Here is a look at the top NATIONAL stories, chosen by our Pattaya News/TPN National team, from last week, April 18th to the 24th, with some commentary. They are not in any particular level of importance but are listed in the order of date of publication.
1. Thailand’s Ministry of the Interior sums up total road accidents during the “Seven Dangerous Days of Songkran” campaign
The Songkran holiday ended with 1,917 accidents with 1,869 injuries but the Interior Ministry said that they were decreased from last year which was higher than 2,000 in both accidents and injuries. However, the major cause of road accidents is still drunk driving. For the drunk driving cases alone, the numbers have increased by 1,080 cases, from 6,061 cases in 2021 to 7,141 cases in 2022.
2. Thailand’s Ministry of Justice to resubmit Civil Partnership Draft Bill for Cabinet consideration after it did not contradict any religious norms
Another hope for the LGBTQ community in Thailand shines after the Ministry of Justice has consulted with related academic institutions as well as LGBTQ groups and religious groups, following the cabinet’s order. Although the term same-sex marriage may go against some religious beliefs and their norms, the term ‘civil partnership’ was encouraged to be used in the draft bill instead. After the study concluded, the results and the redraft would be forwarded to the Cabinet for further consideration.
3. Thai government cancels Test and Go, eases legal drinking hours
Following several private tourism sectors’ and entrepreneurs’ outcry, the PCR testing for vaccinated travelers under the Test & Go requirements has eventually been canceled upon arrival in the Kingdom, starting May 1st, but they must go through the Thailand Pass registration before arriving and present vaccination document to the authorities at the airport. Quarantine for a short period of time for non-vaccinated tourists is still mandatory. Apart from that, other measures remained the same. Qualified restaurants and entertainment venues that are “modified” to restaurants in the tourist pilot areas could continue to serve alcoholic beverages until midnight.
Thai government cancels Test and Go, eases legal drinking hours, and more-Covid meeting recap
And, that is all for this week. Thank you as always for reading the Pattaya News/TPN News!
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