Covid-19 News & Updates

[Ratsima]

the lack of testing could miss the emergence of a new variant.

Whilst I'm not convinced additional testing would achieve very much in the grander scheme of thing apart from political kudos, you make an excellent point here.

To detect new variants they need to do more genomic sequencing. The antigen and PCR tests won't do it.

[PeteC]

https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/

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[joelle]

Each province's daily domestic COVID-19 cases update in Thailand on Thursday October 14th.
Infographic from Scandinavian Facebook page: Thaipodden

[Big Boy]

I think this is good news:

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[PeteC]

They're opening Hua Hin on November 1, but not Cha-am, at least not until December.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ing-opened

Quarantine being lifted, more provinces being opened

There will be no quarantine for fully vaccinated air travellers from five countries from Nov 1, and destinations in more provinces will also be opened to foreign tourists.

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said the CCSA resolved on Thursday to allow in fully vaccinated visitors from Britain, the United States, Germany, Singapore and China if they pass an RT-PCR test before arrival.

Travellers from these five countries were considered as having low-risk of Covid-19 infection. They would not have to quarantine.

The number of destinations opened to tourists would also expand from four provinces - Phuket and parts of Surat Thani, Phangnga and Krabi provinces - to 17 provinces of economic significance. This would include all of Bangkok, Samut Prakan (only Suvarnabhumi airport), parts of Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin and Nong Kae) and all of Krabi and Phangnga, Dr Taweesilp said.

From Dec 1, another 16 major provinces would reopen, including Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Lamphun, Phrae and Sukhothai.

The operations committee of the CCSA had yet to finalise the entire list of the additional provinces, Dr Taweesilp said.

The CCSA's briefing on Thursday afternoon started with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha confirming that Thailand was ready for reopening in two weeks.

"Many countries want to let their citizens visit Thailand... It will be a small start, for people to resume earning a living," the prime minister said.

Ministers and senior representatives of the government and the private sector were also present for the announcement at Government House.

[PeteC]

The question is, how are they going to control where a person goes? I don't think they can or will. They going to screen everyone driving from Hua Hin to Cha-Am?

[Big Boy]

I read a couple of days ago that 'another app' will inform the authorities if a person has strayed off course for more than 30 minutes. It didn't say what they would do about it though. I guess owning and carrying a smart phone will become a mandatory requirement for visitors to Thailand.

[HHTel]

Now that is different from Cha-cha-cha's TV address. In his announcement, all of Thailand would be open to vaccinated people from the chosen countries:

The government had earlier planned to open only Bangkok and several provinces for foreign tourists on Nov 1. The other provinces are Chon Buri (Pattaya city, Bang Lamung district, and Sattahip district), Phetchaburi (Cha-am district), Prachuap Khiri Khan (Hua Hin district) and Chiang Mai (Muang, Mae Taeng, Mae Rim and Doi Tao districts).

Monday's announcement indicated that the reopening would cover all parts of the country.

"By Dec 1, we will also consider allowing the consumption of alcoholic beverages in restaurants as well as the operation of entertainment venues under appropriate health precautions to support the revitalisation of the tourism and leisure sectors, especially the new year period," he said.

He did say that it has to be approved by the CCSA, which he chairs.

"I have instructed the CCSA and the Ministry of Public Health to urgently consider within this week to allow, as of Nov 1, international visitors to enter Thailand without any requirement for quarantine if they are fully vaccinated and arrive by air from low-risk countries," he said.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/21 ... ktXZ1QqCSg

So the excitement by some expecting to arrive next month has been dampened somewhat.

[Big Boy]

Today's Brief:



[Edit] Summary:

1. PM’s televised message

-The Prime Minister delivered a speech nationally televised reassuring the nation that he has every confidence that Thailand will realize her full potential as a result of the planned reopening of our borders. Every government agency, including public health authorities, has been working in close cooperation with relevant stakeholders including and the private sectors, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Chamber of Commerce to ensure the synchronization of economic, public health, and other relevant measures to facilitate Thailand’s return to post-COVID normalcy.

-Regarding our opening plan, the meeting discussed in principle that there will be a list of countries that can enter Thailand without having to quarantine. Despite some examples of countries that have been mentioned, the meeting did not finalize the low-risk countries. Authorities involved will work together in identifying those potential countries in due course.

2. Vaccination Progress

– Yesterday, we inoculated 583,994 doses of vaccines, increasing the accumulated number of vaccinations to over 62.5 million doses.

-Regarding the number of foreign nationals residing in Thailand who have received their COVID-19 vaccination, around 1.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccination have been administered to foreign nationals residing in Thailand or approximately 17.7 percent of all foreign nationals in Thailand.

-For Expatvac.consular.go.th, the latest scheme for foreign nationals residing in Thailand to register for vaccination administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thailand and the Ministry of Public Health. As of 10 October 2021, there are 69,209 foreign residents registered for vaccination through the Expatvac, of which around 55,000 individuals are those younger than 60 years old, and over 13,000 of the people registered are those aged below 60. Appointments will be made in due course with many who have already been vaccinated, which reaffirms our commitment to leave no one behind.

– The German Embassy announced yesterday that Germany will donate 347,100 doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine to Thailand. The German ambassador to Thailand, H.E. Mr. Georg Schmidt, revealed that Germany is delighted to be a part of an inclusive vaccination rollout in Thailand.

3. General Situation

– For daily numbers, new confirmed cases today are at 11,276 persons registering a total active case of 107,925, of which, 2,890 are in critical condition and 675 are on ventilators.

– The newly recovered cases are at 10,407 persons, while the new fatality is at 112 making the fatality rate remains at 1.04 %.

4. Adjusted Measures

-Today the CCSA General Meeting, chaired by the Prime Minister, considered several measures that are poised to be adjusted in line with the overall plan for Thailand to live under the new normal.
The key adjustments made by the CCSA General Meeting are as follows:

– There are now 23 provinces in the Dark Red Zone or the maximum controlled and strict zones; 30 provinces in the maximum controlled zone; and 24 provinces in the controlled zones.

– For maximum controlled and strict zones, the curfew time has been extended to 23.00 hrs. to 03.00 hrs. for at least 15 days, effective from 16 October 2021. Opening hours for businesses are now adjusted to 22.00 hrs. instead of 21.00 hrs. Meetings, traditional festivals, and cultural activities in exhibition halls, conference centres, and similar types of establishments can now be held. Care facilities for elderly people can now accept day-time visits.

5. Procurement plan of Molnupiravir

-The CCSA approved the Ministry of Public Health’s plan to procure 50,000 courses of Molnupiravir aiming to reduce the death rate of patients that have not been fully vaccinated.

6. Thailand Pass

-Since April 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved more than 400,000 certificates of entry (COE) to Thai and foreign nationals for international travel.

-According to the “Ease of Travelling” policy, the system entitled “Thailand Pass” will be adopted to replace the issuance process of COE which is expected to shorten the process of documentation for Thai and foreign travelers entering the country.

-The Thailand Pass system is expected to be launched on 1 November 2021 with some exceptions as COE will still be required for certain groups of travelers such as those entering the Alternative Hospital Quarantine (AHQ), travelers entering through land borders, and travelers entering Thailand with yachts and cruise ships.

7. WHO approved Astra Zeneca produced by Siam Bioscience

-On 11 October 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO), has informed related agencies that the Siam Bioscience manufacturing site has been added to the list of alternative manufacturing sites for AstraZeneca AB, as part of the Emergency Use Listing (EUL) granted to the company.

-This certification by WHO has reflected the production standard of Siam Bioscience that aligns with the international standard. Travelers with AstraZeneca produced by Siam Bioscience will be entitled to the same rights and measures applicable to other vaccines on the EUL.

As we are preparing to reopen establishments and welcome tourists to generate more income for communities and drive the economy, the Public Health Ministry advises the public to follow these four measures to safely reopen the city for visitors:
(1) achieve the vaccination goal;(2) have maximum self-protection (Universal Prevention); (3) test with an antigen test kit; and (4) follow the guidelines for a COVID-free setting.

-With all of these measures, we are confident that the COVID-19 situation can be controlled and members of the public can live their lives under the “new normal” style.

[Ratsima]

The question is, how are they going to control where a person goes? I don't think they can or will. They going to screen everyone driving from Hua Hin to Cha-Am?

I think it will be impossible for road travel.

On the other hand, when I flew from Hat Yai to Bangkok a couple of weeks ago, Nok Air had to have someone from the office look at my passport before they would check me in. They needed to verify that I was a long term resident and not a short term visitor who had escaped from the permissible travel zones.

[hhinner]

Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said the CCSA resolved on Thursday to allow in fully vaccinated visitors from Britain, the United States, Germany, Singapore and China if they pass an RT-PCR test before arrival - for an initial period from Nov 1 to Dec 31.

Is China allowing its citizens to travel now?

[caller]

Is China allowing its citizens to travel now?

In such tiny, miniscule numbers, it's hardly worth bothering about.

[caller]

To detect new variants they need to do more genomic sequencing. The antigen and PCR tests won't do it.

Which takes us full circle back to the reason why Thailand was on the UK's red list and I can see no reason for them to have been removed.

[PeteC]

Thailand Pass set to replace CoE

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... eplace-coe

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Digital Government Development Agency are developing a new system to replace the certificate of entry (CoE) for Thais and foreigners who wish to enter the country through an airport.

Tanee Sangrat, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said on Thursday a new web-based application called the Thailand Pass system, where people can gather information and upload documents, is being developed for the kingdom's Nov 1 reopening.

Mr Tanee said the Thailand Pass will replace the CoE system and facilitate the filing of an immigration form known as the TM6 and a health declaration form known as T8.

However, the CoEs are still required for certain groups of people, including those who wish to enter the country via land or sea, he said.

As for vaccination certification, certificates will be approved online by the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Public Health Ministry...........

[Ratsima]

This graph is often shown on the morning Thai news show เรื่องเล่าเช้านี้ ("This Morning's Story" the one with Sorayuth Suthassanachinda on Channel 3). The green line shows those with serious symptoms and the red line shows those who require breathing assistance. The source of the data is not shown, but I assume it is from the same place as the info posted for us by PeteC every day.

I think the graph would be better with a logarithmic scale, but you get the picture.

Edit: The x axis is every 15th and 30th for the past six(?) months.

This is a screen grab from their YouTube channel.
.
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