducted by Suan Dusit Poll of Suan Dusit University between June 14th and 17th.

With the exception of those in the Dark Red zones, such as Bangkok, schools across Thailand reopened on June 14th, about a month later than the normal opening of the new semester, due to widespread COVID-19 infections.

Suan Dusit Poll gauged the opinions of 3,749 people, including school administrators, teachers, students, and their parents, about how they view online learning, which is being applied in many schools, especially in the Deep Red zones, where on-site studying is still restricted.

The opinion poll shows that 51.35% of the respondents said that they are not yet ready for online learning, while 63.30% pointed out that the Thai educational system is not ready for virtual teaching and 77.18% of the teachers admitted that online learning necessities, such as internet connections, are lacking.

66.16% of parents are concerned that their children may not concentrate enough, while 74.25% of students are concerned that they may not understand what their teachers are teaching them.

62.22% of the respondents want the state to provide devices to students and schools for online learning, while 33.57% feel that online learning will affect learning by young children.

Dr. Uah-aree Chanthorn, head of the learning system development section of the Faculty of Education at Suan Dusit University, however, said that online learning is a new normal educational system that should be treated as an opportunity, or a new challenge, and not an obstruction to learning.

She suggested that all parties concerned adapt their digital mindset, to be more broadminded, to accept the new technology and to utilize it to the utmost, adding that teachers must adapt their teaching methods to fit in with the new method of learning.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Bangkok Governor Police General Aswin Kwanmuang issued an announcement on 20 June 2021 easing some restrictions on the operations of certain businesses and activities in Bangkok under conditions.

The announcement was made following the approval of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Communicable Disease Committee. It will be effective from 21 June 2021 onwards.

According to the announcement, the following types of activities and venues may reopen, but with strict preventive measures against COVID-19 set by the Government:

(1) Public swimming pools;

(2) Ponds for water sports or water activities, such as jet skiing, kite surfing and banana boat; they may open until 21.00 hr, and competitions may be organized without spectators;

(3) Learning centers, science centers for education, science parks, science and cultural centers, and galleries;

(4) Public libraries;

(5) Food shops may serve food and beverages until 23.00 hr; consumption of liquor and alcoholic beverages in these venues is prohibited; the number of customers is also limited to just 50 percent seating capacity, with screening and physical distancing measures;

(6) Sports venues, or places for open-air exercise, or indoor sports venues with good ventilation may open until 21.00 hr, and competitions may be organized without spectators;

(7) Convenience stores and supermarkets may operate in accordance with their normal service time;

(8) Meetings, seminars, parties, camping, film shooting, television programs, religious activities, and gatherings with not more than 50 participants are allowed. If the number of participants is expected to exceed 50 but not be more than 500, the organizers must seek permission by submitting a working plan and disease control measures to the district office responsible for the area before the activities are organized. In cases in which the number of participants will exceed 500, the organizers must seek permission by submitting a working plan and disease control measures to the BMA Health Department, except for the activities that are carried out by government agencies or are conducted in the venues designated as quarantine facilities.

Any persons who violate or fail to comply with this announcement may be guilty of an offence under Section 52 of the Communicable Disease Act B.E. 2558 (2015) and shall be liable to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both. Moreover, they may be guilty of an offence under Section 18 of the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005) and shall be liable to imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.

Source: The Government Public Relations Department

The government has allocated an additional 30 million baht to the National Health Security Office to be used to pay compensation to people who suffer rare serious side effects from inoculation with COVID-19 vaccines.

According to Mr. Atthaporn Limpanyalert, deputy secretary-general of the NHSO, the office has already paid compensation to over 400 claimants, who were vaccinated and claimed to have developed undesirable side effects.

He said that, of the 400, 95.5% sustained mild side effects, 0.5% sustained partial numbness and 4% died, but autopsies have found no causal link between the deaths and the vaccinations.

The additional 30-million baht has raised the compensation fund to 130 million baht, allocated from the Loan Executive Decree. 13 million baht has been paid to date.

Compensation may be claimed as follows:

• If a claimant is in need of continuous treatment, he or she will receive an initial compensation of not exceeding 100,000 baht.

• In case of the loss of a limb or being disabled which affects the claimant’s livelihood, he or she is entitled to compensation not exceeding 240,000 baht.

• In case the claimant dies or sustains permanent disability, he or she is entitled to a maximum of 400,000 baht compensation.

Claimants can seek compensation by submitting their application at the hospital where they received the vaccinations, the provincial health office or any of the 13 NHSO regional offices within two years of becoming aware of their sickness or disability.

According to the Medical Sciences Department, there have been 68 deaths among people who were vaccinated. Autopsy results on 13 cases show no link between their deaths and the vaccines, while results of the other cases are still pending.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)