Bkk Brian

5 minutes ago, thailandheron said:

I dont know what parts of the island you visited but a friend has been there for months and he eats in western food restuarants once or twice everyday , with beer. Some he has to walk past because they are almost full and has to find a quieter one. So he is not the only person enjoying himself. Girlie bars open are easy to find too.

Gloating about a friend who has been to Phuket and breaks the rules by drinking beer in restaurants daily and visiting girlie bars that should be closed is not something to be proud about. 

Just now, LivinLOS said:

So your advocating closing the sandbox ?? and no dine in or bars ?? Like the rest of Thailand with lower cases per population.. 

Where did I say that? Try reading the thread of this discussion. Phuket by the way has more cases per capita than Bangkok and many other provinces.

7 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Your reasoning is faulty on many levels. Main thing is you blame the sandbox for school closures, and in other places where schools are closed you point to Phuket.

Suggest you read my posts again, faulty on many levels is only your opinion but thats no surprise from you.

Having Phuket open to international tourists yet having schools and businesses closed is not my idea as a model for the opening of Thailand. The tourists are also complaining of being misled into thinking that Phuket was really open when in reality it was not. 

Chula mRNA vaccine in line for April rollout after Delta success

Chulalongkorn University researchers have launched the second human trial of Chula-Cov19 mRNA vaccine, after the Phase 1 trial greatly boosted volunteers’ antibodies against the Covid virus.

The vaccine proved effective against all four variants of the virus in Phase 1 and is expected to be registered by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April next year, said Chula.

The vaccine “can induce a very strong antibody response, [which is] as good as Pfizer”, said Dr Kiat Ruxrungtham, director of the Chula-Cov19 mRNA development programme and founder of the Chula Vaccine Research Centre behind ChulaCov-19.

https://www.nationthailand.com/life/40005469

"Roadmap for Thailand’s reopening and recovery" The Public Health Ministry has come up with a roadmap to help boost Thailand’s economy and reopen the country safely. The aim is to have 70 per cent of the population fully vaccinated by December this year.

https://twitter.com/Thenationth/status/1432250182255595520

6 minutes ago, anchadian said:

- 13 million were given to the general population

- 4.8 million to people over the age of 60

- 2.6 million to people with chronic illness

There you have proof of the complete mismanagement of the vaccine plan, 13m to general population and only 7.4m to those who needed it most.

Lets hope Thailand keeps this new potential worst variant out. Unfortunately Thailand does not do enough sequencing so if it does come in it will be too late before they discover it.

NEW VARIANT—a new #SARSCoV2 variant C.1.2 just identified in South Africa & several countries, with concerns it could be more infectious and evade vaccines. #C12 also has mutation rate that is nearly **twice as fast** as the rate of the other variants.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1432200392776028162

New COVID variant detected in South Africa, most mutated variant so far

More than half (about 52%) of the mutations in the spike region of the C.1.2 sequences have previously been seen in other VOCs and VOIs. The mutations N440K and Y449H, which have been associated with escape from certain antibodies, have also been noticed in C.1.2 sequences. The scientists stressed that the combination of these mutations, as well as changes in other parts of the virus, likely help the virus evade antibodies and immune responses, including in patients who have already been infected with the Alpha or Beta variants.

The study found consistent increases in the number of C.1.2 genomes in South Africa on a monthly basis, rising from 0.2% of genomes sequenced in May to 1.6% in June and then to 2% in July, similar to the increases seen with the Beta and Delta variants there.

https://www.jpost.com/health-science/new-covid-variant-detected-in-south-africa-most-mutated-variant-so-far-678011

54 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Ah, so that's why schools in Bangkok are open?

This is about Phuket that supposedly has over 70% vaxxed since July and open to tourists, do pay attention

8 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Thanks, so your comment is not related to the sandbox at all, even though you think it is.

 

Your post I reacted to "Carry on depriving the Phuket children of effective education so long as the sandbox remains open. ". You're claiming here the sandbox is the cause of Phuket children being deprived of education, your explanation says something different.

If the sandbox was not in operation strict lockdowns would have been implimented a longtime ago. Schools would be open now.

For sandbox to work the ridiculous measures for arriving tourists need to be dropped. For locals life should also carry on under new normal. That includes opening schools. That was the whole point of prioratizing Phuket for vaccination. If this is not implimented then it was all a waste of time  money and the education of the kids.

Carry on depriving the Phuket children of effective education so long as the sandbox remains open. 

1 hour ago, jerrymahoney said:

NB Phuket arrival info:

https://www.lionairthai.com/en/Covid-19-Information-Center/Notice

That page has just been removed. Things changing rapidly

I was really surprised to read in the Royal Gazette that schools are allowed to re-open. Though in the dark red zone it would mean no classes bigger than 25 students. However, reading further it says permission & guidance must be given by local authorities. So, passing the buck.

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1431927880414494729

3 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

Royal Gazette: From 1st September, restaurants can open until 8pm. Air-conditioned premises can only have 50% occupancy. Small food shops with good ventilation, or ones outside, can seat up to 75%. No mention of vaccinated customers, but that could be a provincial order later.

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1431923717873930242

 

TPN media notes the Royal Gazette made no direct mention of the previously announced “pilot program” around requiring all staff AND customers to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, take a negative test within 72 hours, or recovered from Covid-19 within 3 months. However, they did state (see bottom of this article) that all prescribed measures from the Ministry of Public Health around “Universal Prevention” must be followed as directed by local authorities. “Universal Prevention” is the name of the pilot program that contains these rules.

It is unclear as of right now if the vaccination requirement will be enforced or is also a request, more information should be released by each province’s governor and communicable disease committee.

https://thepattayanews.com/2021/08/29/royal-gazette-officially-announces-relaxation-of-covid-19-preventive-measures-including-restaurants-reopening-in-dark-red-zone-provinces/

Royal Gazette: From 1st September, restaurants can open until 8pm. Air-conditioned premises can only have 50% occupancy. Small food shops with good ventilation, or ones outside, can seat up to 75%. No mention of vaccinated customers, but that could be a provincial order later.

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1431923717873930242

After all the fuss and drama about customers having to be vaccinated in order to eat at restaurants and visit high risk places in the dark red zone, there’s no mention of it in the Royal Gazette published today. However, I wouldn’t put it past the Bangkok Governor to add it.

https://twitter.com/RichardBarrow/status/1431928628091121664

Now down to local education authorities to decide on school openings. With Phuket being the model for the opening of the rest of Thailand then one would think that the education of the kids would come first before the tourists, the schools there are still closed.

"It has just been published in the Royal Gazette that all types of schools or educational institutions are able to use the campus for teaching, learning, exams etc, with a large number of participants with permission and direction from the local education authority #Thailand"

https://twitter.com/ThaiNewsReports/status/1431922009353588738

More AZ coming from Europe too according to this.

Thai government has negotiated the purchase of two million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine per month with the European Union and the procurement of 2.5-3 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine per month from September to December.

He disclosed that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assigned the Ministry of Public Health to procure vaccines to be administered to 12 to 18 year olds, to boost their immunity before the reopening of schools and colleges, adding that the CCSA has already worked out the “Sandbox Safety Zone in Schools” program, to be trialled in some selected boarding schools.

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/signs-of-improving-covid-19-situation-in-thailand/

Poll points to low confidence in governments ability to deal with Covid

The majority of Thai citizens want the government to tackle the Covid-19 crisis more effectively, according to a Suan Dusit Poll survey on Sunday.

Probably because originally they only ordered around 3 million a month from AZ/Siam Bioscience as revealed in documents.

"Thailand, an AZ PRODUCING COUNTRY, just ordered 8 million AZ from abroad because local production by SBS cannot reach 10 million per month as they promised."

https://twitter.com/erich_parpart/status/1431833465582800897

Govt expects to vaccinate 70 per cent of population by year-end

At least 70 per cent of Thai citizens would be fully vaccinated by the year-end, the Public Health Ministry said.

Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Department of Disease Control, said once the vaccination of the elderly, people with chronic diseases and pregnant women was finished, the ministry would vaccinate the general public and children aged 12 years or above.

https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40005421