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A Singaporean's guide to living in Thailand
- Thread starter Leongsam
- Start date
Thailand will give health workers a mix of Chinese and Western Covid-19 vaccines
Govt shifts stance on Sinovac
BANGKOK (NYTIMES) - Thailand said Monday (July 12) that health care workers who had received the coronavirus vaccine made by Sinovac of China would also be inoculated with the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shots to give them greater protection as concerns grow about more transmissible variants as well as about the waning immunity provided by Sinovac.
Mr Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand's health minister, said people vaccinated with one dose of Sinovac should be given the AstraZeneca shot as the second dose three to four weeks later. Those who have already received both shots of the Sinovac vaccine, he said, should receive a booster shot "right away."
"This will build immunity against the virus to a high level more quickly," Mr Anutin said at a news conference.
Thailand is the latest foreign government to indicate doubts about the immunity provided by the Sinovac vaccine.
On Friday, Indonesia said it would offer the Moderna vaccine as a booster to health care workers who had received two doses of the Sinovac shot.
Both countries are facing their most serious coronavirus outbreaks of the pandemic, driven by the highly contagious Delta variant that was first detected in India.
On Sunday, Thailand reported a record 9,418 new coronavirus infections, a day after it reported a record 91 coronavirus-related deaths.
For at least two weeks starting Monday, the capital, Bangkok, and surrounding provinces will be under tight restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, including a curfew and a five-person limit on gatherings.
Most medical workers in Thailand were inoculated with the Sinovac vaccine after it was approved in February, with the AstraZeneca vaccine becoming available only recently.
Trial results have shown that the Sinovac shot is at least 51 per cent effective at preventing symptomatic disease, above the threshold set by the World Health Organisation, and even more effective at preventing hospitalisation and death.
But several countries that were among the earliest recipients of the Sinovac vaccine have reported that their health care workers have fallen ill with Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated.
On Sunday, the Thai Health Ministry said that out of the 677,348 medical personnel who had received two doses of Sinovac, 618 had become infected, citing data from April to July. One nurse has died, and another medical worker is in critical condition.
"Breakthrough infections" - infections that happen even in individuals who are fully vaccinated - can happen with any vaccine. But governments are especially concerned when it happens to health care workers, especially at a time when their hospitals are already under strain.
Thailand sees tougher Covid-19 curbs bite, including Bangkok curfew
Hundreds of Thai medical workers infected despite Sinovac vaccinations
On Sunday, Dr Thiravat Hemachudha, a specialist in clinical, virological and immunological studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said that a study of people who had received two doses of the Sinovac vaccine showed that their level of antibodies, at 70 per cent, was "barely efficacious" against the Alpha variant first detected in Britain or against the Delta variant.Dr Thiravat said it was imperative that the Thai government gave front line medical workers booster shots because they faced higher risks of infection. Thailand is producing the AstraZeneca shots locally, the only country in South-east Asia to do so. It does not have any Pfizer vaccines on hand but expects to receive a donation of 1.5 million doses from the United States this month.
While studies suggest that most Covid-19 vaccines are effective against the Delta variant, which the WHO says is likely to become the dominant form of the virus worldwide in coming months, less is known about the Sinovac vaccine.
One of China's top public health researchers, Dr Zhong Nanshan, has said that a study of 160 people infected with the Delta variant in the southern city of Guangzhou showed that China's vaccines, developed by Sinovac and another company, Sinopharm, were 69 per cent effective in preventing infection among close contacts, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency. Sinovac has not provided any data.
Freight containers sought as morgue space runs out
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 13 JUL 2021 AT 20:05
Thammasat University Hospital is planning to obtain two freight containers as it is running out of space to store the remains of Covid-19 victims in its morgue amid the spike of new infections in recent weeks.
The move came as the country's leading physician urged the public to take up any jab that is available to them — as opposed to waiting for a supposedly superior vaccine to arrive later on in the year.
In a post on its Facebook page, the hospital said it expected the number of new cases to exceed 10,000 in the coming days, as authorities are ramping up pro-active testing at high-risk areas.
The number patients which require treatment at the hospital have also increased, with four Covid-19 patients having had to be revived by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at the emergency room before they were transferred to the intensive care unit, the post said.
As the hospital accepts referrals from across Pathum Thani and further afield, its morgue has been flooded with autopsy requests, both on those which had died at the hospital and at home, to determine if their deaths were caused by Covid-19.
As a result, the hospital will rent at least two freight containers to securely store the bodies.
The Facebook post said: "We want to let people know the real situation we're facing and will be facing in the next week or so."
To prevent contagion at the hospital, a 150 square-metre negative pressure chamber has been built in the emergency room, where Covid-19 patients and those at high risk of infection are isolated from other patients, the post added.
Meanwhile, Prof Prasit Watanapa, dean at the Faculty of Medicine of Siriraj Hospital and adviser to the government, urged unvaccinated people not to wait around for an alternative vaccine.
He said most critically-ill Covid-19 patients who are currently being treated at Siriraj Hospital had only received one dose of vaccine, or none at all. About half of them showed signs of severe lung infection by the time they were admitted to the hospital.
"Alternative vaccines can be obtained later as a booster, if needed," he said, adding waiting for a supposedly "superior" vaccine is "not worth the risk".
"People should get vaccinated at the earliest possible opportunity," Dr Prasit added.
FDA approves over the counter test kits
Bangkok Post PUBLISHED : 14 JUL 2021 AT 04:00
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now expects Covid-19 antigen test kits to be made available for sale over the counter by next week, after an announcement by the Public Health Ministry authorising over-the-counter sale of this medical device was published on Tuesday in the Royal Gazette.
The kits, however, will not be allowed to be sold over the internet, said Dr Paisal Dunkhum, secretary-general of the FDA.
Only authorised medical institutions, medical clinics, medical technology clinics and pharmacies with a licensed pharmacist on duty will be allowed to sell the test kits, he said.
About seven out of all 24 companies whose products have been registered with the FDA for sale in Thailand have agreed to adjust their Covid-19 test kits to make them suitable for self testing, he said.
Several Covid-19 antigen test kits have already been advertised on various online shopping platforms, most of which are products made in China, South Korea and Indonesia which will be shipped to Thailand in four days to a week, said an informed source.
Their prices range from 200 baht to 700 baht apiece, said the source.
"Honestly, the FDA is still worried that not all consumers will be able to use the test kits correctly and the fact that the [rapid antigen] test kit may not be as accurate as the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction [RT-PCR] test," said Dr Surachok Tangwiwat, deputy secretary-general of the FDA.
Because the rapid antigen test kit works best on people with a high volume of the new coronavirus that causes Covid-19, a repeat test is required three days later if the first test gives a negative result, he said.
The difference between the rapid antigen test and the RT-PCR test is the former relies on specimens collected by nasal swabbing while the latter test uses specimens collected in the nasopharynx, which goes deeper into the nasal cavity, he said.
Although less accurate, the rapid test kit is important for people with a high risk of contracting the virus who need early detection if infected, said the doctor.
The FDA and the Department of Medical Science is speeding up production of a short video clip to be released which is aimed at educating consumers on how to use the rapid test kits correctly, he said.
In response to the expected high demand for the Covid-19 rapid test kits, the FDA will be working together with the Ministry of Commerce to ensure these products are sold at reasonable prices, said Dr Paisal.
KNN Your wanton soup really 太夸张
No. This is the original and basic.
Thanks for the compliment. I have to say the soup was excellent.
LOL ..just put msg lah..
Economy noodle..will taste great with some sambal
Simple breakfast this morning - soya sauce fried noodle
Senor
Looks like Klang dark sauce hokkien mee....yummy.
Relax....
Enjoy the song.
.
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https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Tr...1&pub_date=20210715190000&seq_num=17&si=44594
Thailand opens Samui for vaccinated visitors despite delta threat
Hotels ramp up capacity amid optimism in COVID-slammed tourism sector
The Thai government's initiative to reopen tourism has been spreading throughout the country's famous resorts such as Samui island. © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerJuly 15, 2021 15:00 JSTUpdated on July 15, 2021 16:48 JST
BANGKOK -- Thailand's effort to rescue its ailing tourism industry took another step forward as the island of Samui and nearby islands reopened starting Thursday for vaccinated foreign visitors, despite an outbreak of the COVID-19 delta variant in the country.
Hotel operators on the island are looking to ramp up capacity, betting on more foreign tourists as the government tries to kick-start the sector. Thai retail giant Central Group's hospitality arm will open a new resort on Samui island in August.
Bangkok is keen to see the country's vital tourism industry fully back on its feet by mid-October. Before COVID, tourism and related sectors accounted for 20% of the country's gross domestic product.
Centara Hotels and Resorts -- a hospitality arm of Central Group -- as well as Minor International said they would aim to reopen all their locations by the end of the year.
The reopening of Samui and its neighbors will be slow compared to the island of Phuket, which began welcoming vaccinated tourists two weeks ago. International visitors to Samui will initially enter Thailand from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, where they will take a connecting Bangkok Airways flight to the island. According to local reports, only 33 seats have been reserved for flights in July, 20 in August, 10 in September and 17 in October.
Phuket remains open to overseas tourists, allowing foreigners fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to visit the resort island without quarantine. © Reuters
Phuket welcomed 5,174 tourists between July 1 and July 13.
The slow start on Samui reflects travelers' hesitation in visiting Thailand during the delta outbreak. Roughly 9,000 new cases have been reported daily over the past week in the country, while Bangkok -- the epicenter of the local delta outbreak -- faces a shortage of hospital beds. Although Samui and the nearby island of Phangan and Tao have not reported a single case of COVID since April, the delta outbreak in Southeast Asia has tourists thinking twice.
But hotel operators remain optimistic. Centara Hotels and Resorts will open Centara Reserve Samui to inoculated international tourists from August 10. Centara Villas Samui, another property under the company's management, will resume operation in September, while two others will open in October.
Minor International has vaccinated all staff at Avani+ Samui Resort, which can handle seven-day quarantine stays required for incoming tourists. Anantara Bophut and Anantara Lawana Resort on Samui island and Anantara Rasananda on Phangan island will accept tourists after they have quarantined.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Hyatt debuted its Hyatt Regency Koh Samui on July 5. "The resort will play a part in driving the economy and promoting community tourists on Koh Samui," said Ithichai Poolvaraluck, chief business officer of Samui Vipat, owner of the resort that the American company operates.
Visitors to the island will not have to stay in their hotel rooms but will be asked to remain close to their accommodation for the first three days. The arrangement differs from Phuket and its so-called sandbox experiment, which allows vaccinated tourists to roam the island as soon as they have tested negative for the virus.
Between their fourth and seventh day, foreign tourists on Samui can travel to the island's attractions. Beginning with their second week, they can move freely around the island and to the nearby islands of Phangan and Tao. After two weeks, they will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand.
Vaccinated international travelers will have to take three PCR tests at their own expense. The first one must be taken upon arrival, the second on day 6 or 7, and the third on day 12 or 13.
Thailand opens Samui for vaccinated visitors despite delta threat
Hotels ramp up capacity amid optimism in COVID-slammed tourism sector
The Thai government's initiative to reopen tourism has been spreading throughout the country's famous resorts such as Samui island. © Reuters
MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writerJuly 15, 2021 15:00 JSTUpdated on July 15, 2021 16:48 JST
BANGKOK -- Thailand's effort to rescue its ailing tourism industry took another step forward as the island of Samui and nearby islands reopened starting Thursday for vaccinated foreign visitors, despite an outbreak of the COVID-19 delta variant in the country.
Hotel operators on the island are looking to ramp up capacity, betting on more foreign tourists as the government tries to kick-start the sector. Thai retail giant Central Group's hospitality arm will open a new resort on Samui island in August.
Bangkok is keen to see the country's vital tourism industry fully back on its feet by mid-October. Before COVID, tourism and related sectors accounted for 20% of the country's gross domestic product.
Centara Hotels and Resorts -- a hospitality arm of Central Group -- as well as Minor International said they would aim to reopen all their locations by the end of the year.
The reopening of Samui and its neighbors will be slow compared to the island of Phuket, which began welcoming vaccinated tourists two weeks ago. International visitors to Samui will initially enter Thailand from Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, where they will take a connecting Bangkok Airways flight to the island. According to local reports, only 33 seats have been reserved for flights in July, 20 in August, 10 in September and 17 in October.
Phuket remains open to overseas tourists, allowing foreigners fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to visit the resort island without quarantine. © Reuters
Phuket welcomed 5,174 tourists between July 1 and July 13.
The slow start on Samui reflects travelers' hesitation in visiting Thailand during the delta outbreak. Roughly 9,000 new cases have been reported daily over the past week in the country, while Bangkok -- the epicenter of the local delta outbreak -- faces a shortage of hospital beds. Although Samui and the nearby island of Phangan and Tao have not reported a single case of COVID since April, the delta outbreak in Southeast Asia has tourists thinking twice.
But hotel operators remain optimistic. Centara Hotels and Resorts will open Centara Reserve Samui to inoculated international tourists from August 10. Centara Villas Samui, another property under the company's management, will resume operation in September, while two others will open in October.
Minor International has vaccinated all staff at Avani+ Samui Resort, which can handle seven-day quarantine stays required for incoming tourists. Anantara Bophut and Anantara Lawana Resort on Samui island and Anantara Rasananda on Phangan island will accept tourists after they have quarantined.
Meanwhile, U.S.-based Hyatt debuted its Hyatt Regency Koh Samui on July 5. "The resort will play a part in driving the economy and promoting community tourists on Koh Samui," said Ithichai Poolvaraluck, chief business officer of Samui Vipat, owner of the resort that the American company operates.
Visitors to the island will not have to stay in their hotel rooms but will be asked to remain close to their accommodation for the first three days. The arrangement differs from Phuket and its so-called sandbox experiment, which allows vaccinated tourists to roam the island as soon as they have tested negative for the virus.
Between their fourth and seventh day, foreign tourists on Samui can travel to the island's attractions. Beginning with their second week, they can move freely around the island and to the nearby islands of Phangan and Tao. After two weeks, they will be allowed to travel to other parts of Thailand.
Vaccinated international travelers will have to take three PCR tests at their own expense. The first one must be taken upon arrival, the second on day 6 or 7, and the third on day 12 or 13.
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