A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand

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Fried noodles for breakfast yesterday

 

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https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2125747/astrazeneca-beginning-local-vaccine-deliveries

AstraZeneca beginning local vaccine deliveries
PUBLISHED : 2 JUN 2021 AT 16:16

Delivery trucks leave the Siam Bioscience factory in Nonthaburi's Bang Yai district. The company said it will begin supplying the government with its Covid-19 vaccine this week. (Photo: AstraZeneca/Siam Bioscience)

AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscience on Wednesday announced they were ready to start supplying the government with Covid-19 vaccine produced in Thailand.

The announcement said the vaccine made by Siam Bioscience would be supplied to the Public Health Ministry.

The amount to be supplied initially was not announced, only that deliveries were beginning this week.

"AstraZeneca will deliver the first locally produced vaccine doses to Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, in support of their mass vaccination programme," the statement said.

"Distribution to other Southeast Asian countries will commence in the coming weeks,"

AstraZeneca and Siam Bioscienceheld a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the first release of the vaccine.

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Tuesday that 6 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine would be delivered this month, with the first lot expected next Monday.

 

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Today’s Covid new cases.

New Cases
Thailand 2,442 ( -214 )
Prison 189 ( -1,041 )
———————————————-
Total 2,631 ( -1,255 )

Dead 31 ( -8 )

 

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/C...10&pub_date=20210604140000&seq_num=8&si=44594

Thai king-owned biotech starts production of AstraZeneca vaccine
Plans call for exports to other ASEAN countries as soon as next month

A picture of the Thai royals stands near a Siam Bioscience factory outside Bangkok. © Reuters
MARIMI KISHIMOTO, Nikkei staff writerJune 4, 2021 02:17 JST

BANGKOK -- Siam Bioscience, a Thai drugmaker owned by the royal family, has started the country's first production of a COVID-19 vaccine, using AstraZeneca's technology.

The shots will be supplied for domestic use. Shipment volumes and other details have not been disclosed, but Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Tuesday that 6 million doses would be delivered this month, according to the Bangkok Post.

The government, which has faced criticism for delays in vaccinations, looks to start the rollout this month as new coronavirus infections surge. Plans also call for exporting the AstraZeneca doses to neighboring countries as early as next month.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn is a majority shareholder in Siam Bioscience, which gained exclusive rights to produce AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine in Thailand under a contract signed with the British drugmaker in November.

In May, AstraZeneca announced that vaccines manufactured in Thailand passed quality inspections at laboratories in Europe and the U.S. Siam Bioscience is the sole producer of AstraZeneca's vaccine in Southeast Asia, and the U.K. company said that shipments to neighboring nations "will commence in the coming weeks."

Community-acquired COVID-19 infections were declining in Thailand, but the number of new infections has risen sharply in recent weeks, partly because people returned to their hometowns for the Songkran holidays in April.

Thailand has had 169,348 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, with 1,146 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center. This compares with over 1.8 million cases and 51,095 deaths in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's hardest-hit country.

 

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Last resorts? Phuket and Bali chase dream of COVID-free tourism
Plans for ring-fenced 'sandboxes' and 'green zones' to revive economies
MASAYUKI YUDA and SHOTARO TANI, Nikkei staff writersJune 4, 2021 05:00 JST

BANGKOK/JAKARTA -- Clear skies, emerald blue seas and white sandy beaches. Phuket's allure is obvious, as millions of foreign tourists have discovered. But today, the future of this Thai island in the Andaman Sea and the lives of its people are being shaped by the unseen but deadly coronavirus.

Saranya Injan manages Chean Vanich pier located in a small cove on the east coast of Phuket. The tourist boats and ferries that once churned almost ceaselessly through here now lie moored and quietly rocked by the tide.

"Phuket is so desolate right now. It's like a ghost town," said the 51-year-old.

Thailand's best-known resort and others like it across Southeast Asia have been brought to their knees by border control measures to contain the COVID-19 virus, shutting out the foreign tourists who were once the lifeblood of the local economy. Without them, businesses are slowly dying.

But if all goes well, from next month some may again welcome thousands of tourists in unusual -- and, some say, risky -- initiatives that aim to ring-fence island resorts and keep them COVID-free.

From July 1, Thailand is set to conduct a "sandbox experiment," using Phuket as a testing ground to welcome vaccinated foreign visitors with no quarantine period.

Phuket has become a "ghost town," says the manager of a pier where tourist boats are now idle. © Getty Images

Meanwhile, the equally tourist-dependent Indonesian island of Bali -- where visitor numbers have also been decimated by border closures -- plans to designate three popular tourist areas as COVID-19 "green zones," which are able to reopen with strict hygiene protocols.

Coming at a time when the pandemic shows little sign of loosening its grip on the region -- indeed, cases are rising in many areas due to new flare-ups and variants -- some think the initiatives are a step too far. But the chance of making money again is strong.

"Some people are afraid of starving more than contracting the disease," said another Phuket pier operator.

On the face of it, Thailand's requirements to enter the "sandbox" are strict. Tourists must arrive on a direct flight from countries with low to medium infection risks. They must be fully vaccinated for at least 14 days before departure and show a negative test result within 72 hours of boarding their flights.

In return, they will be allowed to move freely in Phuket upon arrival. If a mandatory test on the fifth day of their stay is negative, they will be allowed a daytrip off the island.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects 129,000 foreign visitors in the first three months of the sandbox experiment, with long-haul markets the main target. If the experiment succeeds, vaccinated tourists in Phuket will be allowed to travel to places like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Krabi from October and travel freely around Thailand from 2022.

Most businesses are supportive and are getting ready. "We have prepared ourselves since the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Suphajee Suthumpun, CEO of Dusit Thani Group. "Most Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket hotel staff have been vaccinated ... furthermore, we have also asked all of our employees and their families to register for vaccination, to build confidence among customers and staff."

In mid-May, Central Phuket mall, operated by retail giant Central Pattana, became the first mall in Thailand to reach "herd immunity" level by inoculating 85% of staff. The Airline Association of Thailand started vaccinating 15,970 employees working for the country's seven airlines. AAT President and Bangkok Air CEO Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth said having airline employees vaccinated not only builds their confidence but also enhances the image of Thai tourism.

Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines in Phuket: Thailand wants to vaccinate 70% of Phuket residents before July.

Tourism and related businesses used to account for 20% of the Thai economy in pre-COVID times. But for Phuket, the proportion was almost 50%. Tourism will play a key role in reviving Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, which shrank 6.1% in 2020.

The Thai tourism industry has high hopes for the experiment. "The Phuket Tourism Sandbox has received a lot of interest from our international tourism alliances, who are looking forward to their vacations in Thailand again," hospitality operator Minor International told Nikkei.

But in contrast to excitement within the government and tourism industry, locals are voicing concerns.

"Many residents in Phuket not involved in the tourism industry are worried about contracting the virus from foreign visitors," said a 60-year-old working in education. "All who benefit from the reopening say Phuket is ready. I am not confident that Phuket is ready to open to foreigners."

The government aims to inoculate 70% of Phuket residents before July. Deputy Gov. Pichet Panapong asked city chiefs and village heads to make door-to-door visits to encourage people to get shots. But with several clusters emerging nationwide, a third coronavirus wave may make it difficult and contentious for authorities to allocate enough vaccines to the island.

Some businesses on the island survived by serving domestic visitors while foreign tourists were away. They are still skeptical about whether they can rely on the return of foreign tourists.

"Infections may deter domestic visitors from coming to the island," said a local Thai restaurant owner.

But Minor International says: "The revenue derived from Thai tourists alone is not enough for the industry to survive. This is why it is vital that the country reopens to international tourists as soon as possible."

The Thai tourism industry has high hopes that the Phuket "sandbox" experiment will revive the visitor economy. © Reuters

In Bali -- 10 times bigger and more populous than Phuket -- many locals are also desperate for tourists to return.

A 90-minute drive from the island's Ngurah Rai International Airport lies Ubud, an area of deep forests and lush rice terraces that offers tourists a diversion from Bali's nightclubs. But visitors nowadays are few because of the countrywide ban on foreign tourists.

"Right now, Ubud is dead," said Kadek Merhajaya, manager at Hujan Locale, a restaurant there.

Indonesia is less dependent than Thailand on tourism, which contributed 5.7% to gross domestic product in 2019. But Bali is much more reliant on visitors and its economy has been decimated by the pandemic. Its GDP contraction of 9.3% in 2020 was the deepest among Indonesia's 34 provinces. Hotel occupancy rates have hovered around 10%.

Figures from February showed 657,000 workers, or 19% of the island's working-age population affected by the pandemic in some way, including being laid off. Officials have said that at the height of the pandemic, the province was losing 9.7 trillion rupiah ($680 million) each month.

But light may soon be at the end of the tunnel with two big drives to bring people to Bali.

The first is the "Work from Bali" program to send up to 8,000 Jakarta-based civil servants to the island. "This is part of the government's efforts to create demand so that hotels and restaurants in Bali can survive," Odo Manuhutu, deputy for tourism and creative economy at the minister's office, told reporters in late May.

Some workers at the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy have already begun working from Bali, said its minister Sandiaga Uno in early June. "But this is only a trigger and we hope other institutions including the private sector and education can participate so that the hotel occupancy rate can reach 30%."

Then comes foreign tourism. The intent is to designate Ubud and two other popular tourist areas -- Sanur and part of Badung, in the island's south -- as COVID-19 "green zones" able to reopen with stricter hygiene protocols. As part of the plans, the government aims to inoculate 2.8 million Bali residents aged 18 or older -- or over 60% of the island's population -- by the end of June.

As in Thailand, tourists will also likely face strict health requirements, including full vaccination before arrival and five-day self-quarantine at designated hotels, while an app to track each visitor is rumored close to being launched.

Government officials have stressed that any reopening is contingent upon coronavirus cases being suppressed -- something Bali seems close to achieving, with daily new cases on a downward trend after peaking in late January.

The province accounts for around 2.6% of cumulative confirmed cases, but now only accounts for 0.7% of active cases. Bali is also the most vaccinated province in Indonesia: 31% of the population has had at least one dose and almost 15% has had two doses.

Many residents and business owners support the green zone plans. "It makes sense to trial the green zones in Bali," said Christia Permata Dharmawan, director at Kebon Vintage Cars, a museum and entertainment venue in East Denpasar, "so that tourists are not afraid to come here, and that they feel we welcome them with open arms. It's important they can trust Bali."

Bangla Walking Street in Phuket in April: Businesses on the island want to bring back visitors. © Getty Images

But some experts remain skeptical. "There can be no such thing as a 'green zone' in the way it's being touted in Bali," said Dicky Budiman, global health security researcher at Griffith University in Australia. "The moment you open the door to a newcomer, the community is no longer safe because you will introduce a new variant. Bali's green zones are simply not feasible."

Gusti Ngurah Mahardika, a virus expert at Udayana University in Bali, said: "I think it's almost impossible to open only three areas to tourists as a green zone, as populations in these areas are dynamic. People are coming in and out all of the time." What the government should be considering, said Mahardika, "is making all of Bali a green zone ... so we can really open our borders safely. Bali is a small island, why can't they manage it?"

In both Bali and Phuket, businesses that have overcome previous crises -- such as the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and subsequent tsunami, or the 2002 Bali bombing -- hope next month can mark the start of their latest revival.

"We can make a comeback. Our past experiences showed us," said Saranya of Chean Vanich.

Boongyong Nuananong, a 57-year-old who runs a seafood restaurant at Rawai beach at the southern tip of Phuket, said the time was right for the island to move on.

"Even if infections persist, we have to adapt to live with it," he said. "If we are too afraid, we cannot make a living."

Additional reporting by Ian Lloyd Neubauer in Bali

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Bu...=1&pub_date=20210604190000&seq_num=2&si=44594

 

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After lavish nights of clubbing in Bangkok, a Covid-19 outbreak​

A crowded Khlong Toey wet market, one of the largest in Bangkok, at dawn. The markets have been incubators for the coronavirus.PHOTO: NYTIMES

• NY Times PUBLISHED
  4 HOURS AGO

BANGKOK (NYTIMES) - When the VVIP customers disembarked from their limousines at the Krystal Exclusive Club, young women in tiaras, angel wings and not much else sometimes greeted them.
The VVIP clientele were whisked to the VVIP rooms, with their padded walls and plush sofas.
Thai government bigwigs partied at Krystal - one of its mottoes is "the luxury entertainment of night light" - as did diplomats, army officers and business owners. For much of the pandemic, coronavirus restrictions did not stop the fun.

But this spring, as go-go dancers shimmied, Krystal and another neighbourhood nightclub, Emerald, turned into the epicentre of what is now Thailand's biggest and deadliest coronavirus surge, according to health ministry officials.
Scores of people linked to the clubs have tested positive, including an ambassador and a government minister. (The minister's staff said that he was infected by an aide who frequented Krystal.) Police officers and women who worked at the clubs have been infected, too.
For all the mask-wearing rigour and lockdown obedience displayed by many Thais, the abandon of a privileged few catalysed Bangkok's latest coronavirus outbreak, health officials said. The nightclub cluster also highlights the impunity of the rich in a country with one of the largest wealth gaps among major economies.


Thailand went for months without a confirmed case of local transmission, but the epidemic has now radiated from luxury nightclubs that cater to powerful and wealthy men to the warrens of slums that hug Bangkok's highways and railroad tracks. In these cramped quarters, social distancing is impossible. Infections have also spread to prisons, construction camps and factories.
"The rich people party and the poor people suffer the consequences," said Mr Sittichat Angkhasittisiri, a neighborhood chairman in Bangkok's largest slum, Khlong Toey, where the coronavirus has infected hundreds of people.
After recording fewer than 5,000 cases total through November, Thailand racked up more than 5,800 cases on a single day in late May. The total number of infections is now about 175,000.
Gone are the days when the World Health Organisation praised Thailand for its coronavirus-fighting prowess.

Thailand's virus surge, happening just as many Western nations approach a semblance of normalcy, is part of a late-breaking wave that has washed over much of the rest of South-east Asia, where adequate vaccines are largely unavailable.
Thailand is counting on local production this summer of the AstraZeneca vaccine by a company controlled by the country's king. The company has never made vaccines before.

The phuyai, as the gilded elite of Thailand are known, can book overseas tours to get vaccines unavailable at home; one US$7,000 (S$9,270) jaunt for jabs in Russia is fully booked until July.
But the poor struggle. Many must wait for cots at free government field hospitals set up in stadiums or other areas. The rich with mild cases can convalesce at expensive hotels.
"Society is very, very unequal," said Ms Mutita Thongsopa, a dairy company employee who came to Bangkok to support her family of farmers from Thailand's northeast. "The phuyai destroyed the Covid situation themselves, and we, the small people, we cannot live."
On April 27, Ms Mutita's sister, Supatra Thongsopa, a 40-year-old grocery clerk at a Bangkok mall, arrived at a government testing site at 3am to secure a spot.

She waited all day, then the next day and the next. As she waited, Ms Supatra texted with her sister to complain of fatigue and stomach problems.
She was finally tested May 1. The result came back positive, and she died five days later. Ms Supatra's boyfriend, who also developed Covid-19, is still in the hospital.
"People are dying like falling leaves," Ms Mutita said.

A Covid-19 patient in an intensive-care ward at a private hospital in Bangkok on May 7, 2021. PHOTO: NYTIMES

Cardboard beds set up at a field hospital at Bangkok Arena on April 18, 2021. PHOTO: NYTIMES

Although a Bangkok court sentenced the managers of Krystal and Emerald to two months in prison for violating a Covid-19 emergency decree, no one else is facing charges so far.
The police say they are looking into whether prostitution, illegal in Thailand, may have occurred at the clubs. Representatives of both clubs refused to comment.

"On the Krystal case, it is still under investigation," said Major General Sophon Sarapat, commander of a Bangkok Metropolitan Police division. "We are waiting for the suspects to turn themselves in. We have sent a letter to the owner of the club."
When cases involve high-profile tycoons or politicians, though, investigations in Thailand have a habit of fizzling. Murder charges do not materialise. Well-connected individuals slip into exile.
Thailand's three waves of coronavirus infection have crested in the shadowy zones where the rich profit from questionable businesses and defy Covid-19 protocols.
The first outbreak, last spring, was traced by virologists to a Bangkok boxing stadium operated by the country's powerful military, which makes money on sports gambling.
The second cluster, late last year, was tracked by health officials to a sweatshop seafood business, which depends on immigration officers turning a blind eye to workers trafficked from neighbouring countries. And the third, which has killed about 1,000 people, originated in the nightclubs whose cosiness with law enforcement is an open secret.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC​

Will South-east Asia be swamped by Covid-19, like in South Asia?​

Coronavirus curbs shutter thousands of Bangkok restaurants​

"In Thai culture, we can smile and lie at the same time," said Mr Chuwit Kamolvisit, an anti-corruption campaigner and former member of Parliament. "Maybe to survive in politics, that is OK. But when it's Covid, this is too dangerous."
Before he ventured into politics, Mr Chuwit made his fortune through a collection of massage parlours in Bangkok with names such as Victoria's Secret. He said his business was greased by bribes to the police.

"Krystal is like another Government House, because it's so popular with those people," Mr Chuwit said, referring to the Italianate building that holds the offices of the prime minister and the Cabinet.
This year, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a retired general who staged a coup seven years ago, warned that if anyone referred to Krystal as an alternate to his offices at Government House, they could face legal consequences.
It is hard to say how the coronavirus infiltrated Khlong Toey, where thousands of people live crowded together in slum communities near railroad tracks and a fetid canal.

A woman from the Khlong Toey slum community getting a nasal swab test at a school on May 8, 2021. PHOTO: NYTIMES

A worker spraying disinfectant in a home where someone tested positive for Covid-19 at Khlong Toey on May 7, 2021. PHOTO: NYTIMES

One origin story traces this spring's outbreak to a woman who some say frequented various clubs.
Another story connects it to a man who met a friend who had partied in the Krystal neighbourhood.
When he started feeling unwell, the man quarantined in his car because he had nowhere else to go, said Mr Sittichat, the neighbourhood chairman.
Still, the man passed the virus to three others, setting off community transmission, Mr Sittichat said.
"Officials talk about quarantine, but that's for rich people," he said. "Our houses are too small. We have no space."
In another Khlong Toey community, about 10% of residents have tested positive for the virus. Neighbourhood officials were forced to isolate the infected behind sheets of plastic at the back of an outdoor community centre.
After suiting up in a plastic raincoat and plastic glasses to deliver water to a new batch of Covid-19 patients, Ms Mariam Pomdee, a community leader, handed out donated meals to residents whose food supplies were waning. With the virus spreading through Khlong Toey's narrow alleys, employers have been shunning its residents.
Yet, the people of Khlong Toey are vital to making Bangkok run.

Residents from Khlong Toey waiting to be tested for Covid-19 on May 7, 2021. PHOTO: NYTIMES

MORE ON THIS TOPIC​

Thailand sticking with plan to welcome tourists vaccinated against Covid-19 in July​

Thailand says it has enough supplies for start of Covid-19 vaccinations​

They deliver the packages and the takeout meals, their motorbikes weaving past Mercedes vehicles tightly sealed from the heat and the haze. They build the glass-sheathed condominiums and the malls that seem to materialise like mushrooms after the monsoons. Their vast market feeds Bangkok its vegetables, fruits and wriggling seafood.
Unemployment, already high because of Thailand's pandemic-closed borders, has soared in Khlong Toey.
To survive, some families have sold the vaccine registration cards they received as residents of a high-risk neighbourhood.
Thailand has yet to fully start nationwide mass vaccinations, and less than 2 per cent of the population is fully inoculated. A few wealthy Bangkok residents have boasted on social media about buying vaccination cards from the city's most desperate residents.
"The rich who are already privileged are stepping on the poor," Mariam said. "They believe their money can buy anything."

 

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OPINION: LOSING FAITH IN THAI GOVT’S TIMELY INOCULATION ABILITIES​

By
KhaoSod Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer
-
June 5, 2021 11:00 am
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha raises his thumb to a man who is receiving a COVID-19 vaccine at Central Plaza Ladprao mall on May 12, 2021.

When people lose trust in the state’s abilities to ensure citizen’s safety and good health, they go their own way to seek alternatives. The failed handling of the third wave of COVID-19 outbreak and the limited, delayed inoculation program have sprung alternative solutions.
Although the inoculation will start in earnest on Monday, some local administrators say the quota allocated to them is arriving too little, too slowly. Only 3.58 percent of the population have been vaccinated with the first jab as of yesterday (June 4) and only 1.59 percent inoculated with two jabs.
Chulalongkorn University biologist Jessada Denduangboripant, a well-known social media figure, named and shamed the Thai government and made news on Friday, when he said among the 10-member ASEAN nations, Thailand is only ahead of Myanmar in terms of the ratio of vaccinated populations. The target set by the Thai government is 100 million doses by the end of the year and 10 million doses by the end of the month.
Kamronwit Thoopkrachang, chief of Pathum Thani Provincial Administration Organization (PAO), told me Wednesday that his province, which is just north of Bangkok and part of the Bangkok metropolis, has been allocated with a first batch of 62,000 doses of vaccine, even though the real population, including migrant and unregistered population, is around 2 million.

The province is among the top ten most infected provinces in Thailand. Since April, 4,242 have been infected in the province as of Friday and the same day saw the province ranking at number 2 after Bangkok in terms of the number of the newly infected, at 460 people.
“I saw the figures and felt depressed. It’s over. We can’t continue like this. That’s just good for teachers. The state allocates 62,000 doses [for the province] so it’s my duty to look for [alternative and more] vaccines,” he said.
Kamronwit is one of the very first local administrators to beg Chulabhorn Royal Academy, which is the only semi-independent state body trying to secure one million doses of alternative vaccine from Sinopharm.
He believes he has a good chance since Princess Chulabhorn’s palace is located in the province. When I asked about other provinces without such special connections, Kamronwit was not able to provide a clear answer, except that many PAOs are now banding together to seek more alternative vaccines. On Friday, some provinces already announced a delay in their inoculation program due to limited delivery of vaccines from the national government.
At a more individual level, and if you can afford it, you have a choice of joining one of the vaccine tour packages to the United States.
One of the companies advertised on social media this week is charging 69,000 baht, or roughly 2,225 U.S. dollars, for a trip to either Las Vegas or New York for vaccinations and sightseeing.
That’s about four times the starting monthly salary of a university graduate from a good university at major companies.
The packaged vaccine tour lasting 10 days and seven nights to NYC includes a visit to the Statue of Liberty, High Line elevated park, and Woodbury outlet. This price is not inclusive of air tickets and the costs for 14-day alternative quarantine accommodation upon returning to Thailand, however.
Much cheaper for those who can’t afford or have no time for a trip to the U.S. is to seek to pay for alternative vaccines promised by several private hospitals such as the Thonburi chain of hospitals.
Dr. Boon Vanasin, chairman of Thonburi Healthcare Group PCL told me on Wednesday his hospitals will charge around 1,300 baht for a jab of alternative vaccines from more preferred brands like U.S.-made Moderna instead of Chinese-made Sinovac, which is less preferred by some Thais.
Some 60,000 people have expressed interest by registering, but Boon said the earliest jab could be August – that’s not even written in stone yet. That’s at least two months of trying to survive COVID-19 and not ending up among the 30 or so daily fatalities, if you can’t secure the government’s vaccines for the meantime.
And it could take even longer, depending on Boon’s ability to deliver. Many poor Thais who struggle to put food on the table tomorrow or next week are definitely not entitled to this scheme, as 1,300 baht per jab is equivalent to almost four days of minimum wage. You will need two jabs, so that’s worth about eight days of minimum wage.
Boon said he believes the real number of infected people in Thailand is four times the government figures due to the government’s limited capacities to carry out case finding tests.
The government’s figures as of Friday, June 4 is 171,971 people infected. Multiplied by four, it’s south of 700,000 people. Boon also suspects the real fatalities are 1.5 times higher. The current official figures is 1,083 deaths as of Friday. Boon told me some of his medical staff are losing hearts seeing fatalities and the medical system being overwhelmed, although he said for Prayut, a former junta leader and four-star general, those who died were just “casualties of war.”
Desperate times call for desperate measures and more Thais are feeling desperate. They are losing trust of Prayut Chan-ocha’s administration and seeking to bypass the state’s failures to ensure prompt and adequate inoculation to protect Thais from ending up as the newly infected or worse still, the newly dead.

 

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2419 (community 2328, prison 91)
Dead 33, big increase from yesterday’s 23

 

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ITs Sunday and I felt like having mee rebus, so, got to cook for myself

 

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https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/C...=1&pub_date=20210607190000&seq_num=7&si=44594

Thailand begins mass inoculations as ASEAN fights supply shortages
Vietnam gears up to produce Russia's Sputnik vaccine next month

Residents of Pathum Thani Province receive their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on June 7, 2021. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha says, "Everyone will definitely be inoculated. Vaccines will continue to come in." © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerJune 7, 2021 16:01 JST

BANGKOK/HO CHI MINH CITY -- Thailand on Monday became the latest country to begin mass inoculations against COVID-19, a crucial step toward being able to revive an economy that lost its main drivers more than a year ago.

"Today is the start of nationwide vaccinations," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said at a kickoff event at Bang Sue Grand Station, a new commuter train hub in the capital that has been turned into a makeshift inoculation site. "No matter where you register, everyone will definitely be inoculated. Vaccines will continue to come in."

Elsewhere in Bangkok, large malls like Central World, Siam Paragon and Iconsiam have arranged to provide space where nearby residents can be vaccinated. Hospitals are collaborating in the effort.

As it begins its inoculation drive, Thailand finds itself in a race with its Southeast Asian peers for vaccines. Tiny Singapore has had some early success but faces difficulty in convincing seniors that the shots are safe. Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam hope to follow Thailand but are finding supplies hard to come by. Vietnam has asked the business community to help secure supplies.

Amid the struggle to obtain the scarce supplies that would allow them to reach herd immunity, these countries are also battling a new wave of infections.

In Thailand, the AstraZeneca vaccine will play the leading role. On Friday, the Ministry of Public Health received 1.8 million doses of the vaccine -- the first batch produced under license by Siam Bioscience, owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

A local entity of AstraZeneca will gradually deliver a total of 6 million doses through June. The company did not specify if all of the supplies will come from the local partner.

"The allocation of vaccines depends on the number of vaccines that come in each period," said Kiattipoom Wongrachit, permanent secretary of the Public Health ministry. "They would be allocated in consideration of the vaccine-to-population ratio and the severity of the outbreak situation."

Thailand began selective vaccinations at the end of February, when Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul became the first Thailand resident to receive the Sinovac vaccine. A few weeks later, Prayuth received an AstraZeneca jab. Apart from ministers, health care professionals and other essential workers have been prioritized for shots.

As of Saturday, 2.8 million of Thailand's 70 million residents, including foreigners, had received their first injection, and 1.3 million had completed their two-shot course. Thailand intends to vaccinate 70% of its residents by the end of the year.

All along Siam Bioscience planned to begin delivering vaccine batches in May or June. While it has managed to keep to its schedule, the government has allowed the virus to spin into dangerous territory.

The kingdom is suffering from its third coronavirus wave. Between March 23 and Sunday, 149,591 people were found to have contracted the virus. This accounts for 84% of the cases confirmed in the country since the dawn of the pandemic. Prisons, construction worker campsites and factories have recently given rise to clusters.

The Thai government has reserved 61 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. In addition, it has received 6 million Sinovac jabs. This is not enough for the country to achieve herd immunity, so it is approving different vaccines as it tries to scrape together as many supplies as possible.

Apart from AstraZeneca and Sinovac, Thailand has approved vaccines from Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and China's Sinopharm. Russia's Sputnik V and India's Covaxin are being registered at the country's Food and Drug Administration.

Inoculating residents is a crucial step in moving the Thai economy, which shrank 6.1% in 2020, toward recovery. Recent outbreaks have prompted some provinces to send out closure orders to schools as well as businesses like bars, spas and cinemas.

Beginning in July, Thailand is scheduled to allow vaccinated foreign travelers to stay in Phuket without a quarantine period. If this "sandbox experiment" succeeds, the government intends to begin accepting vaccinated international visitors at other destinations, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Krabi. Beginning in 2022, plans are to allow vaccinated tourists to freely move around the country.

A high inoculation rate will make it easier to reopen businesses and borders.

Singaporeans older than 70 wait in an observation area after receiving vaccine injections. The city has fully vaccinated 31% of its population. (File photo by Reuters)

Southeast Asian nation's inoculation rates depend on their ability to secure jabs. Singapore is the region's most vaccinated nation. As of May 31, about 40% of its total population (2.28 million of 5.7 million) had received at least one shot, and 31% had been fully vaccinated, according to the health ministry.

Singapore's government has not detailed how many injections it has secured, but Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on May 31 said it had received "further confirmation of faster vaccine deliveries over the next two months."

The government now expects to administer at least one dose for all eligible residents by early August. The government uses the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, and has set up 40 inoculation centers nationwide. Residents use the internet to book appointments.

Singapore started vaccinating health care workers in December, then older age groups. Most shots are now being administered to residents age 40 to 44 as well as to students.

A significant portion of the elderly, however, has not received jabs. According to the government, 27% of people older than 60 have not made appointments, due to safety concerns, technical difficulties or other issues. The government now allows walk-in service at vaccination centers to encourage the elderly to get vaccinated.

Malaysia, which began its vaccination process in February, is currently performing 100,000 injections a day. As of Friday, some 2.29 million people had received jabs, with 1.13 million completing their two-shot course. The country, which has been under a tough nationwide lockdown since Tuesday due to a resurgence driven by more virulent variants, has a population of nearly 32 million.

A woman receives a shot in Subang Jaya. Malaysia aims to be inoculating 200,000 people a day by end of July 2021. © Reuters

Previously, the country blamed its low vaccination rate on slow deliveries and unavailability as the countries producing vaccines hoarded supplies. Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, China's Sinovac and AstraZeneca are currently in circulation.

The government aims to be inoculating 200,000 people a day by end of next month and is targeting the end of the year to reach herd immunity.

The Philippines on Monday started vaccinating its working-age population as it anticipates receiving additional supplies.

Manila expects to receive 10 million doses from different suppliers this month, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez said last week, adding to the 8.3 million doses the country of 108 million had as of end-May.

The vaccination of workers -- the fourth category in an inoculation program that prioritized medical staff, the elderly and people with comorbidities -- comes as the government seeks to further open the economy and exit what last year became the worst recession in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines at the end of May had administered over 5 million doses, and 1.2 million people had received their second shots. It aims to administer 4 million to 5 million more doses this month.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish church in Quezon City, the Philippines. The country is to start vaccinating its working-age population sometime this month. © AP

Vietnam lags its regional peers on the vaccination front, partly due to a supply shortage, and now finds itself in a race to secure additional supplies as India, fighting a devastating outbreak, has halted vaccine exports.

Vietnam had been seen as one of the best in the world in containing the virus. But the industrial hub of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh provinces is now experiencing cluster infections.

The government, which hopes to avoid supply chain disruptions, is now prioritizing workers when it comes to vaccine shots.

The government intends to obtain 150 million doses and to vaccinate around 75% of its population of about 96.4 million.

But as of Sunday, the government had secured only 2.9 million doses. The country's political leaders are now encouraging the business community to obtain supplies and vaccinate workers.

"Vietnam's vaccine sources completely depend on the manufacturers," deputy health minister Truong Quoc Cuong said. "Vietnam is not in the group prioritized for vaccine supplies."

As of Friday, Vietnamese health authorities had reported securing 120 million doses, 38.8 million from the World Health Organization, 30 million from AstraZeneca, 31 million from Pfizer, 20 million from Russia and 5 million from Moderna.

Hanoi has approved the AstraZeneca and Sputnik vaccines, and on June 3 added the Sinopharm vaccine to its list for emergency use.

Hanoi is also negotiating to produce Russia's Sputnik vaccine in Vietnam, starting next month. In the deal, Vietnam's Vabiotech would be expected to produce 5 million doses a month.

Additional reporting by Kentaro Iwamoto from Singapore, P Prem Kumar from Kuala Lumpur, Cliff Venzon from Manila, and Kim Dung Tong in Ho Chi Minh City.

 

[yinyang]

Moderna price set at 3,800 baht for two doses​

10m doses ordered, delivery to start in October
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 7 JUN 2021 AT 19:50

A healthcare worker holds a vial of the Moderna vaccine at a pop-up vaccination site operated by SOMOS Community Care during the coronavirus disease pandemic in Manhattan in New York City on Jan 29 this year. (Reuters photo)

Private hospitals will charge 3,800 baht inclusive for two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine made by US-based Moderna.
Members of the Private Hospitals Association met on Monday to agree on the price of the vaccine, described as “alternative” since it is not included in the government’s free vaccination programme, according to Thai media, which quoted a source at the association.

The price, likely to be the same at all member hospitals, already includes a service fee and vaccine insurance.

An order for 10 million doses will be placed by the Government Pharmaceuticals Organization on their behalf

The vaccine will come in three lots — 4 million doses in October, 1 million early next year and 5 million more later.
Previously, the association had said the price should not be more than 3,000 baht for the two-dose regimen. No details were available at this stage on how the new price was calculated.

The government on Monday rolled out a nationwide vaccination after it took delivery of 1.8 million doses of AstraZeneca last week. To date, shots made by two manufacturers — Sinovac Biotech and AstraZeneca — were used.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Monday orders would be placed for 20 million doses of Pfizer vaccine and another 5 million more of those made by Johnson & Johnson.

 

[Froggy]

So I had leftover of mee rebus on Sunday so Monday morning had it for breakfast before going to work

 

[Froggy]

Today’s Covid new cases.

New Cases
Thailand 2,128 ( -200 )
Prison 534 ( +443 )
———————————————-
Total 2,662 ( +243 )

Deaths 28 ( -5 )

 

[Froggy]

This morning woke up all of a sudden craving for lontong since its a common breakfast meal. Living in Thailand the only thing I can do first is to go to the market.

Came back and prepare.

Ingredients


Marvellous

 

[Charlie99]

Joe Froggy, it looks like you are a very good chef.

 

[Froggy]

Joe Froggy, it looks like you are a very good chef.

Thank you for the compliment. Because I missed Singapore food I have to DIY no choice if not no one can help me. On the other hand I find cooking (that include marketing, preparation and finally washing up) is a very therapeutic and relaxing activity.

 

[bart12]

Fried noodles for breakfast yesterday

Can u cook Spore hokkien mee?

 

[Froggy]

Can u cook Spore hokkien mee?

Here you go,

https://www.sammyboy.com/threads/a-singaporeans-guide-to-living-in-thailand.107933/post-3130723

 

[bart12]

Here you go,

https://www.sammyboy.com/threads/a-singaporeans-guide-to-living-in-thailand.107933/post-3130723

Deluxe version with huge prawns