Covid-19 News & Updates

[joelle]

A little late but here we are...
Each province's daily domestic COVID-19 cases update in Thailand on Saturday September 18th.
Infographic from a Scandinavian Facebook page.
Numbers in black are yesterday's cases and in red today's

[HHTel]

In a shock decision, the UK authorities have refused to remove Thailand from its list of banned countries. Although the British Department of Transport has ended the bizarre traffic lights system, it has retained a list of 60-plus countries which Brits should avoid for Covid reasons. If they do insist on coming, then they must enter a 10/11 days of compulsory quarantine in an approved hotel on re-entry to UK at a cost of 2,285 pounds for an individual. Additionally, they must take a battery of pre-departure and post-arrival Covid tests.

Although several countries have been removed from the former UK red list – including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan – Thailand is not the only Southeast Asian country to be out of bounds for Brits. Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines are also listed as no-go areas, but Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam are regarded as sufficiently safe for travel, including holidays. Grant Shapps, the UK transport secretary, said the new system of grading got rid of amber-listed countries. “All countries are now either green or red,” he said.

However, the British authorities are not satisfied that the Bangkok authorities have the virus under control and remain doubtful that enough testing is occurring on a daily basis.

The British government can change the status of countries at any time. But a re-examination of Thailand’s prospects is not expected until mid-October at the earliest.

I think many have been saying that for some time. Low testing is now being recognised elsewhere!

https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/ ... and-372364

[hhinner]

^^ Shock decision? Was anyone even mildly surprised?

[PeteC]

Note: The below link will lead to the full, updated story sometime around 1500 hours this afternoon.

13,576 new Covid cases, 117 more deaths

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ore-deaths

[HHTel]

^^ Shock decision? Was anyone even mildly surprised?

Well based on the latest positivity rate, today's figures equate to just over 85,000 tests! Not enough by half.

[PeteC]

phpzc44mCPM.jpg (47.99 KiB) Viewed 728 times

Official COVID-19 update in Thailand
Sunday, 19 September 2021

* 1,476,477 people infected (+13,576)
* 1,330,019 recovered (+12,492)
* 131,095 receiving treatment
* 15,363 deaths (+117)
* 3,646 (-55) patients are in critical condition, with 768 (+8) of them on ventilators.

Number of people who received vaccines

1st dose: +281,812
2nd dose: +313,636
3rd dose: +782
Total: 44,485,657

[joelle]

Each province's daily domestic COVID-19 cases update in Thailand on Sunday  September 19th.
Infographic from Scandinavian Facebook page: Thaipodden
Numbers in black are yesterday's cases and in red today's

[PeteC]

Note: The below link will lead to the full, updated story sometime around 1500 hours this afternoon.

12,709 new Covid cases, 106 more deaths

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ore-deaths

[PeteC]

php3KKlxSPM.jpg (47.55 KiB) Viewed 549 times

Official COVID-19 update in Thailand
Monday, 20 September 2021

* 1,489,186 people infected (+12,709)
* 1,341,144 recovered (+11,125)
* 132,573 receiving treatment
* 15,469 deaths (+106)
* 3,582 (-64) patients are in critical condition, with 773 (+5) of them on ventilators.

* Total positive cases ATK/Antigen Testing = 1,723
* Positive tests as a percentage of total tests. September 18 - 15.24%

Number of people who received vaccines

1st dose: +109,439
2nd dose: +146,698
3rd dose: +225
Total: 44,742,049

[PeteC]

Laos locks down capital as Covid cases hit record high

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/21848 ... ecord-high

Reclusive Laos has locked down its capital Vientiane and barred travel between Covid-hit provinces, as cases soared to a record high.

The communist country appeared to have escaped the brunt of the pandemic in 2020, and by March this year had reported fewer than 60 cases -- though the low number was due in part to limited testing.

But a surge since mid-April has seen its caseload steadily increase, and on Saturday the country reported 467 new cases of community infection, its highest ever single-day tally.

Vientiane Mayor Atsaphangthong Siphandone, where the bulk of the cases were detected, declared a strict lockdown on Sunday for two weeks, ordering residents to stay in their homes unless obtaining food, medicine or making their way to a hospital.

Travel between seven other hard-hit provinces is banned, while entry into Vientiane requires a quarantine of 14 days.

All public gatherings -- even religious ceremonies -- are also banned, as are activities including outdoor exercise and selling street food, according to state-run media KPL.

The surge in cases over the weekend was linked to fresh clusters found in the country's garment factories, with the bulk of workers infected with the highly contagious Delta strain.

Laos has so far recorded a total of 19,399 cases and 16 deaths.

According to the country's health ministry, it has administered more than 4.5 million vaccine doses -- mostly Sinopharm donated from neighbouring China and the Pfizer-BioNTech jab obtained via the Covax programme for low-income countries.

State-run media reported that any violation of Vientiane's lockdown would result in a fine of 3 million kip (10,000 baht).

[PeteC]

Cambodia bat researchers on mission to track origin of Covid-19

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/21847 ... f-covid-19

STUNG TRENG, Cambodia: Researchers are collecting samples from bats in northern Cambodia in a bid to understand the coronavirus pandemic, returning to a region where a very similar virus was found in the animals a decade ago.

Two samples from horseshoe bats were collected in 2010 in Stung Treng province near Laos and kept in freezers at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC) in Phnom Penh.

Tests done on them last year revealed a close relative to the coronavirus that has killed more than 4.6 million people worldwide.

An eight-member IPC research team has been collecting samples from bats and logging their species, sex, age and other details for a week. Similar research https://reut.rs/3EsZXVO is going on in the Philippines.

"We hope that the result from this study can help the world to have a better understanding about Covid-19," field coordinator Thavry Hoem told Reuters, as she held a net to catch bats.

Host species such as bats typically display no symptoms of pathogens, but these can be devastating if transmitted to humans or other animals.

Dr Veasna Duong, Head of Virology at the IPC, said his institute had made four such trips in the past two years, hoping for clues about the origin and evolution of the bat-borne virus.

"We want to find out whether the virus is still there and ... to know how the virus has evolved," he told Reuters.

Deadly viruses originating from bats include Ebola and other coronaviruses such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

But Veasna Duong said humans were responsible for the devastation caused by Covid-19, due to interference and destruction of natural habitats.

"If we try to be near wildlife, the chances of getting the virus carried by wildlife are more than normal. The chances of the virus transforming to infect humans are also more," he said.

The French-funded project also aims to look at how the wildlife trade could be playing a part, said Julia Guillebaud, a research engineer at the IPC's virology unit.

"(The project) aims to provide new knowledge on wild meat trade chains in Cambodia, document the diversity of betacoronaviruses circulating through these chains, and develop a flexible and integrated early-detection system of viral spill-over events," Gillebaud said.

[joelle]

Each province's daily domestic COVID-19 cases update in Thailand on Monday September 20th.
Infographic from Scandinavian Facebook page: Thaipodden
Numbers in black are yesterday's cases and in red today's

[Big Boy]

Today's Brief - Audio only

[stretch]

Amazing figures falling tax cuts on booze and cigars and talk of reopening ye ok.

[PeteC]

Note: The below link will lead to the full, updated story sometime around 1500 hours this afternoon.

10,919 new Covid cases, 143 more deaths

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ore-deaths