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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 15,335 new infections, news briefs
This morning the Thai public health department has announced 15,335 new infections & 129 Covid-related deaths. 641 of today’s announced cases came from Thai prisons. The number of new infections detected in the past 24 hours is another record for Thailand. Provincial totals will come out just after lunch today. • The Department of Disease Control said yesterday that the…
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Man with Covid-19 disguised as his wife to board flight
Stories have been going viral about how after lockdowns and travel restrictions, airlines are struggling with defiant and badly behaved passengers. But an Indonesian man who is infected with Covid-19 went to extreme measures to sneak aboard a flight this week disguised by dressing up as his Covid-19 negative wife. The man who had tested positive for Covid-19 swapped identities…
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Kitchen raiding elephant breaks same wall in house for more food
They say elephants have exceptional memories, and today one proved that true by finding his way back to a familiar place. Perhaps Thailand’s most memed elephant, Phlai Boonchuay, has returned to the home he infamously broke into just one month ago to search for more food. The wild elephant went viral around the world when he broke down the kitchen…
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1st Taekwondo Olympic gold as Panipak wins for Thailand
Panipak Wongpattanakit brought home a historic gold medal today – Thailand’s first in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, first-ever in taekwondo, and 10th gold medal of all time. The 23 year old has won 2 world championships and is currently ranked number 1 in the world. She barely edged out her competitor, the current European Championship winner Adriana Cerezo Iglesias…
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AstraZeneca Thailand writes open letter to people of Thailand
With Covid-19 infections rising in Thailand and bad news after bad news after bad news coming out of the vaccine supply and distribution chains, the managing director of AstraZeneca Thailand penned an open letter to the people of Thailand today. In it, he gave a brief overview of the manufacturing process, the efforts made to supply more vaccines, and words…
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Opinion: The Cuban authorities are afraid of us
No one in the queue speaks. A woman looks down at her shoes, while a young man drums his fingers on the wall. Some time has passed since Cubans took to the streets in a protest unprecedented in the last 62 years, and the outrage is still very palpable. As images of police brutality, more testimonies from mothers whose children…
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Surat Thani announces new Covid-19 measures for Samui Plus
Less than 10 days after the less-than-thrilling Samui Plus reopening that saw just 31 international arrivals to Samui (with 2 to Koh Phangan and 1 to Koh Tao) so far and 110 people from the Phuket Sandbox, Surat Thani province in which the islands reside has announced immediate Covid-19 measures to curb the spread of the virus. The announcement today…
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West Africa’s liver cancer cases linked to hepatitis
The World Cancer Research Fund collects data on the prevalence of cancer types across the globe. When it comes to liver cancer, 8 West African nations are in the top 25 countries with highest prevalence of liver cancer. These include Liberia, Guinea, Ghana Burkina Faso and Senagal. In fact, liver cancer is the most common cancer in the Gambia, with…
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Covid UPDATE Provinces: 14,260 new infections, 119 deaths
The Thai Public Health Department have announced another 14,260 infections and 119 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. 655 cases have been detected in Thai prisons. Notably, Phuket registered 21 new infections, pushing it close to its threshold of 90 new cases in a week whereby officials would consider the future of the Sandbox (70 over the past 7…
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Autopsy results for woman who died after mixing vaccines
Just as the government was launching their plan for people who have received a Sinovac vaccine already to give them AstraZeneca as a second shot, a tragic case occurred of a woman who received just that and died the following day at home in her bed. Now an autopsy has been completed on the woman who received mixed vaccines and…
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DR Congo faces major challenges in COVID-19 vaccine rollout
Almost every day, there are huge traffic jams in front of the district hospital in Goma, a major city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Cars, motorcycle cabs and pedestrians clog the road as friends and relatives come to pick up the deceased to bury them. For several weeks, an increasing number of COVID-19 patients have been among the dead…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 14,260 new infections, news briefs
The Public Health Department have announced another 14,260 infections and 119 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. 655 cases have been detected in Thai prisons. Whilst a slight drop from yesterday’s total new infections it maintains a rising trend in new infections around the country. 3,984 are currently in critical hospital care and 900 people remain on ventilators. The…
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Nord Stream 2 deal stokes fears of Russian aggression in eastern Europe
For most countries in central and eastern Europe, the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline is not simply a controversial project. Rather, they see it as a measure of the credibility of German policy in the region. And, right now, that credibility is in tatters. This week’s US-German agreement in the Nord Stream 2 dispute, which would allow the…
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The EU and North Macedonia: More ‘trauma’ before membership?
North Macedonia was officially included in the agenda for EU enlargement in 2005; the promissory note that Brussels offered Skopje on the conditions of good behavior and reforms is now older than the country’s new name. Yet with a track record of steady reforms, Skopje has seen the process slowed down to a virtual halt, which has not only raised…
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Swedish prison hostage situation resolved with pizza
Have you ever just had a really strong food craving? In a Swedish prison this week, 2 inmates were able to take 2 guards hostage and refused to release them until their demand was met: pizza. The pair of inmates incarcerated in Hallby high-security prison outside of Eskilstuna on murder charges were able to force their way into a secure area…
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Minister: Foreigners, migrant workers are cared for amid Covid-19
Facing mounting criticism of the plight of migrant workers, often Burmese or Cambodian immigrants, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Minister of Labour Suchat Chomklin has spoken out in defence of the treatment of foreigners within Thailand. He stressed to the press that all laws and policies are non-discriminatory and that the government has addressed the concerns and safety of foreign…
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Bang Sue vaccination centre open for expats 60+, under must wait
Bangkok’s Central Vaccination Centre at Bang Sue Grand Station is open to expats 60 years old and up for their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a spokesperson for the CCSA reiterated today, adding that some younger foreigners had been showing up to the centre seeking a Covid-19 vaccine. Photos of the vaccination centre show the area packed with people…
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Nakhon Sawan farmers make large profits growing fingerroot as Covid cure
While the science may be on the fence, herbal extracts are still growing in popularity as a Covid treatment. krachai khao, AKA fingerroot is providing generous returns for growers in Nakhon Sawan, a northern Thai province. Sales are also booming for the extract of the green chiretta plant AKA fah talai jone, which is used in “traditional” medicine and is…
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Leaked document: military arranging private Moderna vaccines
A controversial and unconfirmed leaked document appears to show that the Thai military attempted to get Moderna vaccines for themselves while the rest of Thailand only had access to Sinovac and later AstraZeneca vaccines. The document seems to be of the military requesting a private supply of the Moderna vaccine from the Thai Red Cross for army personnel and their…
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19 year old man drowns in a Kanchanaburi river while rescuing his puppy
A 19 year old man drowned after he jumped into a river to rescue his puppy yesterday. The victim identified as “Aphisit” and his co-worker drove to the Mae Klong River in the western province of Kanchanaburi to fetch some water for their construction work. His puppy fell in the river, but he didn’t notice until it had been swiped…
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18 infections today in Phuket creeps closer to 90/week threshold
Today saw an infection spike in new local Covid-19 cases in Phuket, crossing the daily average number that threatens the future of the Sandbox scheme. Officials had laid out several factors that could cause the Sandbox to be reconsidered or even cancelled, chief among them was if weekly infections crossed over 90 people a week. Today saw 18 new local…
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BMA plans to open 53 “community isolation centres”
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has announced their intentions to open 53 “community isolation centres”…early next month. The centres will be for people who Covid and are waiting to be admitted to a hospital, says governor Aswin Kwanmuang, today. It is reported that City Hall is hoping to open 23 centres “right away”. There will be 3,390 beds for people who…
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Rural Kanchanaburi students struggle with lessons
The Covid situation has affected nearly all walks of life in Thailand and throughout the world. In a rural location in Kanchanaburi, western Thailand students can be seen several kilometres outside of their villages. They stare at smartphones in their hands. They’re not making Tik Tok videos and they’re not playing games. They are in their online classes. The students…
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Phuket company plans to pitch “Diving Sandbox” for liveaboard trips
A local diving company is working on a project to offer liveaboard dive excursions to travellers entering Thailand through the “Phuket Sandbox” travel scheme. Under the plan in the works by Seafarer Divers, travellers would get picked up directly from the airport after arriving in Thailand and be transferred to a dive tour boat. While on board the boat, the…
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Buffalo charges at motorbikes and cars stopped at intersection – VIDEO
A water buffalo ran into the middle of a traffic intersection yesterday afternoon, charging at cars and motorbikes stopped at a red light in the Deep South province Narathiwat near the Malaysian border. People quickly fled out of the buffalo’s path and some jumped off their motorbike. The buffalo knocked over a motorbike with its horns and charged at 2…
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Friday Covid Update: 14,575 new cases; provincial totals
A record high of 14,575 new Covid-19 cases was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 467,707. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 438,844 of those infections. Thailand now has 143,744…
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Former Phuket tour guide suspected of drowning in Phuket
A former Phuket tour guide, who was previously denied entry onto the island, is believed to have drowned after he slipped and fell into the water next to the Sarasin Bridge, yesterday. Police were called to the scene at half-past 2. Then, police and rescue workers attempted to save the former tour guide, 42 year old Sutep Sae Man. By…
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Pro-choice women struggle against spiritual detractors
Starting in February, women who sought an abortion could legally get one, in the first trimester. However, pro-choice activist Supecha Baotip says women still encounter discrimination in the form of spiritual objections. Supecha says that many nurses and doctors do not want to assist women who want help, despite the procedure’s legality. She says it’s “more than just a feeling.…
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“Sandboxers” can travel to specified islands and beaches after 7 days in Phuket
A new rule for the “Phuket Sandbox” was passed allowing visitors under the reopening scheme to travel to specified islands after spending 7 days in Phuket. The rule goes into effect on August 1. The islands include Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao, which are off the coast of Surat Thani in the Gulf of Thailand. The trio…
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Anonymous Thai artist creating works of satire from current events
An anonymous Thai artist is using the current crisis as inspiration for work that highlights what he sees as the government’s mismanagement of the pandemic. According to a Coconuts report, the artist, known only as Uninspired by Current Events, has produced images of lab rats being given random vaccines and armed police wearing panda masks and opening fire. A more…
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