Here is a look at the top NATIONAL stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, April 5th to the 11th, with some commentary. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.
1. Monk successfully rescued from a flooded cave in Phitsanulok, Thailand after being trapped for nearly four days
The story had captured the attention of Thai people last week as the case was similar to a story of a team of young football players trapped in a different cave in Northern Thailand four years ago. A 46-year-old monk had entered a cave of a national park in Phitsanulok province for mediation and was trapped inside for almost four days due to a flash flood. More than 30 rescue workers and divers spent more than 15 hours to safely rescue the monk who was discovered healthy and calm past the flooded area before being taken to a local hospital for a checkup.
2. Top Thai doctors say the Thonglor cluster of Covid-19 appears to be B117, the so-called “UK Variant”
It has been officially confirmed that the recent outbreak of Covid-19 Coronavirus from Bangkok entertainment venues is the B117 “UK Variant” that reportedly is up to 1.7 times more contagious than other strains of the Coronavirus disease. According to Dr. Yong Phuworawan, the preliminary data seemed to show that the strain was of the “UK Variant” from preliminary genetic testing comparing the strain to that of recent market strains, which perfectly explains the rapid growth of domestic injections in the past weeks.
Top Thai doctors say Thonglor cluster of Covid-19 appears to be B117, so-called “UK Variant”
3. Thai Government announces entertainment venues in 41 provinces to close for at least fourteen days from April 10th
Following the recent cluster from bars and pubs in the capital, the CCSA then announced the closure of all entertainment venues in 41 high-risk provinces for at least 14 days to potentially prevent the spread of the virus. The closure started on April 10th and will initially end on the 24th, according to the announcement. The implementation also aims to reduce the number of infections during the Songkran holiday where many people, especially in Bangkok, are planned to travel outside the provinces to celebrate the holiday.
4. Thai government gives green light to private hospital associations to acquire alternative Covid-19 vaccines, additional hospital beds, and field hospitals to urgently provide in Bangkok
Private hospitals in Thailand are now allowed to purchase and distribute alternative Covid-19 vaccinations under the supervision of Thai government agencies in order to help the government procure more Covid-19 vaccines, initially with 10 million shots. Private sectors will now be able to procure the vaccines from alternative companies that had already been approved by the Thai FDA, including the single-shot Johnson & Johnson’s vaccination. The allocation procedure is still under discussion by a committee that is chosen by the CCSA and consists of government officials and members of private hospital associations.
And that is all for this week. Thank you as always for reading the Pattaya News/TPN News!
User Review
( votes)