webfact

Covid: Pre-departure travel tests to England to be scrapped File photo for reference only The rules on testing are to be eased for people travelling to England, the government has announced, following calls from the travel industry. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245732-covid-pre-departure-travel-tests-to-england-to-be-scrapped/

File photo for reference only The rules on testing are to be eased for people travelling to England, the government has announced, following calls from the travel industry. From 04:00 GMT on Friday, fully vaccinated travellers coming to England will no longer have to take a test before they travel. And from Sunday, rather than taking a PCR test on day two of arrival, they can take a cheaper lateral flow. The rules for self-isolating on arrival will also change. The shake-up was confirmed by Boris Johnson earlier, following calls from travel firms who said the measures were not effective now that Omicron was spreading widely. Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59876063 -- © Copyright BBC 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Major geopolitical challenges in 2022 ‘too big’ for Thailand to handle As host of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits and Myanmar crisis resolution, Thailand faces major challenges of superpower rivalry and ASEAN centrality in 2022. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245731-major-geopolitical-challenges-in-2022-‘too-big’-for-thailand-to-handle/

As host of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits and Myanmar crisis resolution, Thailand faces major challenges of superpower rivalry and ASEAN centrality in 2022. However, seasoned diplomats fear this Thai government is not up to the task. Preparations indicate Thailand will focus on APEC process and protocol rather than substance, meaning this year’s summit will likely bring little progress in world economic arrangements, they say. Hosting world leaders like US President Joe Biden, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin at the APEC summit later this year will also be tough for Thailand, which has been obsessed by domestic affairs over the past few years, the diplomats reckon. “I don’t expect Thailand to achieve anything during the APEC summit because the forum itself is looking for a new identity, which Thailand as chair cannot offer,” said veteran envoy Kobsak Chutikul, an adviser to the Thai Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee. Full story:: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/major-geopolitical-challenges-in-2022-too-big-for-thailand-to-handle/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Novak Djokovic’s deportation has raised the issue of the right to remain unvaccinated On the practice court at the Fever-Tree Championships, Queen's Club, June 2018.//File photo: Wiipedia Tennis star Novak Djokovic has had his visa to enter Australia dramatically revoked on his arrival in Melbourne yesterday. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245725-novak-djokovic’s-deportation-has-raised-the-issue-of-the-right-to-remain-unvaccinated/

On the practice court at the Fever-Tree Championships, Queen's Club, June 2018.//File photo: Wiipedia Tennis star Novak Djokovic has had his visa to enter Australia dramatically revoked on his arrival in Melbourne yesterday. The world number one was held in the city's airport for several hours before border forces announced he had not met entry rules and would be deported. It came a day after he was granted an exemption from vaccination rules to play in the Australian Open. Australian PM Scott Morrison said no one was above the rules, and Djokovic is reportedly challenging the decision. Djokovic has not spoken about his vaccination status, but last year he said he was "opposed to vaccination". Thailand’s position In November, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health called on unvaccinated people to get their shots against Covid-19 or they may face restrictions. The call came as the ministry planned to ramp up its inoculation campaign to achieve a target of administering one hundred million doses. Global Reactions This week French President Emmanuel Macron has said he wants to make daily life more inconvenient for unvaccinated people in the country, which is facing a spike in coronavirus infections driven by the omicron variant. “I am not for pissing off the French … however, the unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off,” he said in an interview published Tuesday in the French newspaper Le Parisien. “I’m not going to throw [the unvaccinated] in prison. I am not going to get them vaccinated by force. … We put pressure on the unvaccinated by limiting their access to social activities as much as possible.” Macron’s remarks come as his government moves to impose more restrictions on the unvaccinated. France requires people to present proof of vaccination, recovery from past infection or a recent negative coronavirus test to access venues such as restaurants and cinemas. But the government is pushing through a bill that would remove the option of providing a negative test for entry. Vietnam adds pressure too Also in December, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for punishing people who refuse to be vaccinated without valid reasons. At a meeting with the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control, he said authorities should convince people to get immunized, and consider banning people from leaving their home or making them pay the treatment fees if they contract Covid if they refuse the shots. WHO seems to sit on the fence? A World Health Organization official said recently that unvaccinated people are “dying unnecessarily” from Covid-19, citing global vaccine inequities as one of the main obstacles to immunizing more people against the virus. “You can’t have it both ways, where you have everything opened up and you have everybody living and pretending that this is over while you have your ICUs full,” a WHO spokesperson said. WHO has been pushing for greater vaccine access across the globe, and has encouraged people to get vaccinated as soon as they're able. However, when asked how many of their own staff had been vaccinated, Dr. Margaret Harris, a World Health Organization spokesperson said, “We won't have that because it's confidential," With the World trying to cope with this unique pandemic, should we risk letting people like Novak Djokovic continue to stick to his principals of not being vaccinated, while still wishing to roam free? Governments everywhere will now have to explain what their own rules and regulations will be on people who remain unvaccinated by choice. Certainly, travel restrictions will be tougher! Join our 3 x a week Thailand News, Travel and Expat information newsletter and keep up to date. https://aseannow.com/newsletter.php -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Thailand's COVID-19 cases surge to 5,775 new cases, 11 more deaths File photo Thailand on Thursday (January 6) reported 5,775 new COVID-19 cases, 2,673 recoveries and 11 additional deaths over the past 24 hours. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245723-thailands-covid-19-cases-surge-to-5775-new-cases-11-more-deaths/ //CLOSED// /Admin

Thailand's COVID-19 cases surge to 5,775 new cases, 11 more deaths File photo Thailand on Thursday (January 6) reported 5,775 new COVID-19 cases, 2,673 recoveries and 11 additional deaths over the past 24 hours. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245723-thailands-covid-19-cases-surge-to-5775-new-cases-11-more-deaths/

File photo Thailand on Thursday (January 6) reported 5,775 new COVID-19 cases, 2,673 recoveries and 11 additional deaths over the past 24 hours. ▶︎ Infections outside prisons: 5,698. Prisons: 77 ▶︎ Recoveries: 2,673 ▶︎ Total infections since April 1: 2,216,387 ▶︎ Total recoveries since April 1: 2,158,076 Thursday’s cases bring the total number of COVID-19 infections in Thailand to 2,245,250 with 21,780 deaths. The news comes as Thailand is facing the fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sooner than anticipated, with the curve of infections on a steep rise and body temperature scanners installed in most offices and public venues not catching asymptomatic cases, said Dr. Somsak Akksilp, director-general of Medical Services today (Wednesday). Dr. Somsak was quoting a forecast by Dr. Sunt Srianthumrong, a special lecturer at the Graduate School of Environmental Development Administration of the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA). *Thai PBS contributed to this report Discover Cigna’s range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view -- © Copyright ASEAN NOW 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

Teenage foreign tourist and her Thai instructor seriously injured after crashing paramotor-style device into power lines on Koh Larn By Goong Nang(GN) PHOTO: 77kaoded Koh Larn – A Thai man and a young female foreign tourist flying a paramotor-style device have sustained serious injuries from electric shock after becoming stuck on a power pole on Koh Larn (January 3rd). Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245712-teenage-foreign-tourist-and-her-thai-instructor-seriously-injured-after-crashing-paramotor-style-device-into-power-lines-on-koh-larn/

PHOTO: 77kaoded By Goong Nang(GN) Koh Larn – A Thai man and a young female foreign tourist flying a paramotor-style device have sustained serious injuries from electric shock after becoming stuck on a power pole on Koh Larn (January 3rd). The Pattaya Tourist Police was notified of the incident at 4:00 P.M. on Koh Larn and rushed to the area, some with speed boats. Police contacted the electricity authority on Koh Larn to shut off power to the area and emergency responders were summoned for assistance. They arrived at the scene to find the paramotor device entangled on a power pole and nearby business rooftop with many concerned witnesses gathered nearby. Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/01/03/teenage-foreign-tourist-and-her-thai-instructor-seriously-injured-after-crashing-paramotor-style-device-into-power-lines-on-koh-larn/ -- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Free ATK tests offered in Thap Sakae as COVID precaution By Paul Andrews Free ATK tests are being offered to people in a district in Thap Sakae as a precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245707-free-atk-tests-offered-in-thap-sakae-as-covid-precaution/

By Paul Andrews Free ATK tests are being offered to people in a district in Thap Sakae as a precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19. Officials from Ang Thong Subdistrict Administrative Organization are offering free ATK testing services to people who live in the area. On Tuesday (Jan 4) Petty Officer First Class, Ekkritidecha Sawiyanon, Head of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (PWA), revealed that there might be an increasing number of COVID-19 cases after the New Year’s festival. Full story: https://www.huahintoday.com/hua-hin-news/free-atk-tests-offered-in-thap-sakae-as-covid-precaution/ -- © Copyright Hua Hin Today 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Norwegian man in Thailand guilty of swindling the Norwegian state for Covid compensation by Lasse Sandholdt Anders Oserød, police attorney at The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime – Photo: GORM K. GAARE / EUP-BERLIN A Norwegian man residing in Thailand has been found guilty of making up ownerships of phony companies to get a payout for lost revenue from the Norwegian economic covid compensation system. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245706-norwegian-man-in-thailand-guilty-of-swindling-the-norwegian-state-for-covid-compensation/

Anders Oserød, police attorney at The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime – Photo: GORM K. GAARE / EUP-BERLIN by Lasse Sandholdt A Norwegian man residing in Thailand has been found guilty of making up ownerships of phony companies to get a payout for lost revenue from the Norwegian economic covid compensation system. The Norwegian man operated the scam by listing big revenue from made-up companies on his tax form. The companies were both registered in his own and his wife’s name. One of the companies was a nonexistent parking area complex in Oslo that he claimed lost money when concerts in the area were canceled. The man, who in his 50’s, had through different companies tried to make The Arts Council Norway pay out no less than NOK 13 million. He tried the same with The Norwegian Gambling and Foundation Authority. In this case, he applied for six million in reimbursements. Full story: https://scandasia.com/norwegian-man-in-thailand-guilty-of-swindling-the-norwegian-state-for-covid-compensation/ -- © Copyright ScandAsia 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Russian man found dead after apparently jumping from the Pattaya Police Station roof overnight By Goong Nang(GN) Pattaya – A Russian man was found dead after he apparently jumped from the Pattaya City Police Station early this morning (January 5th), 2022. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245705-russian-man-found-dead-after-apparently-jumping-from-the-pattaya-police-station-roof-overnight/

Pattaya – A Russian man was found dead after he apparently jumped from the Pattaya City Police Station early this morning (January 5th), 2022. The Pattaya City Police was notified of the incident just past 2:00 A.M. near a power pole and exchange booth directly in front of the Pattaya City Police Station on Soi 9 on Beach Road. They and The Pattaya News arrived at the scene to find a deceased male who was identified by police as a Russian male national, aged 38, lying on the ground with severe injuries from his fall. (The Pattaya News is withholding his name pending his embassy and family notification.) He had sustained serious head injuries and was bleeding heavily. His right leg was broken. Full story: https://thepattayanews.com/2022/01/05/russian-man-found-dead-after-apparently-jumping-from-the-pattaya-police-station-roof-overnight/ -- © Copyright The Pattaya News 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates The charity Samaritans is available around the clock for people who want to talk. If you or anyone you know is in need of mental health services, please contact the Samaritans of Thailand at their 24-hour hotline 02-713-6791 (English), 02713-6793 (Thai) or Thai Mental Health Hotline at 1323 (Thai). http://www.samaritansthai.com/news/samaritans-of-thailand-english-hotline/

Headline inflation jumps on rising fuel and food prices By Panithan Onthaworn Thailand’s consumer price index (CPI), an indicator of headline inflation, in December rose 2.17 per cent year-on-year, driven by rising fuel and food prices, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245704-headline-inflation-jumps-on-rising-fuel-and-food-prices/

By Panithan Onthaworn Thailand’s consumer price index (CPI), an indicator of headline inflation, in December rose 2.17 per cent year-on-year, driven by rising fuel and food prices, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday. This marks the fourth consecutive month of rise in headline inflation since September 2021. For the entire 2021, the headline CPI increased 1.23 per cent from a year earlier, Ronnarong Phoolpipat, the Director-General at the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a briefing. Full story: https://www.thaienquirer.com/36229/headline-inflation-jumps-on-rising-fuel-and-food-prices/ -- © Copyright Thai Enquirer 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

UPDATE: Thai government needs one month to decide on new COVID-19 measures The Thai government will need at least four weeks to assess the latest COVID-19 situation, following the long New Year holidays, after which new infections are expected to surge. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245651-new-measures-might-be-implemented-after-ccsa-meeting-on-friday/?do=findComment&comment=17095992

Thai government needs one month to decide on new COVID-19 measures The Thai government will need at least four weeks to assess the latest COVID-19 situation, following the long New Year holidays, after which new infections are expected to surge. It will then decide whether to adjust existing safety and preventive measures, said Government Spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, today (Wednesday). He explained that it will take two weeks to assess the new infections and another fortnight to assess the numbers of hospitalisations and fatalities before a decision can be made by the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), which is chaired by the prime minister and is due to meet this Friday. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/thai-government-needs-one-month-to-decide-on-anti-covid-19-measures-update/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Vaccinations, mutations among reasons why Omicron is less potent, says Thai virologist Photo from AFP Dr. Yong Poovorawan, chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, has offered an explanation as to why the Omicron variant is not as potent as and causes less severe symptoms than other COVID-19 strains. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245703-vaccinations-mutations-among-reasons-why-omicron-is-less-potent-says-thai-virologist/

Photo from AFP Dr. Yong Poovorawan, chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University, has offered an explanation as to why the Omicron variant is not as potent as and causes less severe symptoms than other COVID-19 strains. Writing in his Facebook post today (Wednesday), he suggested the following: Although more children are being infected by the Omicron variant, their conditions are not severe and most experience flu-like symptoms or no symptoms at all, unlike older people, whose condition tends to be more serious, depending on age. Since most adults, including the elderly, have been inoculated, their symptoms tend to be less serious. The SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to studies in South Africa, has mutated to the extent that the Omicron variant has become less potent than the Delta variant. From lab studies, the Omicron variant tends to concentrate in the upper respiratory tract, instead of the lungs, resulting to fewer cases of lung infection. According to Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, a microorganism, such as the virus, is constantly adapting, to enable it to enter the host cells for its own survival, while humans who have been infected with a virus will build up immunity to it. If the virus kills the host, it would have nowhere to multiply and survive. Citing the case of Denmark, during the COVID-19 Alpha variant pandemic in 2020-21, Dr. Yong noted that the average daily infection rate over a week was 3,332 with 30 fatalities in 2020, but one year later, the average daily infections are 41,035, but deaths dropped to 12. Discover Cigna’s range of health insurance solutions created for expats and local nationals living in Thailand - click to view https://www.thaipbsworld.com/vaccinations-mutations-among-reasons-why-omicron-is-less-potent-says-thai-virologist/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Camping on islets, near reservoir banned at Thailand’s Sri Nakarin Dam National Park The Sri Nakarin Dam National Park, in the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi, has banned camping on the banks of the park’s reservoir and on islets inside after it was discovered that some unscrupulous entrepreneurs have been offering unlicensed camping services to tourists. Full story: https://aseannow.com/topic/1245702-camping-on-islets-near-reservoir-banned-at-thailand’s-sri-nakarin-dam-national-park/

The Sri Nakarin Dam National Park, in the western Thai province of Kanchanaburi, has banned camping on the banks of the park’s reservoir and on islets inside after it was discovered that some unscrupulous entrepreneurs have been offering unlicensed camping services to tourists. The park’s chief said that the illegal use of areas in the park, such as the banks or the islets, to provide camping services to tourists could lead to illegal permanent occupation of land in the park area and eventual claims for land occupation rights. He said that the entrepreneurs have been providing tents and RV-style dwellings for rent to tourists. Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/camping-on-islets-near-reservoir-banned-at-thailands-sri-nakarin-dam-national-park/ -- © Copyright Thai PBS 2022-01-06 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow ASEAN NOW on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates