Covid self-testing came way too late
Varuth HirunyathebSince last week, Covid-19 antigen test kits have become available in chemists nationwide. The availability of self-test Covid kits, once banned by the state, reflects the latest policy to deal with the healthcare sector meltdown after Covid cases skyrocketed. Despite being relatively less reliable, the antigen test kits will make Covid testing faster and more affordable. State doctors and ministry executives cast doubt on the reliability of antigen test kits and people's inability to use them properly. Without the ministry's approval, the use of antigen test kits was close to an illegal act.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 19, 2021 00:11 UTC
Leaked letter a blow to govt
Leaked letter a blow to govtThe leaked AstraZeneca letter concerning negotiations over the domestic production and supply of its vaccine in Thailand has proven a slap in the face to the government and hammers home the reality of mistakes made in its national vaccination programme. In the leaked letter from the company, dated June 25, and obtained by the Isranews Agency, AstraZeneca appears to directly contradict statements made by the government regarding supply. The message from the letter is at odds with statements made to the public proudly announcing that a deal had been struck for the company to deliver 10 million doses per month. So far, no one has come out to comment on the authenticity of the letter, despite Mr Anutin having claimed it was he who demanded the company supply at least 10 million doses a month. It has never admitted any blunders in allowing large crowds to return to their home towns during the Songkran festival and made excuses that its vaccine policy was devised when the situation was very different.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 19, 2021 00:00 UTC
Firms urge extra relief
(Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)Business leaders have called on the government to come up with additional relief measures to ease the plight of people affected by the expanded lockdown measures which will take effect on Tuesday. The expanded measures have drawn mixed responses from business leaders. Some said the expanded measures were acceptable while others thought they would only worsen the economy further. "The economy will worsen because the relief measures are unclear. The government has said the restrictions will be evaluated after a week, and indicated the lockdown measures would be in place beyond Aug 2 if the pandemic continues to worsen.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 18, 2021 23:15 UTC
Zuma graft trial to resume despite deadly S.Africa protests
Zuma graft trial to resume despite deadly S.Africa protestsZuma is accused of widespread corruption but denies the chargesJOHANNESBURG - The dragging corruption trial of South Africa's jailed ex-president Jacob Zuma resumes on Monday despite deadly violence that swept the nation after his imprisonment in an unrelated case. But things took a nasty turn when on June 29, Zuma was found guilty of contempt of South Africa's top court for snubbing graft investigators probing his tenure as president. Carl Niehaus, a close friend of Zuma, told reporters this week that there was no "coordinated campaign to lead to looting and violence". South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) party forced Zuma -- who is a member of the country's dominant Zulu ethnic group -- to resign in 2018 after mounting graft scandals. Ralph Mathekga, author of "When Zuma Goes", says judges in the graft case will not bow to "political pressure".
Source:Bangkok Post
July 18, 2021 05:37 UTC
New deal gets thumbs down
We surveyed a wide range of residents, in Bangkok and Nonthaburi, from motorcycle taxi drivers to restaurateurs. Mass testing a saviourSophon Maleehuan, 43, a motorcycle taxi driver in the Ram Intra area, said the lockdown is not tackling the problem at its roots. Another motorcycle taxi driver, Niyom Thuekthong, 59, said widespread infections have rendered relief almost unworkable. When people stop going out, motorcycle taxi drivers immediately feel the brunt. Taxi and motorcycle taxi drivers earn a fraction of what they used to earn.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 18, 2021 04:07 UTC
Lessons from Covid lockdown
Lessons from Covid lockdownLast week, Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to surpass India in terms of daily Covid-19 cases. The country's mishandling of its lockdown should serve as a lesson for the Thai government which is tightening its own lockdown measures. The world has seen what a combination of a lockdown and zero aid can do -- millions of Indians struggled to survive when Narendra Modi's government imposed a lockdown last year with only a few hours notice. As India and Indonesia have shown, the first to be affected are low-income labourers in construction jobs. Thailand, unfortunately, is moving down the same path, with workers confined to their camps for over a month now.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 18, 2021 02:37 UTC
Europeans face travel woes as Covid reaches Olympic Village
Europeans face travel woes as Covid reaches Olympic VillageBritain's decision to exempt France from its new looser entry policies sparked anger among those hoping to return. PARIS: Europeans faced last-minute travel frustration on Saturday as the UK and France overhauled Covid-19 border restrictions to combat surging infections that threaten plans to get life back to normal. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his country had reached the "milestone" of 50 million doses and promised that half of the population would be fully vaccinated by next week. More than two-thirds of UK adults are fully vaccinated, but with cases surging, critics say the government is making a reckless gamble. The kingdom is allowing only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to take part -- a fraction of the pre-pandemic number -- as it seeks to repeat last year's success that saw no virus outbreak during the five-day ritual.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 17, 2021 23:37 UTC
Moderna shots to be allotted
(Reuters photo)Not all people who have booked, and paid for, the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from private hospitals will get all their shots since an allotment system will apply, according to the chairman of the Private Hospitals Association. But before the allotment, 1.1 million of the 5 million shots would go to the Thai Red Cross Society, as well as Siriraj and Ramathibodi hospitals, leaving the private hospitals with 3.9 million doses, Dr Chalerm said. The Thai Red Cross Society said its 1 million shots would be sold to provincial administration organisations nationwide at 1,300 baht each on condition they administer them on people for free. Demand surveys showed 277 of 330 member hospitals of the association had booked 9.2 million doses in total, he said. The remaining 2.4 million doses will then be allotted proportionally to the hospitals according to their demand, which at this stage totalled 7.7 million doses.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 17, 2021 12:50 UTC
First Covid case found at Olympic Village
The Tokyo Olympic Village will be home to thousands of athletes taking part in the Games that are scheduled to open on Friday. (AFP Photo)TOKYO: The chief of the Tokyo Olympics tried to reassure “worried” athletes on Saturday as the Games Village was hit by its first coronavirus case, six days before the pandemic-delayed event opens. The Japanese capital remains under a coronavirus state of emergency and has in recent days recorded its highest case numbers since January. No details were given about the positive test in the Village, one of 15 Games-related cases revealed on Saturday — the highest figure this month. “That was the very first case in the Village that was reported during the screening test,” Masa Takaya, spokesman for the Tokyo organising committee, told a press conference.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 17, 2021 07:47 UTC
Eyes on the goal: women's football goes pro in Japan
Eyes on the goal: women's football goes pro in JapanThe new league's organisers hope it will bring prestige and fresh talent to Japanese clubs. TOKYO: As global interest in women's football approaches fever pitch, former champions Japan are eyeing a return to glory with the country's first professional league for female players. A decade since winning the 2011 Women's World Cup, Japan has fallen behind, even as the sport becomes more popular and lucrative elsewhere. "If we can show we're just as great as men's football teams... there will be more sponsors and supporters," she said. "The level of the Japan team will go up if the level of the league rises," she said.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 17, 2021 01:52 UTC
After conquering Earth, Bezos eyes new frontier in space
WASHINGTON - Jeff Bezos sets his sights on a new frontier in space in the coming days after building a gargantuan business empire which has in many ways conquered the Earth. Bezos "had an instinct for the right thing" in finding the next market, said Roger Kay, analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates. "You can say Bezos has been one of the best business architects of his time." Bezos has been fascinated by space since watching the 1969 Apollo moon landing as a child and sees space as important to the future of the planet. - Lasting legacy -Bezos is stepping away from day-to-day Amazon management to spend more time on projects including Blue Origin.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 17, 2021 01:30 UTC
'Hollywood Ripper' sentenced to death in US
'Hollywood Ripper' sentenced to death in USThe so-called "Hollywood Ripper," Michael Gargiulo, seen during his trial in Los Angeles on August 15, 2019LOS ANGELES - A man known as the "Hollywood Ripper" was sentenced to death Friday for the gruesome killings of two women in their homes in the early 2000s. Among his victims was 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, who was found in her Hollywood home with 47 stab wounds in February 2001. "In this case, everywhere that Mr. Gargiulo went, death and destruction followed," Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler said Friday as he announced the sentence. He was arrested in 2008 following an attack on a woman in her apartment in Santa Monica, near Los Angeles. Prior to that the death penalty was last carried out in California in 2006, when it was halted by a federal court order.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 17, 2021 00:45 UTC
Mixed jabs strategy adds to confusion
Mixed jabs strategy adds to confusionA frontline medical worker at a vaccination site in Nonthaburi province looks at the contents of a refrigerator used for the storage of Covid-19 vaccines. The pandemonium speaks volumes about the government's failure, not only of its vaccination plan, but also of its crisis management. Hospitals were instructed to suspend second Sinovac jabs, and switch to AstraZeneca. Those who have received both Sinovac jabs are now wondering what they have to do next -- does this mean the Sinovac jabs were a waste? Some hospitals went back and forth in their vaccination plan, cancelling second Sinovac jabs and opting for AstraZeneca followups, only to suspend the entire vaccination plan.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 16, 2021 22:07 UTC
A failure to communicate
Dr Boon criticised the GPO over its slow processes that prevent private firms from obtaining Moderna vaccines in a timely fashion. The GPO defended itself saying that it was a failure of the THG for not putting its money upfront to pay for the vaccines that made the process slow. Indeed, the GPO needs to elaborate to the public on this important aspect as well. Society now has a lot of questions about state vaccine policies; about the decision to bet on the AstraZeneca vaccine and to purchase the Chinese-made Sinovac. To do that the government needs to get its act together and as part of that -- as they're hunting high-and-low for Covid vaccines -- they need to communicate better with the public.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 16, 2021 22:07 UTC
DINING + STAYCATION = DINE/CATION AT KIMPTON MAA-LAI BANGKOK
DINING + STAYCATION = DINE/CATION AT KIMPTON MAA-LAI BANGKOKKimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok invites you to enjoy a delight-filled new dining and staycation experience. For your complimentary dinner, choose either a 3-course Italian set dinner curated by Chef Danilo Aissa from Ms.Jigger or a Latin American set dinner curated by Chef Lamberto Valdez from Bar.Yard. DINE/CATION STAYCATION PACKAGEDeluxe Room starts from 5,000++ baht/room/nightGuaranteed upgrade to next room category. Check-in at 3:00 p.m. late check-out till 3:00 p.m.A choice of set dinner from Ms.Jigger or Bar.Yard with beverage pairings. - Check out Kimpton pet policy and pet accessibility areas to ensure that you and your pet have great memories ‘fur-ever’!
Source:Bangkok Post
July 16, 2021 11:37 UTC