A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

[yinyang]

NEW VIRUS CLUSTERS FOUND IN SOUTH AND EAST; LOCKDOWN POSSIBLE
By
Associated Press
-
December 27, 2020 10:00 am
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Workers disinfect a market in Saraburi province on Dec. 27, 2020.

BANGKOK (AP) — Health officials in Thailand said Saturday that two new clusters of coronavirus cases have been found that appear to be linked to a major outbreak discovered a week earlier among migrant workers in an industrial province near Bangkok.
The new cases were found in 19 members of a motorcycling club who held a holiday gathering on Lanta island in the southern province of Krabi, and in nine people who were in a gambling den in the eastern province of Rayong, said the Disease Control Department.

The first of the motorcyclists to be diagnosed with the virus had come from Samut Sakhon province, where the outbreak among migrant workers occurred.
On Saturday morning, 110 new coronavirus cases were reported, bringing Thailand’s total to 6,020. Sixty of the 110 were linked to the Samut Sakhon outbreak.

At the beginning of December, Thailand had 4,008 cases. The death toll has remained at 60 since early November. Until recently, almost all new cases had been found among people who were quarantined upon arrival from abroad.
Cases linked to the Samut Sakhon outbreak, which was first found at a major seafood market, have now been reported in 33 provinces.

The Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, which coordinates Thailand’s battle against the virus, said Friday that unless social distancing and other restrictions are observed, a nationwide lockdown might have to be implemented by March.
Thailand had been considered a success story in controlling the disease by taking early significant measures, including banning the arrival of virtually all foreign tourists. It has recently been seeking to restart its lucrative travel industry, but the discovery of more than 1,300 cases in Samut Sakhon among the migrant workers, mostly from Myanmar, has put the authorities on high alert.
Restrictions, including limiting the nighttime hours of public places and temporary closings of schools, have been tightened province by province according to the number of infections.

There are 40 active cases in Bangkok, and contact tracing has led to several restaurants and other businesses being closed for decontamination, and the city’s schools being shut down for 12 days.

 

[yinyang]

Even the top's not getting away from S Sakhon's spread:

Samut Sakhon governor tests positive, Anutin awaits results
National
Dec 28. 2020

Veerasak Vichitsangsri
By The Nation

Samut Sakhon governor Veerasak Vichitsangsri reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday and people who had been his close contact with him will soon be tested for the virus.

Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, said several high-ranking civil servants are believed to be infected and said everybody at risk should report to public health officials immediately.

Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is currently isolated and waiting for test results.

On Sunday, Veerasak had led Anutin and other public health officials to visit a hospital in Samut Sakhon.

 

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[yinyang]

Thailand records 3,000 foreign tourists in November as ban eases

Tourists arriving on longtail boats on Koh Lipe island in the Andaman Sea, on Dec 19, 2020.PHOTO: AFP

BANGKOK (REUTERS) - Thailand recorded 3,065 foreign tourists in November, official data showed on Monday (Dec 28), in its second month of receiving long-stay visitors after a ban was imposed in April to keep coronavirus infections under control.
The 3,065 foreign tourists in November is just a fraction of the 3.39 million arrivals in the same period last year. In October, there were 1,201 foreign visitors.

Though the country is gradually opening up to foreign visitors and offering incentives to boost domestic travel, efforts to revive its tourism-driven economy are being hampered by an outbreak found 10 days ago that has since infected more than 1,600 people in 43 provinces.

In the January-November period, the number of foreign visitors slumped by 81 per cent from a year earlier to about 6.7 million. Of that, 6.69 million were recorded in the first quarter.
That compares with last year's nearly 40 million tourists who spent 1.91 trillion baht (S$84.3 billion), or about 11.3 per cent of gross domestic product.
The state planning agency predicts only 5 million foreign visitors in 2021.

Foreign visitors at present are required to obtain special visas and undergo two weeks of quarantine.

 

[yinyang]

Sweeping closures in city
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 29 DEC 2020 AT 04:29

As a new wave of Covid infections bites, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has ordered the closure of all entertainment venues from Tuesday until Jan 4.

The order covers bars with hostesses, horseracing tracks and cockfighting arenas and other entertainment venues including massage parlours. However, pubs and restaurants can stay open as long as they serve only food and drinks, and close by midnight.
BMA spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang on Monday advised entertainment venues to switch to serving only food and observe disease control measures.

Meanwhile, the governor of Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of Thailand's latest Covid-19 outbreak, has tested positive for the virus, as health authorities in Rayong reported its first coronavirus-related death.

• Poll: Health workers 'deserve person of the year'
• 12 initially charged with illegal entry
• Count keeps rising

Verasak Vichitsangsiri's infection was confirmed on Monday -- one day after he met Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and other senior health officials who were visiting Samut Sakhon, which has become a hotspot of coronavirus infections.
Mr Anutin and the rest of his entourage tested negative for the virus, but they have been placed under a 14-day quarantine.

It was reported that army spokesman Lt Gen Santipong Thammapiya and Maj Gen Thanathip Sawangsaeng, spokesman for the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc), have also been placed under quarantine because they came into contact with the governor.
Director-general of the Department of Disease Control (DDC), Opas Karnkawinpong, said the Samut Sakhon governor was admitted to a hospital for further medical observation, as he has underlying medical conditions which may aggravate his condition.
Dr Opas urged the public to support the 55-year-old governor, who was infected while working in high-risk areas. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and Mr Anutin on Monday extended their moral support to Mr Verasak and praised him for his hard work and efforts to contain the outbreak in Samut Sakhon.

Meanwhile, Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha confirmed the country's 61st coronavirus-related death on Monday. He said the 45-year-old patient had underlying health problems and was linked to a cluster of infections in Rayong. The man, who tested positive on Sunday, suffered respiratory difficulties and eventually stopped breathing while on his way to the hospital, according to Mr Sathit.

Thailand's 60th Covid-19 death was a returnee from the UK who died on Nov 6, while the 59th returned from Saudi Arabia. The 58th Covid-19 death was a man from Narathiwat who died in June. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Monday warned that local cases could rise by the thousands a day, or even tens of thousands per day by mid-January if provinces with a high number of cases fail to enforce disease control measures.

"If nothing is done, daily new cases could soar to four or five digits this month or by the middle of next month," Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the CCSA, said. "The best solution is to refrain from socialising, and the
curve will flatten."

The country saw new 144 new cases on Monday, including 115 local infections and 14 among migrant workers. Dr Taweesilp said the CCSA wanted authorities in all provinces classified as "maximum control zones" and "control zones" to go all out with Covid-19 prevention measures in order to keep the daily cases at three digits. Maximum control zone refers to provinces that already have many Covid-19 cases. Control zones cover provinces with more than 10 cases.

 

[yinyang]

Woman gets trapped in display box from speeding accident
National
Dec 29. 2020

By The Nation

An unlucky woman in Nakhon Si Thammarat got her head caught in a petrol station’s fuel price display after losing control of her motorbike on Monday.

A team of rescuers arrived at around 3pm to find Warapond Nuansri, 29, with her head trapped inside the fuel display box at a PT petrol station in Chian Yai district.

The woman’s face was badly wounded.

It took a while for the rescuers to untangle her and transport her to hospital. Doctors said she is recovering nicely.

Investigation revealed that the woman had crashed into the concrete base of a sign near the petrol station at high speed, which sent her flying and she landed on the plastic fuel display sign with her head getting stuck in it.

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400423?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral

 

[yinyang]

A fraught year in politics
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 30 DEC 2020 AT 11:02

It is often said that Thailand resolves around political events. Here are the five most dynamic and attention-grabbing stories — the youth-led, anti-government protests, the Future Forward Party’s spectacular fall, Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha surviving the Constitutional Court’s rulings that threatened to deliver the death warrant on his premiership, the Provincial Administrative Organisation (PAO) elections held for the first time in six years and the internal turbulence experienced by the main opposition Pheu Thai Party — which have left their mark this year.
1. Anti-government protests

Anti-government protesters, most of whom were students, fill Ngam Wong Wan and Phahon Yothin roads at Kasetsart intersection in Bangkok on Oct 19. (Photo by Varuth Hirunyatheb)

After about five months of street rallies, leaders of the anti-government movement now face multiple charges brought against them by police, including violations under Section 112 of the Criminal Code or the lese majeste law.

The demonstrations began in July, initially pushing for three demands — constitutional amendments, dissolution of the House and an end to the harassment of government critics. The protest movement originally called itself the Free People group before renaming itself many times.

On Aug 3, protest leader and lawyer Arnon Nampa created a stir when he raised the monarchy reform issue at a rally near the Democracy Monument.

At another rally at Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus on Aug 10, Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, a co-leader of the protest, read out a set of 10 demands for reform of the monarchy. The incident shocked many and people began to accuse the protesters of crossing the line.

The protest group then held a rally at Sanam Luang on Sept 19-20 before the movement rechristened itself as "the Khana Ratsadon (People’s group) 2020," which was later renamed the Ratsadon group.

On Oct 14, the group held a gathering at the Democracy Monument before marching to Government House, pressing for monarchy reform and the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha among other demands.

That day, the royal motorcade of Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti passed along Phitsanulok Road, which was cordoned off by security officers to stop protesters.

However, many protesters got through, and many were seen flashing the three-finger salute as her motorcade passed. Gen Prayut then declared a state of emergency.

On Oct 16, protesters gathered near Pathumwan intersection before police used water cannon to disperse them. On Oct 26, demonstrators rallied at the German embassy in Bangkok where they highlighted monarchy reform. His Majesty the King travels to Germany from time to time.

After parliament rejected a charter amendment bill sponsored by the Internet Law Reform Dialogue (iLaw) group on Nov 18, protesters converged at the Ratchaprasong intersection before moving on to the national police headquarters nearby.

On Nov 19, Gen Prayut declared that all laws, including Section 112 on lese majeste in the Criminal Code, would be enforced against protesters who broke them.

From then on, several protest leaders were charged with violations of Section 112. As of Dec 5, at least 17 of them were summoned to answer charges, including Parit Chiwarak, Panupong Jadnok, Ms Panusaya, and Mr Arnon.

2. Future Forward Party’s spectacular rise and fall
Despite being a newcomer to Thai politics, the FFP stunned both the public and politicians with its remarkable performance in the March 24, 2019 election when it won more than 80 House seats via both the constituency and party list systems.

The FFP’s “unconventional” political stance, which promised a break from the old politics, was communicated to its followers of mostly young people via Twitter and other social media outlets. The FFP applied for party registration in March 2018 and was endorsed by the Election Commission on Oct 31 that year. Under the leadership of Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, many party candidates, who were political novices, defeated veteran politicians in several constituencies. The party won more than 6 million votes in the poll.

With 80 House seats, Future Forward became the third largest party after the Pheu Thai Party and Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP).

However, the party and its allies led by Pheu Thai became the opposition as the PPRP-led coalition succeeded in forming a new government.

On Nov 20, 2019, the Constitutional Court disqualified Mr Thanathorn as an MP over shares he owned in V-Luck Media Co, a media firm, at the time of registration of his election candidacy, in violation of the constitution.

The same court ruled on Feb 21, 2020 to dissolve the FFP and ban its executives from politics for 10 years, over a 191.2-million-baht loan the party accepted from its leader, Mr Thanathorn, in breach of the political parties law.

The FFP’s existence lasted only one year, four months and 18 days. After the dissolution, the FFP was reborn as the Move Forward Party (MFP) and took most of the remaining MPs of the disbanded party, with Pita Limjaroenrat taking the helm. Mr Pita said the party remained committed to the ideology of the FFP.

Mr Thanathorn and other former FFP executive members also formed the Progressive Movement group to engage in politics outside parliament, working in hand and glove with the MFP which focuses on its parliamentary role.

3. Prayut survives legal challenges
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha looks set to stay for the long haul after surviving three legal challenges which threatened to torpedo his premiership.

On Dec 2, all nine Constitutional Court judges found Gen Prayut not guilty of occupying an army residence after he retired from the armed forces.

The issue was brought to the court by the opposition, which argued that there is a conflict of interest in allowing Gen Prayut to continue staying in army housing as premier.

According to the court, his occupancy was allowed under a 2005 army regulation, which lets army chiefs stay on base after they retire if they continue to serve the country well.

Gen Prayut moved into the house at the 1st Infantry Regiment base on Phahon Yothin Road in Bangkok shortly after he became army chief in 2010, the army said.

The court said the regulation came into effect before Gen Prayut became army chief, and other former army commanders have also received the same benefit.

Prior to this, the prime minister had survived two other legal challenges to his premiership.

On Sept 11 last year, the Constitutional Court rejected a petition lodged by the Ombudsman about the incomplete oath of office recited by Gen Prayut before His Majesty the King at his swearing-in ceremony on July 16. The court unanimously resolved that it didn't have the authority to weigh in on the matter.

Seven days later, the court ruled that Gen Prayut, as the chief of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), was not a state official — a decision that cemented his position as prime minister. The ruling was made in response to a petition from opposition parties.

They argued that Gen Prayut, in his capacity as chief of the now-defunct NCPO, was a state official — as such, he was not eligible to hold the post of prime minister after last year's election.

The court said the position of the NCPO chief came to be as the result of the seizure of power by coup-makers in 2014, and as the post was not under the command or supervision of the state, Gen Prayut was not a state official.

4. Local elections at last
After a six-year delay, elections for members and chairs of Provincial Administration Organisations (PAO) took place in the 76 provinces outside of Bangkok on Dec 20. They were the first local polls since the 2014 coup.

PAO chairpersons serve for four years but are not allowed to serve more than two consecutive terms, while members of the PAO councils have a four-year tenure.

It was the first time candidates contested the local polls with the official support of political parties they had affiliations with, thus revealing the connections between national political parties and local politicians, unlike in the past when their ties were kept hidden.

In several provinces, the polls were initially thought to be a close race between established local political families and emerging contenders, particularly from the Progressive Movement co-founded by Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the now-defunct Future Forward Party.

Mr Thanathorn had been campaigning vigorously for PAO seats across the country as he vowed to end the power monopoly held by local clans.

He had reportedly predicted the group was on course to clinch a landslide victory but in the event, its candidates failed to win a single PAO chairmanship.

The group fielded chairmanship candidates in 42 provinces but although the group failed to secure a single chair, 2.67 million people voted for its candidates, Mr Thanathorn said.

The PAOs are the largest local governing bodies and have close contact with local residents as they are responsible for arranging public services and utilities.

They derive their income from taxes including local maintenance tax, building and land tax, and signboard tax. Other revenue comes from the national budget.

For the 2021 fiscal year, the government has allocated 90.97 billion baht to local administrative organisations, of which more than 28 billion baht has been given to the PAOs in the 76 provinces.

5. Pheu Thai’s house-cleaning

Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan talks on the phone at Pheu Thai Party HQ in this March 24, 2019 photo. She has since quit the party. (Photo by Patipat Janthong)

The main opposition Pheu Thai Party underwent restructuring meant to sort out internal conflicts although it has failed to keep some heavyweights, most notably party chief strategist Sudarat Keyuraphan.

She resigned from the party’s strategy committee in September before quitting Pheu Thai on Nov 30.

Other Pheu Thai stalwarts — Pokin Polakul, Watana Muangsook and Pongsakorn Annanopporn who were not MPs — also quit along with her.

Pheu Thai leader Sompong Amornvivat previously set up 11 committees responsible for various tasks. Some committee members are former executives of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai and People Power Parties.

A political affairs panel was also put under Chaikasem Nitisiri, the former justice minister and a key party member, which supplanted the strategy committee.

The rift began in October when a new Pheu Thai executive board began omitting her closest aides from working committees, reducing her influence in the party.

Pheu Thai sources said she left because she did not see eye to eye with the new party executives.

The sources also said those in power in Pheu Thai were not happy about Khuying Sudarat campaigning for Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO) chairman election candidates who reportedly did not have party support.

The 59-year-old previously confirmed she was looking to establish a new party after severing ties with Pheu Thai.

However, another source said Khunying Sudarat was unlikely to switch camps. “Even though she quit the party, we are still in the democratic camp,” the source said, referring to opposition alliance led by Pheu Thai.

On Dec 28, she reportedly registered Thai Srang Thai (National Building Party) with the Election Commission. Once the new party is formally approved, it will convene a general assembly to select an executive board, according to a Pheu Thai source.

Observers also believe the new party under Khunying Sudarat's leadership could be part of a strategy known as taek bank pan, or the concept of “breaking a 1,000-baht note into smaller denominations”.

The strategy is believe to have been adopted by ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. The name refers to the role of smaller parties which support Pheu Thai during elections. The parties are likened to ‘small branches’ waiting to form a government post-election with the large party they originally broke away from.

 

[yinyang]

Shit starts to hit the fan.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2043439/250-new-covid-cases-mostly-local-infections

 

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Chonburi’s Bang Lamung district under lockdown
National
Dec 30. 2020

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400484?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral

Including Pattaya

 

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[Froggy]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/C...?del_type=1&pub_date=20210104190000&seq_num=7

Bangkok lets restaurants open at night after Thai PM's request
Prayuth signs COVID measures including early closure of shopping complexes

Restaurants in Bangkok will be allowed to serve customers on the premises from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. from Tuesday as part of government measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus. (Photo by Akira Kodaka)
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerJanuary 4, 2021 18:49 JSTUpdated on January 4, 2021 22:44 JST

BANGKOK -- The local government of Bangkok has overturned its own decision to prohibit restaurants from serving dinner, acting on request from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha as he takes responsibility for weighing the economic costs of the country's fight against a rapid coronavirus resurgence.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will allow restaurants to operate normally between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. The original announcement, which was retracted after only several hours, restricted restaurants to takeout service from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. The new regulation encourages proper hygiene and strict enforcement of social distancing, and encourages takeout service at all times.

Thailand reported 745 new cases on Monday, the largest number of daily cases in a single day, bringing the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 8,439. Thailand had contained the first wave of the epidemic well. The kingdom reported virtually no local transmissions for months, but the resurgence in mid-December caught the country off guard.

A large cluster arose among migrant workers at a shrimp market in Samut Sakhon, a province adjacent to southwestern Bangkok. Since then, other related or unrelated clusters have been found across the kingdom. Currently 28 out of 76 provinces are considered highly controlled. A total of 4,108 cases have been found since the resurgence on Dec. 20, accounting 49% of total reported in Thailand since the emergence of the virus.

The city already imposed a ban on alcohol consumption at restaurants on Saturday. The ban came ahead of Prayuth's endorsement on Sunday of a series of preventive measures for the highly controlled provinces proposed by a governmental coronavirus control body, the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration. Prohibiting restaurants from serving alcoholic beverages was one of the measures.

The endorsement also gave each province flexibility to ramp up or curb the proposed measures according to the epidemic situation. However, Prayuth decided to step in, responding to voices raised from the dining industry. Taneewan Kulmonkol, president of the Association of Thai Restaurants, said on Saturday the industry organization was sending an open letter to Prayuth, urging him to refrain from banning customers from dining in.

Bangkok's decision could have been a fatal blow to businesses that were badly hurt by business lockdown measures imposed by the government for a few months from March to contain the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic. According to a local report, Taneewan claimed that the new ban, if imposed, could cause about 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion) in damage to the sector and related businesses such as farming.

Taneewan told local media on Monday that closing restaurants by 7 p.m. meant patrons would have to make last orders and ask for the check by 6:30. She insisted that such a stringent measure would cause losses that the industry could hardly withstand.

Other measures Prayuth signed off on included a cut in operating hours of commercial complexes. The Thai Retailers Association and Thai Shopping Centers Association both decided to close all malls under members' ownership by 9 p.m. effective Monday.

Closure of schools, educational institutions, and entertainment venues such as pubs and bars were a part of the endorsed measures. Encouraging employees to work from home, strict health screening of interprovincial passengers, and banning high-risk activities including banquets, meetings and seminars were also advised.

A fast-spreading B117 strain of the novel coronavirus was found in Thailand for the first time in a family of four, who were all in quarantine after arriving from the U.K. on Dec. 21. The Ministry of Public Health will consider banning the entry of British visitors, according to a local report.

 

[Froggy]

Visited my favourite braised goose restaurant in Bangkok - https://goo.gl/maps/hhntXq6SgTgvq6SW9

This is what I came here for

Stir fry cabbage with fish sauce

Bitter gourd soup with short ribs

My lunch

 

[waitifcuk]

the dishes looked plain and simple,
but, can tell, it is delicious and marvellous.

right @Froggy

 

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[yinyang]

439 of 527 new Covid-19 cases found in Samut Sakhon

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30400707?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral

 

[Froggy]

My oh my it’s simple meals like this that makes me feel life is worth living

My breakfast now

Deep fried tofu with soya sauce with lime juice and garlic, salted eggs

 

[waitifcuk]

My oh my it’s simple meals like this that makes me feel life is worth living

My breakfast now

Deep fried tofu with soya sauce with lime juice and garlic, salted eggs

yes kup poh,
A simple meal like two soft boiled eggs with bread is cheap and good instead of eating a mcdonalds breakfast platter $6.50+.

 

[rushifa666]

Froggy you at thailand now? Or you never cam back during lockdown

 

[Froggy]

Froggy you at thailand now? Or you never cam back during lockdown

Last trip back was CNY. Here ever since.