Prayut appeals to the 20 richest Thais for help

By The Nation

 

In a nationally televised speech, Prayut calls on the 20 richest people in Thailand to help the government in its fight against Covid-19.

 

In a special 10-minute speech broadcast on national TV at 6pm on Friday (April 17), Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha called on Thailand’s 20 richest people to step up and help the government in its fight against the Covid-19 outbreak. 

 

Full Story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160149-prayut-appeals-to-the-20-richest-thais-for-help/

China's revised COVID figures are a bid to 'leave no case undocumented': WHO

By Stephanie Nebehay and Michael Shields

 

FILE PHOTO: A logo is pictured on the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) ahead of a meeting of the Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland, January 30, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

 

GENEVA/ZURICH (Reuters) - A sharp upward revision in China's coronavirus death toll on Friday was "an attempt to leave no case undocumented" after medical services in Wuhan were overwhelmed at the start of the outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160173-chinas-revised-covid-figures-are-a-bid-to-leave-no-case-undocumented-who/

 

At least 300,000 Africans expected to die in pandemic: U.N. agency

By Joe Bavier

 

FILE PHOTO: A health worker sprays his headset during a community testing exercise, as authorities race to contain the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Abuja, Nigeria April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde/File Photo

 

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The COVID-19 pandemic will likely kill at least 300,000 Africans and risks pushing 29 million into extreme poverty, the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said on Friday, calling for a $100 billion safety net for the continent.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160175-at-least-300000-africans-expected-to-die-in-pandemic-un-agency/

 

UK tells doctors to treat COVID-19 patients without full-length gowns due to shortage: report

 

 

FILE PHOTO: General view of the logo on a member of staff's scrubs at St George’s Hospital as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British healthcare staff have been advised to treat COVID-19 patients without full-length protective gowns due to shortages of equipment, the Guardian newspaper reported on Friday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160177-uk-tells-doctors-to-treat-covid-19-patients-without-full-length-gowns-due-to-shortage-report/

 

Premier League clubs discuss options but left in limbo

By Simon Evans

 

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Burnley v AFC Bournemouth - Turf Moor, Burnley, Britain - February 22, 2020 General view of the Premier League logo on a match ball before the match REUTERS/Phil Noble

 

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Premier League clubs on Friday discussed possible models for finishing the current season but did not consider a specific date for play to resume while U.K. government lockdown restrictions remain in place.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160178-premier-league-clubs-discuss-options-but-left-in-limbo/

 

Construction sector teeters under Covid-19 fallout

By THE NATION

 

 

The nationwide lockdown and curfew have hit the construction industry in Thailand very badly, said Angsurat Areekul, president of the Thai Contractors Association.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160179-construction-sector-teeters-under-covid-19-fallout/

 

Navy assures Phuket fishing fleet clear of COVID-19

By Eakkapop Thongtub

 

Phuket’s fishing fleet is free from COVID-19, Vice Admiral Cherngchai Chomcherngpat of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command said today (Apr 17). Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET: Vice Admiral Cherngchai Chomcherngpat of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command today (Apr 17) announced that Phuket’s fishing fleet was COVID-free as he led inspections of fishing crews as part of the efforts to help prevent the spread of virus.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160180-navy-assures-phuket-fishing-fleet-clear-of-covid-19/

 

 

18 foreign tourists arrested at party on Pha-ngan Island

 

 

Pha-Ngan Island / Photo from tourismthailand.org
 

Eighteen foreign tourists were today detained by Thai police for partying at a rented house on Pha-ngan Island, home to the popular full-moon parties, in violation of state of emergency restrictions.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160183-18-foreign-tourists-arrested-at-party-on-pha-ngan-island/

 

CP Group launches its first face mask factory

 

 

File photo

Thailand’s agro-industrial giant, the Charoen Pokphand Group, yesterday presented the first batch of 100,000 surgical face masks, produced in its own factory, to Chulalongkorn Hospital.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160184-cp-group-launches-its-first-face-mask-factory/

 

Coronavirus KO: Thai fighters in despair as rings fall silent

 

Thousands of Muay Thai fighters have been left out of work by the coronavirus
 

Training in masks, two metres apart, Thailand’s professional fighters are battling a new reality — shuttered gyms and cancelled tournaments after the coronavirus pandemic left them suddenly out of work.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160185-coronavirus-ko-thai-fighters-in-despair-as-rings-fall-silent/

 

AirAsia aims to resume domestic flights in Thailand from 1 May

 

 

AirAsia has announced its intention to resume domestic flights in Thailand from 1 May 2020.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160186-airasia-aims-to-resume-domestic-flights-in-thailand-from-1-may/

 

Bangkok booze ban: Extension decision Monday

 

 

Image: Daily News

 

Daily News reported that top level officials at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration debated extending the city's alcohol ban at a meeting in Phra Nakhon district on Friday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160189-bangkok-booze-ban-extension-decision-monday/

 

Bangkok governor speaks out after Don Muang charity free-for-all prompts virus spread fears

 

 

Image: Sanook

 

More than 1,000 people turned up at Wat Don Muang in northern Bangkok yesterday morning after it was announced that the needy could get cash and emergency supply handouts.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160190-bangkok-governor-speaks-out-after-don-muang-charity-free-for-all-prompts-virus-spread-fears/

 

Covid-19: Fruit importers/exporters running lucrative sidelines making illegal hand sanitizers

 

 

Image: Naew Na

 

Naew Na reported that Thai authorities including the Department of Special Investigations and the Food and Drug Administration raided two factories yesterday in Pathum Thani north of Bangkok.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160191-covid-19-fruit-importersexporters-running-lucrative-sidelines-making-illegal-hand-sanitizers/

 

Bus drivers breaking Covid-19 rules/ illegal Myanmar workers arrested in Tak

 

 

Image: Naew Na

 

Thailand's immigration chief Pol Lt-Gen Sompong Chingduang headed a press conference at IB HQ in Bangkok yesterday where a number of arrests were announced.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160193-bus-drivers-breaking-covid-19-rules-illegal-myanmar-workers-arrested-in-tak/

 

NASA sets launch date for SpaceX U.S. manned mission to space station

By Joey Roulette

 

FILE PHOTO: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon astronaut capsule, lifts off on an in-flight abort test , a key milestone before flying humans in 2020 under NASA's commercial crew program, from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. January 19, 2020. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

 

(Reuters) - NASA on Friday set a launch date of May 27 for its first astronaut mission from U.S. soil in nearly ten years.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160194-nasa-sets-launch-date-for-spacex-us-manned-mission-to-space-station/

 

North Korean leader absence from anniversary event fuels speculation over health

By Hyonhee Shin

 

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes part in a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 11, 2020. KCNA/via REUTERS

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's absence from an important anniversary event this week rekindled speculation over his potential health problems, analysts said on Friday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160196-north-korean-leader-absence-from-anniversary-event-fuels-speculation-over-health/

 

U.S. coronavirus crisis takes a sharp political turn

By Maria Caspani and Nathan Layne

 

U.S. President Donald Trump answers questions from the news media during the daily coronavirus task force briefing as photographers photograph him through the windows at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. coronavirus crisis took a sharp political turn on Friday as President Donald Trump lashed out at four Democratic governors over their handling of the pandemic after having conceded that states bear ultimate control of restrictions to contain the outbreak.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160198-us-coronavirus-crisis-takes-a-sharp-political-turn/

 

Covid-19: Seven thousand people break curfew since emergency decree began

 

 

Image: Thai Rath

 

Thai Rath reported that there were 900 more cases of people breaking curfew and illegally gathering reported on Friday.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160199-covid-19-seven-thousand-people-break-curfew-since-emergency-decree-began/

 

Hot weather and thundershowers forecast for upper Thailand

By THE NATION

 

 

The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Saturday (April 18) that a thermal low covers the North and the upper Central regions, while the southerly and southeasterly winds bring humidity to the lower North, the Northeast, the Central and the East regions. The easterly winds also blow over the South.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160202-hot-weather-and-thundershowers-forecast-for-upper-thailand/

 

Thailand's Covid-19 mortality rate among lowest in the world

By THE NATION

 

Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn

 

The Covid-19 mortality rate in Thailand is at 1.7 per cent, which is almost four times lower than the global average, while the recovery rate is at 62.5 per cent, the Ministry of Public Health said.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160203-thailands-covid-19-mortality-rate-among-lowest-in-the-world/

 

Four new BTS stations ready to open in June

By THE NATION

 

 

Test runs to four new BTS Skytrain stations beyond Kasetsart University station (N13) have started since April 8, Manit Techa-apichoke, president of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration-owned Krungthep Thanakhom Co, said.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160204-four-new-bts-stations-ready-to-open-in-june/

 

Sa Kaeo province is Covid-19-free as last patient is discharged after full recovery

By THE NATION

 

 

Medical staff of Sa Kaeo Crown Prince Hospital led by hospital director Dr Surasit Jitpitak on Friday (April 17) bid farewell to the last Covid-19 patient who was treated at the hospital, as he had fully recovered.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160205-sa-kaeo-province-is-covid-19-free-as-last-patient-is-discharged-after-full-recovery/

 

Two dead/ one injured as ceramics truck plunges down Lampang mountainside

 

 

Image: 77kaoded

 

Two men died and a third was seriously injured after a ten wheel truck failed to negotiate a bend on the Thoen to Thungsaliam Road in Thoen district of Lampang in Thailand northern region late yesterday morning.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160207-two-dead-one-injured-as-ceramics-truck-plunges-down-lampang-mountainside/

 

Good for the cows but not the people - Ing River in Chiang Rai running dry

 

 

Image: 77kaoded

 

Thailand's drought crisis is being felt very keenly in several districts of Chiang Rai in the north where the Ing River - an important tributary of the Maekhong River -  is running dry.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160208-good-for-the-cows-but-not-the-people-ing-river-in-chiang-rai-running-dry/

 

Thai kindness: People show their hearts in giving to the needy

 

Image: MCOT

 

MCOT reported that Thais were helping each other in their time of need.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160213-thai-kindness-people-show-their-hearts-in-giving-to-the-needy/

 

Pattaya: Huge crowds queue for 200 baht handouts at fresh food market

 

 

Image: Sophon Cable TV

 

Media in Pattaya reported that huge crowds of needy people queued this morning after the owners of the Rom Pho fresh food market started handing out 200 baht and drinks.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160217-pattaya-huge-crowds-queue-for-200-baht-handouts-at-fresh-food-market/

 

Zoo animals are in ‘perfect condition’ officials say

By The Phuket News

 

Wildlife officials have confirmed that Phuket Zoo will file a formal request to close the tourist attraction, possibly only temporarily, blaming the economic situation caused by the COVID-19 fallout for the zoo’s inability to keep operating. Photo: Roma Neus / file

 

PHUKET: Wildlife officials have claimed that all animals at the beleaguered Phuket Zoo are in “perfect condition” following an inspection visit to the site yesterday (Apr 17).

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160220-zoo-animals-are-in-‘perfect-condition’-officials-say/

 

Phuket Lockdown ‘shall end on Apr 30’

 

 

Image: NBT / as posted by PR Dept

 

PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has extended all lockdown orders to Apr 30. The previous orders were set to expire on Apr 26.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160221-phuket-lockdown-‘shall-end-on-apr-30’/

 

Britons warned to avoid unapproved coronavirus tests

 

 

Paddy (6) draws the pavement with chalk in Balham, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, London, Britain, April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons should not purchase unapproved antibody tests to find out if they have had the coronavirus, the official in charge of the government's testing programme said on Saturday, warning that they could not be relied upon and may put people at risk.

 

Full story: https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1160223-britons-warned-to-avoid-unapproved-coronavirus-tests/