111 people arrested at Koh Pha Ngan party for allegedly violating Covid-19 restrictions

A riot police officer, who was deployed at the recent pro-democracy protests in Bangkok, has tested positive for Covid-19. His supervisor, chief of Wang Thonglang station Ekapop Tanprayoon, says the officer had visited Samut Sakhon, a coronavirus hotspot.

Riot police who worked closely with the infected officer, Somyot Nuamcharoen, are ordered to quarantine. The Wang Thonglang police station and any items the police officer handled are being disinfected, the chief says.

The officer had met up with friends during a visit to Samut Sakhon, just southwest of Bangkok. He travelled to the coastal province on February 18 and returned to Bangkok the next day.

On the 20th, he was deployed to a protest outside of parliament, just after returning from his trip to the “red zone” province. On Sunday, he deployed the protest outside the military barracks in Bangkok. The demonstration turned violent and numerous people were injured.

On Tuesday, his friend from Samut Sakhon tested positive for the virus. The infected officer was tested for Covid-19 that day and his result came back positive yesterday.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.

The Thai government is looking at offering free Covid‐19 vaccines to migrant workers who are covered under the nation’s social security program. The Thai Ministry of Labour is set to discuss the move with the Social Security Board. If approved, over 2.3 million migrant workers would be inoculated for free, costing around 3 billion baht. The Labour Minister says migrant manual labourers are vital to Thai industries and the economy, therefore, they should not be left out of the vaccination program.

Frontline medical personnel, people who have been working in close contact with the infected, elderly people, those suffering from congenital diseases and people in high-risk areas are to be the first recipients of the vaccines, which could be either from Sinovac or Astrazeneca. After the highrisk groups are inoculated, the general public will follow with some tourist heavy areas to see expat residents included in the vaccination programme.

The Labour Ministry also plans to set up a hospital exclusively for people covered by the social security programme, as well as a social security bank to help people under the social security programme.

The move to cover migrant workers comes after Thailand closed at least 7 natural borders with the neighouring country of Myanmar as thousands of Burmese people are expected to flee to Thailand following the military coup in Myanmar. The Thai immigration police chief says he estimates around 400,000 Burmese migrants are looking to enter Thailand. He says the bounty for human traffickers has increased due to the political situation in Myanmar.

Illegal migrants to Thailand have been accused of spreading the Covid virus as many allegedly snuck into the country undetected after bribing border patrol police officers. Those who illegally entered, skirted mandatory quarantines and testing. At least 33 police officers and other government officials were investigated for their roles in the illegal smuggling of migrant workers into Thailand.

SOURCE: Thai PBS World

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.

Thailand has hosted the first group of international tourists to carry out a “golf quarantine” stay. 42 golfers (41 from South Korea and 1 from Japan) flew into Thailand on February 19, entering quarantine at the Artitaya Golf Resort in the central province of Nakhon Nayok.

Guests following Thailand’s golf quarantine programme are required to remain in their rooms for the first 3 days of their stay, after which they can roam freely around the resort and play golf. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has confirmed that during their stay, guests are tested 3 times for Covid-19.

In order to qualify for golf quarantine, travellers must arrive from a “low-risk” country and be in possession of all the paperwork required to enter Thailand, including a Certificate of Entry, adequate health insurance, and evidence of a negative Covid-19 test taken 72 hours before travel.

On March 2, 12 days into the golfers’ quarantine stay, a number of officials, including Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn and TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn, conducted an inspection of the resort. They were accompanied by Thares Kratsanai Rawiwong from the Department of Health Service Support and were welcomed by provincial governor, Amphon Angkapakornkul.

The TAT says the purpose of the inspection is to boost confidence in Thailand’s golf facilities. In addition to the Artitaya resort, Thailand has another 5 golf resorts that have been approved as quarantine facilities: 3 in the western province of Kanchanaburi, 1 in the central province of Phetchaburi, and 1 in the northern province of Chiang Mai.

SOURCE: TAT News

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

Never miss out on future posts by following The Thaiger.