A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

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Thai currency expected to continue weakening amid virus crisis

The baht opened at 31.29 to the US dollar on Wednesday, weakening from its close of 31.27 on Tuesday. The Thai currency is likely to move between 31.25 and 31.35 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.

He predicted that in the short term the baht would weaken due to several factors, including the Covid-19 crisis in Thailand and other countries.
Poon explained that the crisis has forced people to hold onto their safe-haven assets – the dollar, for example.

He predicted the baht throughout the week would come under pressure from foreign currency purchases by numerous companies as they move to pay dividends.

Poon also predicted that the baht would move in a wide range as importers have bought the US currency as the baht strengthened to 31.15 per dollar.

 

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[Froggy]

Almost same as yesterday. 2 more deaths today.

 

[Froggy]

So I was at Siam Paragon yesterday afternoon. Felt hungry and saw a Thai beef noodle shop which I ate there before and it was pretty good

Types of beef

I ordered the wagyu beef

The rice noodle and meat balls

Tufu skin with minced pork

Wagyu beef

This meal doesn't come cheap though $40

 

[Froggy]

Seems like it’s stabilizing off

 

[Froggy]

Spiking now. Today we had a record 2,070 new cases in one day. There is also a record 19,873 people in care and 91 on ventilators. This month alone, 27 people have died

 

[Froggy]

https://www.thaienquirer.com/26682/...ment-has-failed-and-now-were-stuck-with-them/

Opinion: The Prayut/Prawit government has failed and now we’re stuck with them

By Cod Satrusayang April 23, 2021

Thailand broke the 2,000 new cases plateau for the first time on Friday. The unwanted record means that the third wave of the pandemic is now the more severe with hospitals filled to capacity throughout the country.

The government’s gamble has failed and now the public health and the country’s economic recovery is in jeopardy.

The Prayut Chan-ocha administration wagered that it could weather the third wave and not shut down the country so that our economic recovery from last year’s recession could stay intact.

It wagered that it did not have to shut down the country prior to Songkran to increase the spending and traveling that Thais would take during the long holiday while knowing full well that the pandemic would likely spread because of their decision.

They wagered that a total lockdown for two weeks was not necessary and that limited shutdowns would be sufficient to combat the third wave of the pandemic.

The new numbers on Tuesday prove that they were wrong and now people are getting sick and dying.

To make matters worse, the administration’s mismanagement prior to the third wave of the pandemic are coming to a head.

The government’s vaccination program, or lack thereof, has meant that the country is not nearly inoculated enough to stem the tide of the latest outbreak. Not only have we not been inoculated sufficiently when compared to countries within our region, we will not likely get the vaccines that we need anytime soon.

The government’s decision to only bring in Sinovacs and AstraZeneca vaccines while hoping that the locally-produced AZ doses would somehow materialize quickly has proven to be a resounding failure.

For reasons known only to the government, the Prayut administration bet all our lives and livelihood on vaccines produced by a failing company, Siam Bioscience, that had no prior experience in producing vaccines.

To compound matters and make it much worse, the government saw it fit to not allow private hospitals to bring in their own vaccines until last week when Prayut said that they would.

Yet talking to private hospitals this week, the legislative hurdles remain in place and private hospitals have admitted to Thai Enquirer that privately sourced vaccines will not become a reality until Q3 or Q4 of this year.

Why the government is allowing the fate of the country to be determined by an unaccountable monopoly is something that it must answer and a question that must be asked in the public interest.

What is clear is that this government had failed in its mandate to protect the people. It must answer for that. But now, unfortunately, is not the time.

We cannot change governments in the middle of the crisis because holding a general election now would be disastrous and may constitute another public health emergency.

We are stuck with the hand that we are dealt and that hand is Prayut. For those that voted for this little general with grand ambitions and a chest full of medals, the chickens are coming home to roost. You get what you voted for and what you voted for is incompetence.

 

[Froggy]

Omg really bad bad news again. 2,839 new cases (12) imported and 8 more dead.

 

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Calls for lockdown mounting
System 'close to breaking point'
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 25 APR 2021 AT 04:00

A closed bar is seen on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok on Friday as the country struggles with a third wave of infections of the coronavirus. (Reuters photo)

Calls are mounting for the government to impose a lockdown to restrict people's movement as the number of Covid-19 infections continued to soar.
The calls were made after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on a TV Pool broadcast on Friday that the government had no plan to lock down the country despite it logging more than 2,000 new infections on Saturday.

Eight Covid-19 deaths and a record 2,839 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 129 deaths and 53,022 infections, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Bangkok logged the highest number of new infections at 1,582 cases.

The Thoracic Society of Thailand called on the government to take drastic action to restrict the movements of people. Nithiphat Chiarakun, president of the society, said the soaring number of infections is straining the public health system as many hospitals, "hospitels" and field hospitals are teetering on the edge.

"Any efforts to overstretch the capacity of medical personnel will lead to the collapse of he public health system,'' he warned. "The government must take decisive action to stop the movement of people as much as possible to isolate infected and at-risk for treatment and reduce the number of new infections,'' Dr Nithiphat said.

The government must give weight to information from the medical profession rather than politicians, he said. Those in the healthcare sector must also make the most use of what capacity they have and try to reduce the number of patients stranded in hospitals and communities, he said.
Calls are also mounting for the government to impose a nationwide lockdown. Benjaporn Tantasuti, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, said that without law enforcement, many Thais cannot control their behaviour during the pandemic. "The situation is worsening and it is now necessary to impose a lockdown and curfew to stifle the surge of infections. The lockdown may be imposed for a brief period to curb the spread of the virus and help ease the burden on the overwhelmed healthcare system,'' she said.


Chaichana Dejdecho, a Democrat Party MP and deputy spokesman, also urged the prime minister to impose a nationwide lockdown for 15 days including restrictions on inter-provincial travel, and a curfew. The government has yet to take action because it is concerned about the economic impact, but the surging infections is now putting a strain on hospitals, Mr Chaichana said.

Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha admitted the latest wave of infections has reached a critical point as there are not enough medical personnel to take care of. In light of this, the ministry has asked the prime minister to tighten measures to curb the transmissions, he said.
Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the Health Science Centre of Emerging Diseases at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of medicine, posted on Facebook that the war against Covid-19 is expected to be a long, drawn-out one.

Commenting on growing calls for a lockdown, he said many infected people are asymptomatic. If a lockdown is imposed, an asymptomatic person who fails to isolate himself from others in a house will spread the disease. When the lockdown is lifted and if those infected people in the house are also asymptomatic, they will spread the virus to many others, Dr Thiravat said.

Gen Prayut said on his Facebook on Saturday he has allowed provincial governors to consider imposing curfews in some areas. Provincial governors have the authority to tighten disease control measures and close premises in addition to any closures ordered by the government. If the pandemic worsens, the 14-day quarantine period for asymptomatic patients treated at hospitals may be reduced to 10 days so they can be self-quarantined at home with a tracking system.

The Thai Retailers Association (TRA) said hours of shopping malls, supermarkets and convenience stores will be shortened further in 18 red-zone provinces including Bangkok.
Starting from Sunday, malls and community malls in the 18 provinces will be open from 11am to 8pm; supermarkets and food courts must close at 9pm, and convenience stores must close from 10pm to 5am. The change will last until May 2.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) on Saturday announced 31 types of business venues at risk of Covid-19 infections will come under lockdown for 14 days from tomorrow, according to the Morlab Panda Facebook page. They include cinemas, water parks, boxing stadiums and museums.

 

[Froggy]

Latest 11 more deaths and 2,438 new cases

 

[Froggy]

 

[yinyang]

SPAS, GYMS, CINEMAS AMONG VENUES TO BE SHUT IN BANGKOK
By
Khaosod English
-
April 24, 2021 9:00 pm
https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2021/04/24/spas-gyms-cinemas-among-

A worker disinfects cinema seats in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — The City Hall on Saturday night ordered a closure of certain establishments including fitness centers and spas in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the capital.

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang said 31 types of businesses will be closed for two weeks starting Monday.
They include cinemas, amusement parks, zoos, skateparks, snooker clubs, bowling alleys, internet cafes, public swimming pools, fitness centers, convention centers, museums, public libraries, nursing homes, boxing gyms, tattoo shops, race tracks, amulet markets, beauty clinics, spas, sports venues, and public parks.

Shopping malls will be allowed to open from 11am to 9pm, while convenience stores across the capital will be shut down from 10pm to 5am. Hair salons may only offer trimming and washing services.

Gatherings of more than 20 people will also be banned.
Bangkok, which saw the highest number of cases in Thailand, is one of the 18 provinces designated by the government as a “Red Zone,” where opening hours of certain establishments are curtailed. The capital discovered 1,582 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.

 

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[Froggy]

Today Monday 26th April 2021 Thailand covid infection reported 2,048 new cases and 8 deaths

 

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Country restaurant, with charming 9 garden salas. Only 2 of us lunch time, so very graphic absence of customers.

Som tam Thai (only I can tahan this)

Tom yam with fish dish

 

[Froggy]

 

[kaninabuchaojibye]

gxgx soon to beat sinkypura
haaaa

 

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