Phuket
Scottish tourist raped during festival

PHUKET TOWN: Instead of enjoying her holiday during the island’s Vegetarian Festival, a tourist from Scotland ended up being raped on Tuesday night. The victim, 22-year-old Dawn Farmer, told police that she was raped by a man wearing the traditional white clothing popular with celebrants during the chaotic festival. The white clothing is associated with the festival’s undertone of purity, moral behavior, and sexual abstinence. Capt Nakorn Sangthong of the Tourist Police told the Gazette that Ms Farmer arrived in Phuket with her boyfriend on October 1 and checked into the Suksabai Hotel on Thepkrasattri Rd in Phuket Town because they wanted to see Phuket’s famous festival. As her boyfriend was feeling ill, Ms Farmer decided to leave the hotel by herself in the early evening to take a walk and check out the fire-walking ceremony held at Jui Tui Shrine on Ranong Rd. “She was by herself until 10:30 pm and got lost on her way back to the hotel. A Thai man came by on a motorcycle and offered help,” said Capt Nakorn. Ms Farmer told police that she thought the man was a motorcycle taxi driver, so she decided to get on the bike and asked him to take her to the hotel. Instead, however, the man took her to a dark corner in a Chinese cemetery in Baan Laem Chan on Sakdidej Rd. Capt Nakorn told the Gazette, “It was difficult for us to locate where the rape took place because it was raining really hard and the victim saw almost nothing along the way. “She defended herself, but the man forced her to take off her clothes. He punched her on the chin once and then several times in the stomach before raping her.” As the man prepared to leave, the victim begged him to take her to a place with lights or access to a street, but he refused. About 20 minutes later, Ms Farmer found her way out of the cemetery. A middle-aged Thai couple saw her and took her to the Tourist Police, who in turn took her to Wachira Phuket Hospital for medical treatment. Pol Lt Col Wichai Boonruen, an inspector with the Tourist Police, said, “Because of the rain and the darkness, the victim remembered hardly anything that would identify the man. “Fortunately, after going over the crime scene, we found her underwear with his fingerprints on it. We also found what may possibly be some of his hair on the ground, as Ms Farmer told us that she pulled his hair a couple of times while they were struggling.” Ms Farmer said at Muang District Police Station that she could not believe that such a terrible incident could happen to her in the midst of a religious festival. She also said, “I had planned to stay longer, but I don’t think so now – and I’m definitely never going to come back either.” “It’s such a shame that it happened during the festival. We must arrest the perpetrator,” said Pol Col Chalit Thinthanee, Superintendent of Muang District Police Station. “I am very confident that we will be able to do this with the evidence that has been sent to the Phuket Forensic Science Office.” Police later arrested two men aged 20 and 25, whose appearances and motorbikes matched the descriptions given by the victim. “But Ms Farmer confirmed that neither man was the one who raped her,” Lt Col Wichai said.
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Blog suggests Phuket push July reopening despite Covid-19

A hotel information blog is claiming that, despite growing Covid-19 numbers, Phuket should stick to its schedule in reopening to travellers without quarantine in July. In an interview with the Director of Travel and Tourism Consulting at GlobalData, they stressed that while it is crucial to reign in the spread of Covid-19 and the B117 strain now manacing Thailand, the risk must not overshadow the need teo push forward with vaccinations and the march towards eliminating the quarantine by July in order to save the tourism industry and all those dependent on it. The Phuket pilot programme is essential in creating a path towards economic recovery for Thailand, a country heavily dependent on tourism. More than 17% of Thailand’s gross domestic product is attributed to tourism and the Covid-19 pandemic has lead to the worst economic free-fall in over 20 years.
The blog acknowledges the inherent risk and possible appearance of foolishness to prioritize the plans to reopen and carry on with the same rollout schedule. But they urge Thai authorities to consider that July 1st is still 2 and a half months away, leaving ample time to recover and make progress towards the approaching Phuket reopening. A vital aspect of the reopening plan lies in vaccinating over 70% of Phuket’s provincial residents, a sizable task, but one that brings great benefit with or without the scheduled reopening. Pushing ahead to achieve this goal puts Phuket on track to welcome back tourists, perhaps in a “bio-bubble”, and restart the economy. The economy is desperate with household debt growing, pushing the government to enact emergency decrees to provide relief. These households need the return of tourism and the influx of cash international tourists will bring.
The blog hopes that Thai authorities can balance the necessary Covid-19 safety measures in Phuket to protect the Thai population with the economic need to bring back tourism. They believe that with sufficient measures in place, vaccinated locals could welcome vaccinated international tourists back to Phuket reopening safely in July.
SOURCE: Hotel News Resource
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
UPDATE: Field hospitals being established in Covid hot zones around Thailand

UPDATE: The field hospital in Bangkok’s Bang Bon district, west of the Chao Phraya river, had its first 10 Covid patients today. The director of the medical services office of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says that the 10 patients into the makeshift hospital, located at the Chalerm Phra Kiat Stadium, will enable assessment of the performance by the medical team, before more patients arrive – Thai PBS World
ORIGINAL STORY: Despite the confident posture and Songkran going ahead, amid restrictions, there is a lot of background activity which suggest the authorities are getting ready for a surge of new infections at the end of the Songkran break, officially this Thursday (but in reality, next Sunday at the end of the weekend when most people who travelled home will return for a resumption of work).
The Thai lunar new year celebrations – Songkran – are the largest mass movement of Thais each year, a source for a huge leap in road deaths and accidents. And, this year, a potential super-spreader event.
Quietly, at least 3,000 extra beds have been prepared in 10 field hospitals around Bangkok. The government has also confirmed that additional field hospitals are being set up in other potential ‘hot zones’, including Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chonburi and Hua Hin. Some of them were set up last year, and since closed, and now being prepared for new positive infections.
One Thai person who had been in one of the field hospitals put together a check-list of things to take IF you end up as an invited ‘guest’ HERE.
The CCSA say they are looking for additional beds in hotels and previous state quarantine facilities (where repatriating Thais were housed for their free quarantine) to be used if needed.
This year’s Songkran had bad timing, coming just a week after a number of major clusters were identified around some of Bangkok’s popular nightlife areas in 3 key inner city districts. Even before Songkran these isolated clusters had already spread into the provinces. In the weekend before Songkran the government had already listed 37 provinces which had instigated some form of paperwork or restrictions for people who had been in any of the 3 Bangkok districts.
The government also leapt on the source of the new outbreaks – bars, clubs and entertainment venues – and promptly shut them down for at least 2 weeks. At this stage it looks likely that that ban will be extended beyond the 2 weeks and, depending on the extent of new infections following the Songkran holiday, additional restrictions will also be added.
Even today the Civil Aviation Authority published a number of new in-flight restrictions for passengers – another blow to the hard-hit domestic aviation sector.
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Chiang Mai
Tourism officials slash Songkran travel expectations by half

The TAT, ever the optimists regarding anything tourism related, even domestic tourism, predict that the Bangkok clusters that have emerged in the week before the Songkran break could reduce traffic and spending by up to half.
Today the CCSA is reporting 789 new infections and one additional death. 522 were local infections, mostly walk-ins to Bangkok hospitals, 259 were discovered through track and tracing. The remaining 8 were found in quarantine from overseas arrivals. In Phuket, another 17 cases have been reported today, taking the island’s week total to 43.
GRAPH: Worldometer figures for Thailand, up to April 9
A 68 year old man from Nakhon Pathom province died on April 4 but wasn’t reported until today. The CCSA report that he died from Covid and “complications”. 33 other former patients have recovered and been discharged.
Last week the TAT estimated 3.2 million domestic trips would circulate 12 billion baht for the Thai economy. But the Tourism Authority has now slashed their estimates by half after hotels, airlines and bus companies reported mass cancellations in the last few days. Other provinces are reporting less than 20% cancellations. Although this weekend will see a lot of travel, Songkran doesn’t formally start until next Tuesday and the TAT expect there could be additional fallout as travellers decide to have a staycation for Songkran instead heading home.
Bangkok Post reports that 70% of travellers to Prachuap Khiri Khan and Hua Hin have already cancelled hotel bookings. Similar cancellations have been reported in Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai. Many other provinces, particularly in the north east and north, are also enforcing quarantine on arrivals or additional paperwork to try and protect their provinces from any of the Bangkok clusters.
8 north eastern provinces rare now requiring 10 or 14 day quarantine periods for anyone arriving from areas where new clusters have been reported. Chiang Mai provincial officials say that tourists from Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom, Bangkok, Pathum Thani and Nonthaburi – basically Bangkok and surrounding provinces – must complete a 14 day mandatory quarantine or conduct a test for Covid when they arrive.
The reality is that the travel and quarantine changes are outstripping the ability to communicate them all. Anyone crossing into other provinces in the next few day, especially if you’re travelling from Bangkok and surrounding provincial ‘red zones’ can expect some additional paperwork or a Covid test. Or even quarantine.
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