Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Trump claims “evidence” that virus originated in Wuhan lab, WHO wants to join investigation

US President Donald Trump claimed yesterday in a nationally televised address that he “has seen evidence” the the Covid-19 coronavirus originated in a Wuhan epidmiology lab, an assertion roundly disputed by scientists and intelligence agencies, and which threatens to turn into a diplomatic disaster. He declined to share the evidence, claiming he is “not allowed.” The claim was almost immediately contradicted by intelligence officials and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a devout Trump loyalist.
“We don’t know precisely where it began.”
The claim, long denied by Beijing, could stir tensions even as the World Health Organisation requests to participate in a Chinese investigation into the “animal origins” of the pandemic. Scientists believe the killer virus jumped from animals to humans, emerging in China late last year, possibly from a market in Wuhan selling exotic animals for meat.
But speculation, reinforced by internet rumours and America’s right-wing radio pundits, has swirled about a top-secret lab, and seems to have been taken up by the US President.
There is in fact nothing secret about the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has received hundreds of millions in US funding for its research, a move defended only days ago by Pompeo.
When asked if he had seen evidence to make him think the Wuhan Institute of Virology was the source of the outbreak, Trump replied: “Yes, I have.”
But he refused to give details and Secretary of State Pompeo indicated he had not seen definitive evidence.
“We don’t know if it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. We don’t know if it emanated from the wet market or yet some other place. We don’t know those answers.”

PHOTO: Haaretz
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said analysts would “continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine” the origin of the outbreak.
In Geneva, a spokesman for the World Health Organisation said several investigations into the source of the virus were ongoing, adding that the global agency was “not currently involved in the studies in China”.
“WHO would be keen to work with international partners and, at the invitation of the Chinese government, to participate in investigation around the animal origins,”
Beijing has steadfastly denied the lab was the source of the virus. Last month foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian pointedly stressed that “WHO officials have repeatedly stated that there is no single piece of evidence that the new coronavirus was produced in a laboratory.”
“Many well-known medical experts in the world also believe that the so-called laboratory leak hypothesis has no scientific basis.”
US President Trump is making China’s handling of the outbreak a major narrative for his November reelection campaign.
SOURCES: AFP
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
CCSA Update: 59 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death

The new wave of cases has been on a downward slope in recent weeks. Today’s count of 59 new Covid-19 cases is the lowest daily count since mid-December. A coronavirus-related death was also reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing.
A 48 year old Thai woman died after testing positive for Covid-19. The woman worked as a driver for migrant workers. No other information was released about her in the CCSA’s English-language report. It’s unclear if she had pre-existing conditions.
Out of the 59 new Covid-19 cases, 28 are local transmissions, 23 cases were detected in proactive testing and 8 cases detected in quarantine for those entering Thailand from abroad.
Since the start of the pandemic, Thailand has reported a total of 12,653 Covid-19 cases and 71 deaths. The new wave of Covid-19 cases has spread to 62 of Thailand’s 77 provinces.

Active Covid-19 cases in Thailand as of January 19, according to Worldometers.
SOURCE:CCSA
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Economy
Shoppers disgruntled as registration for co-payment scheme fills up in 10 minutes

Social media users are up in arms after registration for the government’s Kon La Khreung (“Let’s Go Halves”) co-payment scheme filled up within 10 minutes. The scheme, first introduced as an economic stimulus measure in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, gives shoppers 50% off the purchase of everyday items, up to 150 baht a day and capped at 3,500 baht for the duration of the scheme.
The third phase of registration had a quota of 1.34 million users, but interested parties had to be quick. Having lost their chance to register, many disgruntled people took to social media to complain, with the hashtag #คนละครึ่งเฟส3 (#Let’s Go Halves3) trending on Twitter.
Several netizens say they filled out the online registration form at exactly 6.01am but were then forced to wait for the one-time password to be delivered to their phones before they could complete the process. In many instances, by the time they received the OTP code, registration was full. Some say they had to wait over 5 minutes to receive the password, which caused them to miss the small window for registration.
According to a Nation Thailand report, one person has described the scheme as nothing more than a government PR stunt, pointing out that, despite being funded by taxpayers’ money, only some people can avail of it.
SOURCE: Nation Thailand
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
AstraZeneca vaccine could be approved for emergency use in Thailand this week

Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration is likely to approve a Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with Oxford University as early as this week. The vaccine, already given the go-ahead in the US and UK, would be approved for emergency use, with administration likely to begin next month. Healthcare workers and those with underlying conditions will be prioritised.
Opas Karnkawinpong from the Disease Control Department says the FDA’s review of the vaccine’s efficacy and safety is going well. Thailand has fallen behind its neighbours in terms of vaccine administration, with a number of countries in the region already starting their roll-out. Indonesia kicked things off last week, with President Joko Widodo the first to receive China’s Sinovac jab.
Thailand is expected to take delivery of 200,000 doses of the Chinese vaccine next month, but questions linger over its efficacy, which was recently revised downwards by researchers in Brazil. The vaccine has not yet completed phase 3 trials and Thailand’s health officials say it may not gain FDA approval until February 14, as the manufacturer has no representation in the Kingdom.
Thailand has signed a technology-transfer agreement with AstraZeneca to produce that vaccine locally. The jab will be manufactured by Siam Bioscience, a pharmaceutical company owned by the Monarchy. Surachok Tangwiwat from the FDA says the doses currently subject to approval have been produced by other countries, but did not specify which ones, how many doses have been imported, or at what cost.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has completed phase 3 trials and has been shown to be 70% effective, less than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. However, the World Health Organisation has previously stated that a vaccine only needs to be over 50% effective to meet the global threshold for regulatory approval.
SOURCE: Coconuts
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edwin mitchell
Sunday, May 3, 2020 at 10:20 am
kinda sad that you just copy pasted an AFP release. They are the MSM and are known to be untrustworthy. A better and far more interesting angle would have been on the findings that that very lab from which the virus seems to have originated recieved US government funding and is part owned by his own medical consultant on the COV ID, Dr Anthony Fauci.
Now THAT would be an interesting read. That Trump accuses a lab owned by his own advisor.
I miss the days of actual journalism before all this boring PR cut and paste started filling up the “news feeds”.