Chiwit Thai

[Yamato]

To all foreigners (including myself of course) we can suck thumb now

 

https://thethaiger.com/coronavirus/vaccines-reserved-to-thais-not-expats-public-health-ministry

 

Vaccines reserved for Thais, not expats – Public Health Ministry
Tim Newton, Published 4 hours ago on  Wednesday, May 5, 2021
By Tim Newton

 

 

Sorry, you’ll just have to wait. The Ministry of Public Health has muddied the waters further about foreigners or expats being able to access Covid vaccines in Thailand.

 

Ministry spokesperson Rungrueng Kitphati has rolled back some of the comments that have already been made about the matter and the real world situation where some expats already registering for the next round of vaccinations in June. Speaking to Bangkok Post…

 

“The vaccines right now are only reserved for Thai people who are now at a high-risk level or living in the severe outbreak areas. Expats should wait for a clear policy from the government.”

 

He flatly denied reports of expats living in Thailand being allowed to register for free vaccines. But did offer a glimmer of hope…

 

“In the future, the country will provide more alternatives for vaccines so they could have a chance of getting it.”

 

The messaging from the government about vaccines for foreigners and expats has been confusing. And yesterday’s comments from the public health ministry will probably be further ‘clarified’ although it appears that foreigners will simply have to wait and see.

 

Even foreign embassies have largely told expats that they are on their own and their own governments won’t be assisting them. Yesterday The Australian Embassy gave a flat ‘no’ in an official response about The Australian Government helping expats and Australian travellers in Thailand access vaccines. This, despite donating 68 million baht to Thailand to hasten the country’s vaccine efforts.

 

The Government confirmed that foreigners who had registered via the Mor Prom app or the LINE app would not be offered vaccination in the June or July roll out.

 

The issue of foreigners being able to access Covid vaccines in Thailand is further complicated by the government’s not allowing private companies or hospitals to independently import vaccine doses after changing their mind several times on the matter.

 

SOURCE: Bangkok Post
 

Edited May 5, 2021 by Yamato

[Yamato]

Just out - new cases 1,911 (-201) ; deaths 18 (+3)

 

 

Edited May 6, 2021 by Yamato

[Yamato]

Woke up early and made myself a nice meal

 

Cooking it

 

 

Ready to eat

 

 

Full breakfast (going to last me till dinner)

 

Steamed egg custard

 

Stir fry pakchoy with prawns and garlic

 

Black pomfret

 

[Yamato]

This is actually an important message for me but FYI to all of you

 

 

 

[Yamato]

Just out - new cases 2,044 (+133) ; deaths 27 (+9)

 

 

[Yamato]

Just out - new cases 2,419 (+375) ; deaths 19 (-8)

 

 

[Yamato]

So in Thailand eating out had been banned since 1st May. This is what we do these days

 

The noodle shop

 

Tabao

 

Eat in office

 

[Yamato]

Just in today’s numbers 

 

New cases = 2,101 ( -318 )
Deaths = 17 ( -2 )

 

 

[Yamato]

Just in today’s numbers 

 

New cases = 1,630 ( -471 )
Deaths = 22 ( +5 )

 

 

[Yamato]

Sunday made some chwee kueh 

 

Prepare

 

Steam

 

Ready

 

[Yamato]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2113295/indian-variant-of-covid-19-confirmed-in-thailand

 

Indian variant of Covid-19 confirmed in Thailand
Government considers widening ban on foreign arrivals throughout subcontinent
published : 10 May 2021 at 14:51

 

People gather to receive their coronavirus vaccine doses at a vaccination centre in Karachi, Pakistan, on April 28. (Reuters photo) 

 

The Indian variant of Covid-19 has arrived in Thailand.

 

The variant was detected in a Thai woman and her young son arriving from Pakistan, prompting authorities to consider widening the ban on international arrivals to other countries besides India.

 

Apisamai Srirangson, the assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Monday the woman and her three sons, aged four, six and eight, arrived in Thailand from Pakistan via Dubai on April 24.

 

All were in a state-arranged quarantine facility after the arrival and the first tests found the mother and her youngest son were positive, while the other children were not infected.

 

A whole genome sequencing test conducted at Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital on Sunday confirmed the virus detected on them was the variant from India, named B.1.617.1.

 

"These were the first detections of the Indian variant in the country," Dr Apisamai said.

 

The B.1.617.1 variant was recorded for the first time in India in October before spreading to other countries. Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh were among the nations on the subcontinent where this virus was found. In Southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have detected the same variant.

 

Dr Apisamai said authorities were worried by the arrival of this version of the virus and the new danger it poses. "There is concern about this variant and about the possibility that it could mutate in Thailand," she added.

 

Thailand has barred foreign arrivals from India since the beginning of this month due to worries about the Indian variant. The Thai embassy in India does not issue certificates of entry (COE) to any non-Thai nationals, effectively meaning they cannot travel to the kingdom.

 

The assistant spokeswoman said the Foreign Ministry and Department of Disease Control were on Monday holding discussions about halting the issuance of the entry permit in other countries to try to keep the Indian variant of Covid-19 out of Thailand. 

 

She did not name the countries but said the variant had been recorded in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.

"There is a possibility of delaying COEs in other countries," she added.

[Yamato]

This morning fried noodles for breakfast

 

The ingredients 

 

Cooking

 

 

 

[Yamato]

Just in the numbers for today 

 

New cases = 1,919 ( +289 )
Deaths = 31 ( +9 )

 

 

[Yamato]

Made French toast for breakfast today

 

 

 

 

[Yamato]

Yesterday passed by Pattaya on the way back to Bangkok. Haven't been into Pattaya for a while so decided to enter Pattaya to have a look at what's happening. 

 

For those who missed Pattaya like myself I made 2 videos and wanna share them with those of you wondering the scenes in Pattaya these days. 

 

This is a video entering Pattaya via the Motorway and driving along the Sukhumvit Road

 

 

 

This second and longer video below saw me started driving along the Pattaya's 2nd Road (at around (11am) then turning into the Pattaya Beach Road at the end of the 2nd Road near the Terminal 21 Mall. Driving along the Beach Road till it ended at the Pattaya Walking Street and then proceeded along Pattaya South Road towards Sukhumvit Road.

 

Hope you guys enjoy these 2 videos

 

 

 

[XianGe]

22 hours ago, Yamato said:

Just in the numbers for today 

 

New cases = 1,919 ( +289 )
Deaths = 31 ( +9 )

 

 

Still high

[Yamato]

Just in the numbers for today 

 

New cases = 1,983 ( +64 )
Deaths = 34 ( +3 )

 

 

[Yamato]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2114555/thousands-of-inmates-at-two-prisons-have-covid-19

 

Thousands of inmates at two prisons have Covid-19
published : 12 May 2021 at 17:25

 

 

Inmates at Bangkok Remand Prison pass the time reading books. (Bangkok Post file photo)

 

A total of 2,835 inmates at two main prisons in Bangkok - the Bangkok Remand Prison and Central Women's Correctional Institution - have been found to be infected with Covid-19, Corrections Department director-general Aryut Sinthoppan said on Wednesday.

 

Mr Aryut revealed the figures after democracy activist Panusya Sithijirawattanakul posted on her Facebook page after being released on bail that she was infected with the virus during her stay in detention.

 

Ms Panusya was released on May 6 after being detained for 59 days at the Central Women's Correctional Institution.

 

Mr Aryut said active case finding conducted on prison officials and inmates found that 1,795 prisoners at Bangkok Remand Prison and 1,040 at the Central Women's Correctional Institution - 2,835 in total - were infected with the Covid-19 virus.

 

Most of them were being treated at the field hospitals set up at the two prisons or the Corrections Hospital. Others in more severe condition were admitted to other hospitals outside, he said.

 

"The Corrections Department has ordered all correctional facilities to set up an area for quarantine and a field hospital, with doctors and nurses on duty to provide treatment for the infected inmates.

 

"We also plan to inoculate all detainees. We are only waiting for an allocation of vaccines from relevant agencies," Mr Aryut said.

 

The Corrections Department had conducted active case finding on prison officials and detainees. Those found infected were taken out for treatment and those deemed high-risk put in quarantine.

 

New inmates were to be placed in quarantine for at least 21 days and they must be tested for Covid-19 twice before being sent to different zones.

 

He said the number of infected inmates was small when compared to the number of infections throughout the country.

 

According to a source at the Corrections Department, as of  May 5, there were 3,238 prisoners at the Bangkok Remand Prison and 4,518 at the Central Women's Correctional Institution,

 

The website prisonstudies.org reports there were 307,910 people being held in Thai prisons as of April 1 this year, including pre-trial detainees. The site, run by the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, quotes the "national prison administration".

[Yamato]

Is this the beginning of an uncontrollable situation? Record spike of 2,004 cases over yesterday. Death 32 (-2)

 

New cases divided into 2 groups

Prison = 2,835
Others = 2,052

 

 

[Yamato]

"You snakes. You brood of vipers. How will you escape being condemned to hell?"

 

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Coup/Thai-PM-and-Myanmar-junta-chief-stay-engaged-via-back-channels?utm_campaign=RN Subscriber newsletter&utm_medium=daily newsletter&utm_source=NAR Newsletter&utm_content=article link&del_type=1&pub_date=20210512190000&seq_num=2&si=44594

 

Thai PM and Myanmar junta chief stay engaged via back channels
Talks between Prayuth and Min Aung Hlaing illustrate bonds between militaries

 

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, left, and Myanmar Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing: Min Aung Hlaing was the first Southeast Asian military leader who reached out to Prayuth after he overthrew an elected Thai government in 2014 as army chief. (Source photos by Reuters)
MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR, Asia regional correspondentMay 12, 2021 11:19 JST

 

BANGKOK -- Thailand's pro-military government has tapped its back-channel contacts with Myanmar's armed forces to shape Bangkok's diplomatic options following the turmoil and bloodshed in its neighbor since the February coup in Naypyitaw.

 

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha tipped this element of Bangkok's approach by skipping the recent summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders in Jakarta. He sent Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai instead for the ASEAN gathering convened to chart a regional response to Myanmar.

 

Prayuth seemingly missed his chance to engage with Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar's military chief and junta leader, who flew to the Indonesian capital for the April 24 summit -- his first overseas trip since the power grab.

 

But criticism of Prayuth prompted this retort from a confidant: "The P.M. does not have to attend the ASEAN summit to engage with [Min Aung Hlaing]."

 

Pressed to elaborate, the source in the prime minister's inner circle told Nikkei Asia that Prayuth benefits from direct links cultivated by members of Thailand's army over the past decade with counterparts in the Tatmadaw, as Myanmar's military is called.

 

"We have maintained back channels, and [Prayuth and Min Aung Hlaing] can communicate without having to meet," he said. "They have talked since the coup."

 

"They know how to engage," he added, but the source declined to reveal the substance of their discussions.

 

Prayuth, now a retired general, overthrew an elected Thai government in 2014 when he was army chief. He led the Thai junta for five years until the 2019 general election, which paved the way for his 2-year-old pro-military governing alliance.

 

This chemistry between the two militaries has not been lost on veteran Thai diplomats who engaged with a broad range of Myanmar's political players prior to the putsch.

 

"The two militaries think alike as comrades-in-arms, and they can understand each other well," said Kobsak Chutikul, a former Thai ambassador. "The Thai and Myanmar militaries have a lot of contact at many levels -- local commanders, border commanders, regional commanders and even at the highest level, the central command."

 

The bonds stem from the 2,400-km border shared by the countries, a line longer than Myanmar's boundaries with China in the northeast and India in the west. Troops from Thailand's Third Army, which handles security in the country's northern sector, watch a line that stretches across mountainous terrain, remote and porous valleys as well as busy border towns where people and goods flow both ways.

 

Those troops now face refugees crossing from Myanmar as the Tatmadaw's campaign to repress anti-coup protesters has resulted in over 750 deaths. The border is also a route for the movement of illegal weapons and the multibillion-dollar narcotics trade from drug labs in northeastern Myanmar.

 

The Thai military traditionally calls the shots in shaping the Southeast Asian kingdom's foreign policy toward its immediate neighbors.

 

But Min Aung Hlaing also was the first Southeast Asian military leader to reach out to Prayuth after he staged the 2014 coup, praising him for the putsch. Two years earlier, Min Aung Hlaing had sought the blessing of Thai Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda -- a former army chief, former prime minister and president of the royal advisory Privy Council -- to become his "adopted son."

 

Thailand's personal ties with Min Aung Hlaing were elevated to new heights in 2018 when he was awarded the country's Knight Grand Cross of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant, a royal decoration normally given to military officers and civilians who have been recognized for distinguished service. It was bestowed "in honor of the support he has shown for the Thai military," the Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, reported at the time.

 

Min Aung Hlaing's bonds with Thai military counterparts reflect the dramatic change in relations between the two neighbors, once marked by historical animosities, deep suspicion and border skirmishes.

 

Bangkok's security policy toward Myanmar over a decade ago was illustrated by its "buffer zone" strategy, which allowed armed ethnic rebels in Myanmar fighting separatist wars against the Tatmadaw to operate along the Thai border. Tension was rife along the border at the time, said a security analyst, with the ethnic fighters serving as useful proxies for the Thai military.

 

"There was a lack of trust between the two countries in those days because of the buffer zone policies," said Sihasak Phuangketkeow, former permanent secretary of Thailand's Foreign Ministry. "But not so now, and the Thai military's border policies changed for many reasons, including the realization about the scope of border trade."

 

Cross-border trade between the countries totaled $5.4 billion for the fiscal year 2018-2019, according to the Thai ministry of commerce. It was driven by Thailand pouring investment into infrastructure to bolster economic ties and the many new checkpoints opened for Thai businesses to tap. Prior to the coup, Kasikorn Research Center, a subsidiary of KBank, a Thai bank, forecast that in Mae Sot, the busiest border crossing, trade would reach 100 billion baht (about $3.3 billion) by 2021. The robust cross-border trade follows the nearly $11 billion in foreign direct investment Thailand has sent into Myanmar over the past three decades, coming third after China and Singapore.

 

"Thailand deals with Myanmar on a daily basis, at many levels, so the government's response to the coup will have to factor multiple challenges," Sihasak said, echoing sentiments from some in Thai military circles that the country is the "only frontline state" in relation to Myanmar, unlike other ASEAN members. "Our diplomatic language will naturally be more restrained, and we will not be able to talk like Indonesia or Singapore about Myanmar."

 

Prayuth's approach reflects this, influenced by what his military advisers say about the inner workings of post-coup Myanmar.

"Staying engaged is our priority," the source in the prime minister's office said. "We are closer than you think."

[Yamato]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2114915/klong-toey-in-big-trouble

 

Klong Toey in big trouble
BANGKOK POST EDITORIAL COLUMN
PUBLISHED : 13 MAY 2021 AT 04:00
NEWSPAPER SECTION: NEWS

As the health authorities race against time to tackle the Klong Toey cluster, another crisis is looming in the country's biggest slum.

 

Due to overcrowding that makes social distancing hard, and poor sanitary conditions, Covid-19 spread quickly after the first cases associated with the Thong Lor cluster were detected, with contagion going at alarming an rate of 4.5%.

 

Many were infected while waiting for a family member to be transferred from their home to the hospital. The outbreak has caused many problems for community members. Some have lost relatives, others have had to take care of family members in critical condition, taking on the financial burden as they struggle to make ends meet.

 

Even those recovering from the virus cannot resume a normal life immediately as they are required to complete a 14-day quarantine. Such requirements may be possible for state officials or company workers with a monthly salary who can adopt the work-from-home module, but it is difficult for people who earn a living through hard labour, mostly on the daily minimum wage. Until now, no state agencies have a plan to deal with this tough economic issue affecting a large group of Klong Toey's community dwellers.

 

Moreover, a number of businesses are facing crunch time as a result of state restrictions, including a ban on dine-ins at restaurants and constant closures of markets, which are a major source of employment for the Klong Toey community. Under such unfavourable circumstances, those businesses have to adopt cost-cutting measures and have dismissed some workers.

 

One problem that cannot be ignored is the social stigma. It must be admitted that Klong Toey is a residential area for low-paid workers. But after emerging as the virus epicentre, an accompanying social stigma may cost these workers their jobs as employers may dismiss them to prevent Covid transmission.

 

Prateep Ungsongtham, a prominent slum leader, said the Klong Toey community now depends entirely on donations, such as food and necessities. There is no assistance from the state.

 

Despite Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang soliciting help, recruiting volunteers in various fields such as medical services and food distribution, City Hall is one step behind the problem.

 

At the same time, the government has designed its relief package to curb economic hardship and boost consumption. Yet the financial package fails to address social and economic impacts that low-income community dwellers are subject to. Apparently, there is a big gap in state help that must urgently be addressed.

 

For instance, state agencies must provide a support system to enable those affected by the virus to resume a normal life, or a campaign against social stigma through education, ensuring that everyone remains on high guard against the virus.

 

As a saying goes, it's better late than never. On the contrary, the state must think about a relief package that is practical enough for this highly vulnerable group, and also one that addresses mental recovery, to ease the devastation and prevent drug use and suicide. Needless to say, the slum communities have hard times ahead, as hope for employment or re-employment is dim and the virus continues to rage. Without jobs or income, there could be higher crime rates affecting other groups of society.

 

The state must work out, with the help of other sectors, a medium- and long-term job creation plan for this vulnerable group to prevent any further social turbulence.

 

[Yamato]

Today’s Covid Cases

 

New Cases
Thailand 2,073 (+21)
Prison 183 (-2,652)
———————————————-
Total 2,256 (-2,631)

 

Deaths 30 (-2)

 

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Yamato

[Yamato]

Today’s Covid Cases

 

New Cases
Thailand 2,218 (+145)
Prison 877 (+694)
———————————————-
Total 3,095 (+839)

 

Deaths 17 (-13)

 

 

[Yamato]

Today’s Covid Cases

 

New Cases 2,302 (+84)

Deaths 24 (+7)

 

 

[Yamato]

Today’s Covid Cases incredible increase of 7,333 new cases

 

New Cases
Thailand 2,782 ( +480 )
Prison 6,853 ( +6,853 )
———————————————-
Total 9,635 ( + 7,333 )

 

Deaths 25 ( +1 )