Thailand News Update | SongKran in Thailand for 2022?
A woman has stabbed a man to death in Samut Prakan over the weekend, claiming the man chased her son with a wooden stick. She said she first tried to stop the man from hurting her son, but then he hit HER with the stick. The woman’s son, Vorakan, told police he’d been drinking with the man and a group of their friends, when the two got into a fight. Vorakan said the fight began when he asked the man, Kittisak, for marijuana. The two ended up in a fight and Kittisak chased Vorakan with a wooden stick. He chawed Vorakan to his mother’s house where Vorakan’s mother, after trying to make Kittisak stop hitting her son, grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed Kittisak. The mother, Somsangad, was initially charged with intentional murder. Bang Phli police have detained both Vorakan and Somsangad for further questioning. The incident happened at a camp for construction workers in the Bang Phli district. Police found Kittisak lying dead in front of the camp with six stab wounds in the torso.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Thailand’s most renowned virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan has compared remaining unvaccinated from Covid-19 to walking into speeding Bangkok traffic. He commented on how elderly Thais still have had reservations about being vaccinated, even though they are in a high-risk group. He said… “it was like inviting an accident by stepping off the pavement into the busy traffic on Silom Road.”He said that pregnant women, people over 60, and people with underlying diseases, risk being hospitalised with severe symptoms if they contract Covid-19. Yong urged people to study the benefits and possible side effects of the various vaccine brands available. He said since vaccination is voluntary, people must decide for themselves which brand they intend to get. Last week, another Bangkok doctor warned that the country’s healthcare system could collapse if Covid-19 is not properly. He noted that Thailand’s economy is weaker than the economies of European countries, and wouldn’t hold up if Covid-19 got out of control.
A Songkran with water MAY end up being a thing after all, but don’t get too excited just yet. This moist bombshell was floating around the Thai media over the weekend. But you will need a face mask, a pre-event ATK tests and only at designated zones. The change of mind surprised everyone at Saturday’s CCSA daily briefing.It looks like the Thai government have had a quick rethink of their earlier announced Songkran policy for this year. Originally it was going to be a dry Songkran with no water splashing allowed, and only traditional events and activities to be conducted. But now it appears that they will allow “some organisers” permission to run special Songkran water splashing events BUT you’ll need to wear a face-mask and have an ATK test before being allowed in the zone. Alcohol will also be banned from the area. We’ll follow the water trail and keep you up to date on this one at thethaiger.com
After the CCSA announced on Friday that Thailand will scrap requirements for pre-travel PCR tests for incoming travellers, the foreign affairs ministry reminds wannabe international travellers that most of Thailand’s land border crossing points remain closed to them at this time. The CCSA also says that only four land border posts are open to tourists and expats: Nong khai and Udon Thani (near the Laos border) and Songkhla and Satun (near Malaysia). Tourists entering Thailand through these posts must still apply for entry through Thailand Pass, which still requires pre-travel PCR tests. The Thailand Pass requires several documents including vaccination status, proof of booking into a Thai hotel waiting for the result of the PCR arrival test, and the US$20,000 insurance requirement. The TAT says the approval process can take up to seven days although many receive approval much quicker. Thai immigration authorities are also reminding long-stay tourists and expats that holding a re-entry permit upon leaving Thailand does not cancel out the requirement to apply online for Test & Go before coming back. Returning expats have been refused boarding of their flight when they failed to show a Test and Go QR code. They said…. A valid re-entry permit protects an existing visa, but all entrants require prior Thailand Pass permission irrespective of visa status.
Plenty of unstable weather around Thailand for today and tomorrow. Thailand’s northern and central regions, and the eastern coast of the southern region may face very heavy rain as a direct consequence of a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal.
The intense low-pressure system is moving north-north west and is making landfall in Myanmar today and tomorrow.
The system is strengthening the southerly and south-easterly winds blowing over the northern, central, eastern and southern regions of Thailand, resulting in more rain, with isolated heavy rain in the northern and central regions, and along the eastern coast of the southern region.
The TMD is warning boats in the Gulf and off the Andaman coast to be aware of the storm and check the weather before heading offshore.
On a list of 146 countries on the World Happiness Index, Thailand ranks at a not-so-happy 61. Finland was ranked the happiest country, for the fifth time in a row, while Afghanistan was ranked least happy. An editor of the World Happiness Report said that in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, all three acts labeled “acts of kindness” have increased… helping strangers, volunteering, and donations. The editor said the acts of kindness have increased by almost 25% compared to pre-Covid times.Though Thailand is somewhere in the middle on the World Happiness Index, it ranks in third place on the list of nine Southeast Asian countries. In Southeast Asia, Singapore is the happiest country, and Myanmar is the least happy. Thailand has had some not-so-great rankings on other lists. On a scale of zero to 100, with zero being highly corrupt, Thailand scores 35, according to a ranking on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, with 100 being a perfect score for a country with no corruption. The average score of all countries was 45.
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