Thailand News Today | How Thailand plans to transition to endemic phase

Thailand will begin to “relax” Covid-19 restrictions in the coming weeks as the country shifts into the “endemic phase.”

According to the CCSA, measures will be implemented to ensure public health and safety during the transition. This includes ensuring there are enough beds, medicine and staff to cope with the situation.

Currently, the alert for Covid in all provinces is at Level 3, but there is a possibility for it to be lowered to Level 2 across the board at the CCSA’s next meeting on Friday.

The fate of Thailand Pass is also expected to be a topic of discussion at the meeting.

According to the last meeting, Covid cases in Thailand are on the decline.

The total number of fatalities has stabilised and are mostly related to patients in the at-risk group who have not been vaccinated.

The ministry is looking to boost vaccination rates by holding vaccine-promotion events and by distributing shots to local health-promotion hospitals.

The ministry says it’s concerned about vaccination rates among the elderly group, who are currently only 45.1% fully vaccinated. The ministry’s target for this group is 60%.

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Taxis licensed in Bangkok are now allowed to drive without using metres outside of the city’s 7 main provinces, allowing more service flexibility.

The 7 provinces include Bangkok, Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Chachoengsao, Samut Prakan, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi.

Taxis and passengers prefer negotiating prices over using taxi meters when travelling across provinces.

However, taxis operating in the seven provinces must use meters.

The update will be official on Saturday after being published in the Royal Gazette on Friday, June 10, according to DLT Director-General, Chirute Visalachitra.

The change is intended to boost competition in the taxi industry following the use of private cars for the popular ride-hailing taxi services like Grab.

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An Entertainment Complex Committee that was set up by the government has proposed Mae Sot district in the northern province

of Tak as an ideal location for Thailand’s first legal entertainment complex, with a casino.

The committee has announced that they’ve gathered all information from their survey,

both negative and positive, and is ready to submit the findings to the Thai cabinet.

The Committee last weekend met with local officials at Mae Sot district, located at the border between Thailand and Myanmar, to investigate any economic development possibilities.

The committee also discussed the complications of investing in a legal entertainment complex, illegal gambling prevention, and tax collection from casino businesses.

Thepthai Saenpong, one of the committee members, made it known he received reports from Chiang Rai officials,

business associations, and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and found that Mae Sot was more prepared than other provinces.

The former Democrat MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat says the Mae Sot venue has major facilities to support visitors,

including a cross-border logistics checkpoint, immigration checkpoint, airport, transportation infrastructure,

and the upcoming double-track railway linking Tak in the north to Nakhon Pathom province in central Thailand.

Infrastructure aside, Thepthai revealed that the residents in the area would welcome legal entertainment complexes.

He says residents want the area to grow as fast as Myawaddy city in Myanmar, where various Chinese investors operate casinos.

Not all of the report findings were positive, however. Thepthai says Mae Sot had 3 main drawbacks.

Firstly, the area doesn’t have enough land for the investors, and the land is expensive.

Thepthai says the entertainment complex would need about 1,000 to 2,000 acres and, as most of the land belongs to the Treasury Department,

it is unlikely they will sell it to a private enterprise.

Secondly, many workers in the Mae Sot district come from neighbouring countries,

so the area would need skill development centres to train Thai workers in the casino service for the business to run effectively.

The final problem is the government’s tax collection system. Thepthai says for the entertainment complex and casino to work,

the government would have to allow tax privileges for local companies situated there.

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Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry is warning crime witnesses that sharing pictures or videos of the incidents via online channels ‘could’ violate the new Personal Data Protection Act.

Thailand officially operated the PDPA or the Personal Data Protection Act on June 1. Then 2 weeks ago,

there was a report on a woman who avoided taking pictures of thieves because she was scared of the PDPA

and worried that the thieves would sue her for “spreading their personal information”.

The PDPA became a hot topic after a flight between a popular male Thai celebrity and his girlfriend. On June 9,

the media reported that the star, Atikhun Chotthanispiti, attacked his girlfriend in a public space at a condominium in Bangkok.

One woman witnessed the incident and tried to help the female victim. She also recorded a video of the incident and posted it on social media to unmask the male celebrity.

Atikun asked the woman to delete the video, but she reportedly refused. So, he said he would file a complaint to the police that the woman violated PDPA by spreading his video without his consent.

Many Thai citizens saw that this new law could be weaponized against well-meaning crime reporters.

So last Sunday, Minister of Digital Economy and Society Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn was forced to explain the law again.

He said uploading pictures or videos that included others via online channels could violate laws,

but it might not break the PDPA depending on each case. He said the persons included in the pictures or videos could file complaints against the posters.

Chaiwut recommended that witnesses shouldn’t keep the photos or video but instead hand them to the police or relevant officials.

Chaiwut added that uploading pictures or videos online or spreading news online weren’t the main topics that PDPA focused on.

The act specifically focused on protecting residents’ data collected and stored by agencies or third persons.

Cool, thank you sir for that explanation. It was as clear as thick mud.

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Nok Air has launched a “Pet On Board” scheme for holidaymakers who wish to take their animals on board the airline’s domestic Bangkok – Chiang Mai flight route.

The airline is offering round trips from Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport to Chiang Mai for 12,999 baht, which includes airfare for 2 people and 1 pet.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Nok Air revealed that passengers will be allowed to take 1 pet into the cabin with them on their Bangkok –

Chiang Mai flight route only, for a price of 12,999 baht inclusive of 2 people and 1 pet.

The airline posted a photo of a cat gazing out of an aeroplane window, but did not post further details about which “pets” would and would not be allowed on the plane.

One Facebook user commented, “I have pet snakes.”

Nok Air said further details will soon be released about the “Pet On Board” scheme, which hopefully will address which animals qualify for the scheme,

up to what weight, and whether the animals are required to have microchips or any specific vaccinations.

The airline did not state when the scheme would begin or when tickets would become available.