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From The Pattaya Mail Pattaya and three eastern provinces should be sealed off, with no one able to enter or leave without government permission, Thailand’s Public Health Ministry suggested Saturday, unveiling its latest plan to combat the East’s exploding coronavirus outbreak. Going beyond a quasi-lockdown of 28 red zones already submitted for approval by the Center for Covid-19, the proposal outlined Saturday by Deputy Health Minister Satit Pitutacha would impose hard travel limits on Chonburi, Rayong and Chanthaburi residents for 28 days because, basically, they lie, he said. Satit asserted that 99 percent of the hundreds of Covid-19 cases that have emerged over the past week all are tied to illegal casinos in Rayong and Chanthaburi, with infected gamblers and lying to contact tracers and failing to divulge their true movements out of fear of being prosecuted. That has crippled contact-tracing efforts and fueled the outbreak spreading across the East and into other areas of Thailand. A woman found infected in Ayutthaya on Friday, for example, had just arrived from Pattaya. Speaking at a news conference at a newly converted field hospital at the Marine Corps headquarters in Chonburi’s Sattahip District, Satit said, if the plan is approved, police or the army would block highways at the borders of each of the three provinces while local police would restrict access on surface streets. Checkpoint guards would block all inbound and outbound travelers who didn’t have urgent business travel approved by the government. Rayong and then Chonburi’s Banglamung District, which includes Pattaya, were the first to implement strict business shutdowns following the outbreak that began at Muang, Rayong gambling den and were set – along with 26 higher provinces reclassified Friday as highly-controlled areas to be subjected to a quasi-lockdown that could be approved Sunday by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. That plan, called Level 1 restrictions, would discourage – but not ban – all non-essential interprovincial travel, working from home, the move to online schooling, closing additional high-risk businesses and limiting hours of those allowed to remain open, such as shopping malls. Dine-in service at restaurants would be banned. https://www.pattayamail.com/news/pattaya-3-east-provinces-to-be-sealed-off-for-month-under-health-ministry-proposal-339300

Two brothers, ages 3 and 10, are trapped in an apartment building fire 15 meters above the ground in a French suburb. Their fate is in the hands of a group of migrant workers from many different nations. What follows is the stuff of courage--and a bit of a miracle. Although at first glance the heroics described in the the following article seemingly have nothing to do with what's happening in Thailand, on reflection they have everything to do with the the manner in which migrant workers are commoditized, berated and scapegoated--and in many situations by those who profit most from their cheap labor. The following link contains a graphic video and a story that challenges our view of migrants--legal and otherwise--we have come to see in our visits to the LOS. From The BBC The Catch Excerpt: The boys were saved by a group of immigrants on the very same estate that erupted - almost 10 years previously to the day - in violent rioting, prompting an excoriating anti-immigration speech by then French president Nicolas Sarkozy. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/extra/tgh54itx0b/grenoble-children-jump-from-fire

How many of us attempt to test the smoke alarm (providing our hotel or condo has one) after we check in? Post pandemic I'd been staying in a condo convenient to Silom for all my visits. I discovered early on that the building's entire fire alarm system was out of order. For about 600 bht I brought a detector at Home Pro and put it on a shelf in the unit. I'd leave it with a friend when I go home and he'd bring it back when I returned. We both slept better, I think. We all arrive with much higher priorities. Taking a few minutes to test the detector with a push of the button is worth the inconvenience. You may well find a dead battery that can be easily replaced. We take time to check room amenities. Why not add this one to the list?

From South China Morning Post It’s Saturday night at the HUNK club in Chengduand men in gold Lycra shorts and black boots dance on stage. They wear kimonos, in an apparent tactical compromise, with new morality codes creeping into China’s “gay capital”. But across town, young women still lounge on leather sofas drinking beer at a lesbian club, while a nearby bar is hosting an LGBTQ board game night. Far from the administrative glare of Beijing, the cosmopolitan southwestern city, dubbed “Gaydu” by Chinese millennials, has long cherished its reputation as a safe haven for a community that faces stigma and widespread harassment elsewhere in the country. But activists now say the city’s permissive streak is under threat, as the central Communist leadership puts the squeeze on the few bastions of LGBT community across the country. Chengdu’s resilient LGBTQ community is not ready to be forced into the closet, however. “There is some tacit acceptance by the authorities, but it is very delicate,” said Matthew, an activist from the NGO Chengdu Rainbow, who requested use of his first name only. The recipe for survival, Matthew says, is “making small progress” rather than big political and social statements that rattle China’s hypersensitive authorities. The mood in Chengdu started to sour in October when the MC Club was closed after explicit photos were posted online and local media reported that HIV infections had been linked to sex parties allegedly taking place at the venue’s sauna. Some in the gay community say a spike in the number of domestic LGBTQ visitors – unable to travel overseas because of the coronavirus pandemic – drew unwanted attention from city authorities. Major gay bars in the city were temporarily shut down, ostensibly to control a public health crisis. Then, an activist said, all of the city’s LGBTQ organisations were suddenly investigated. Continues at https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3115997/chinas-gay-capital-chengdu-forced-adapt-government-shuts-down-venues-and

From South China Morning Post Vaccine passports, domestic tourism, pricey flights – is this the future of travel in a post-pandemic Asia? When international travel returns, it’s likely tourists will have to use a second passport – a globally recognised one that shows all the vaccines they have taken. Even with the new documentation, however, the free movement of people that happened in pre-pandemic times is unlikely to return this year, with travellers mostly limited to travel bubbles or business lanes. And with fewer flights and more vaccines and tests, hopping aboard a plane is likely to become a lot more expensive – and a lot less frequent. Those were the predictions of tourism experts who spoke to This Week in Asia – with the additional point that just like last year, travellers are more likely to stick to exploring their own countries rather than heading overseas. Hotelier Ho Kwon Ping – the executive chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings, which runs hotels across Asia, America, Africa and the Middle East – told a recent conference that travel would become more purposeful, with people thinking harder before buying a flight ticket, whether for leisure or business. Meanwhile, Abhineet Kaul, senior director of public sector and government at Frost & Sullivan, said it would be “at least 2024 before tourism is back to the levels of 2018 and 2019”. Travel has changed drastically since January last year, when countries around the world began to ban flights from China in reaction to the spread of the coronavirus there. As the restrictions spread in the wake of Covid-19, international travel ground to a standstill. Little has changed almost 12 months later, with many countries now banning arrivals from Britain and South Africa due to a more infectious variant of the disease. There have been incremental efforts to open some travel channels. Thailand recently eased travel restrictions on visitors from 56 countries, including Singapore, Japan and the United States , allowing entry to tourists with a health certificate to prove they are free of Covid-19 – though they must still quarantine for 14 days. Vietnam has from September allowed outgoing commercial flights to seven Asian destinations, but domestic carriers are still barred from operating inbound flights. Visitors from the likes of Brunei,Vietnam and New Zealand are allowed to enter Singapore, but travel is not permitted in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, a highly anticipated travel bubble between the island nation and Hong Kong collapsed when the latter saw a resurgence of Covid-19. The Asia-Pacific region saw the biggest decrease in foreign tourist arrivals, at 82 per cent, while the UNWTO expects that a rebound in international tourism will occur no sooner than 2023. This was a devastating blow for the region, where tourism has long been a huge driver of economies. In 2018, receipts from the industry accounted for 17.8 per cent of Cambodia’s gross domestic product, and more than 11 per cent of Thailand’s. On the Indonesian island of Bali, up to 70 per cent of residents depend on tourism. Figures from countries such as Vietnam also help illustrate the situation: it hosted just 3.8 million foreign tourists last year, a far cry from its record of 18 million in 2019. Airline data also reflects the extent of the catastrophe. In November last year, Singapore Airlines flew just 45,600 passengers –a 97.6 per cent drop from the year before, while Malaysia Airlines has grounded 75 per cent of its aircraft. Some of the damage is permanent, with airlines such as Hong Kong’s Cathay Dragon and Thailand NokScoot folding. The situation is slightly less dire for countries with a huge domestic market, but even domestic air travel in India , for example, is at 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. “When we emerge from the pandemic, our world and our industry will undoubtedly be different,” said Nuno Guerreiro, regional director at Booking.com, who anticipates that travellers will expect more flexibility and reassurances, such as the ability to cancel and change dates without charge. Nguyen Ai Ngoc, 32, founded Local Buddy Tours in 2017 with a few of his friends. Their outfit provided personalised private tours to popular destinations in central Vietnam, such as Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue, benefiting from the rise of cheap and convenient travel that drew European, Australian and American travellers in droves. It was so easy to buy a budget ticket and move around Asia, booking cheap accommodation on the go, that Local Buddy Tours served over 200 customers a month before the pandemic. But if the future holds more “purposeful” travel and tourists no longer arrive in hordes, Ngoc’s business cannot be sustained. Last year, he had just one customer every few months. He has already turned to tutoring to make ends meet. Others have also realised the need for a pivot. Kaul from Frost & Sullivan said this meant new tourism strategies with a different mix of products and markets, and products such as long-stay tourism, vaccine tourism – in which people travel to other countries with the express purpose of receiving a certain inoculation – or mental wellness tourism. With China banning outbound tours, many tourists from the country have taken to exploring at home. In August, the volume of domestic flights in China recovered to 95.4 per cent of 2019’s level, while 13 Chinese carriers operated more flights compared with a year earlier. At Booking.com, domestic travel made up more than 70 per cent of their global room bookings in the third quarter of 2020, up from 45 per cent in 2019. Continues at https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3116142/vaccine-passports-domestic-tourism-pricey-flights-future-travel

NOTE -- Few older condos in Thailand have automatic fire sprinklers. From Pattaya Mail British expat John Christopher escaped his burning Jomtien Beach condominium by climbing over the sixth-floor balcony. A British expat escaped his burning Jomtien Beach condominium by climbing over the sixth-floor balcony. John Christopher, 50, suffered only minor injuries in his high-rise maneuver after fire destroyed his Park Lane Jomtien Resort unit Jan. 1. No other injuries were reported. Christopher said he was on the phone with his wife when the fire began in the kitchen and spread quickly. With the front door blocked by flames, he went over the balcony railing and climbed down. Other condos on upper floors suffered smoke and heat damage.

From Thai Examiner Strict entry criteria to remain as officials await clarity on the medical status of vaccinated people The widespread vaccination programme currently underway in the western world will not mean the opening of Thailand’s doors to foreigners, even with vaccine passports, for quite some time. This week, as the kingdom began to contend with the growing realisation that a second wave had already descended upon it, health officials confirmed that the 14-day quarantine scheme and current entry criteria will be strictly upheld until more clarity emerges on the status of those inoculated through the use of worldwide vaccines. Thailand’s Disease Control Department Director, Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, has indicated that the country’s public health officials have no intention, as of now, in making it easier for those vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus to enter the kingdom. However, the expert official did suggest that the matter would be kept under review by authorities. Dr Opas said it was too early to tell whether an inoculated person could still be a transmitter of the infection or not. His answer did suggest that this is something that the Thai government will consider when there is more scientific clarity on the matter. In the meantime, Thailand will be adhering to its strict 14-day quarantine system which is now working effectively within the commercial Alternative Quarantine Scheme run by the Ministry of Public Health in association with a network of luxury hotels throughout the country.

From Channel News Asia SINGAPORE: The Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project will be discontinued after the HSR agreement lapsed on Dec 31, 2020, the Prime Ministers of both countries said in a joint statement on Friday morning (Jan 1). Both Singapore and Malaysia will now proceed with the "necessary actions". In the statement, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said: "The Government of Malaysia and the Government of Singapore wish to provide an update on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR Project in view of the expiry of the suspension period of the HSR Project on Dec 31, 2020. "In light of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Malaysian economy, the Government of Malaysia had proposed several changes to the HSR Project. Both Governments had conducted several discussions with regard to these changes and had not been able to reach an agreement. Therefore, the HSR Agreement had lapsed on Dec 31, 2020," the leaders said.

I don't know what's to like. All I see are broad shoulders, a great ass, nice legs and the promise of a fantastic LT.

From Khaosod English BANGKOK — Thai-Chinese civil servants will no longer need to ask for a day off to meet relatives for the Lunar New Year in the Year of the Ox – the government is set to designate it as an official holiday for the first time. Chinese New Year is among four new occasions to be celebrated as government holidays in the next calendar year per a Cabinet resolution, deputy government spokeswoman Trisulee Trisoranakul said Tuesday. Holidays exclusive to some regions, based on local traditions, will also be introduced for the first time. “The government’s measure of special holidays and regional holidays is to boost tourism and the economy. We’ve seen that during long holidays, people travel and spend, boosting the country’s economy,” Trisulee said. But don’t book your flights for overseas vacation just yet (oh wait, you can’t anyway!). All of the extra holidays in 2021 are considered government holidays (วันหยุดราชการ) and not national holidays (วันหยุดนักขัตฤกษ์) – meaning that they will mostly apply to civil servants. Financial institutions and private corporations may or may not close down their businesses on those days. So check with your employers later. Trisulee also said individual government agencies may choose to stay open during any of those extra holidays if they believe a closure will “affect members of the public” who require crucial services. Last of all, note that the government said these new holidays are meant to be a one-time experimental addition exclusive to 2021, and not to reoccur in the following years. Feb. 12: Chinese New Year April 12: Extra Songkran, in addition to the existing dates of April 13 to 15 July 27: A substitute holiday for the beginning of Buddhist Lent on July 25 which falls on Sunday Sept. 24: Mahidol Day, to commemorate the death of King Rama X’s grandfather in 1929 Government departments in the Northern Region also receive a holiday on March 26 for people to pay respect to Buddhist relics at temples (wai phra that). Isaan scores a holiday on May 10 for the Rocket Festival, while the South gets Oct. 6 off for the Sart Thai festival. Bangkokians and central provinces, rejoice: Oct. 21 will be a government holiday to mark the end of Buddhist Lent. But wait, there’s more. King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day will be moved from Oct. 23 to Oct. 22 to create a three-day weekend (it was initially moved to Oct. 25). All in all, if things proceed as planned, these new dates will give civil servants a whopping 24 days off in the year!

From Pattaya Mail Pattaya’s darkest hour has arrived A Pattaya BBQ vendor seems extremely dejected as she waits for customers to buy her sticks of grilled pork for 20 baht each. The small income sustains her family and business from day to day. Virtually locked down again due to the coronavirus spread and still battered by the loss of foreign tourism, Pattaya’s darkest days have arrived, with only dim light at the end of the tunnel in 2021. Long lines for free food handouts likely will return soon if the emergency order shutting down Banglamung District Wednesday lasts for more than a few weeks. Only essential businesses may remain open. Bars, clubs, massage parlors and shopping malls – the city’s economic lifeblood – all must close immediately and remain so indefinitely following an explosion of new Covid-19 cases linked to an illegal casino in Rayong. New Year’s Eve was supposed to be the crowning event in a three-month period in which domestic tourism had breathed some life into Pattaya’s tourism sector. Sure, high season was a pale shadow of 2019, but it was better than July-September. But the Pattaya Countdown was only the first of the events to be canceled as a second coronavirus wave swelled in Thailand. The momentum of the autumn built by the Bikini Run, Loy Krathong and fireworks festival in November, then the Pattaya Music Festival on Dec 11-12, was all for naught. Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome looked pained as he announced the cancellation of the three-day countdown, knowing it would have brought hundreds of millions of baht to the city. But he had no choice. Driving around Pattaya and its eastern “dark side” is a sad trip for those who have lived in the city for decades and now must witness “for sale” and “for rent” signs hanging from gates and windows. More street-level shops have chairs turned up on tables than chairs seating guests. At a noodle shop on Soi Nernplubwan, people talked of moving out of Pattaya to towns less dependent on tourism. Many go-go bar dancers already have moved back upcountry to work in local-style entertainment, like village karaoke pubs and as coyote dancers on the back of flatbed trucks in a rice field. Pattaya roads have become vacant. Workers who just moved back to town to find jobs at hotels, restaurants, pubs and other entertainment venues have given up and waved Pattaya goodbye, maybe for good. The Tourism Authority of Thailand put its full effort into promoting domestic tourism since the first lockdown ended June 30, but that work is now in vain. All the pie-in-the-sky ideas TAT teams in Bangkok dreamed up have vanished into thin air.

From Bangkok Post 2m Covid vaccine doses available by April Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Thursday he had secured the supply of at least 2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine from producers "between February and April". He said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Wednesday dircted him to discuss procurement with all producers that have made their vaccines available. It was intended to acquire vaccines to help cope with the ongoing outbreak. "Efforts and negotiations with vaccine producers mean that between February and April 2021, at least 2 million doses of vaccine will be initially delivered to Thailand," Mr Anutin wrote on his Facebook account. Preparations would be made to ensure the vaccine was distributed to at-risk people, Mr Anutin said. He did not say which vaccine it is. The government earlier signed an advance agreement with AstraZaneca for the supply and production of its Covid-19 vaccine, but supplies were not expected before May.

From CNN If you want to travel next year, you may need a vaccine passport San Francisco (CNN Business)Now that coronavirus vaccines are starting to roll out in the US and abroad, many people may be dreaming of the day when they can travel, shop and go to the movies again. But in order to do those activities, you may eventually need something in addition to the vaccine: a vaccine passport application. Several companies and technology groups have begun developing smartphone apps or systems for individuals to upload details of their Covid-19 tests and vaccinations, creating digital credentials that could be shown in order to enter concert venues, stadiums, movie theaters, offices, or even countries. The Common Trust Network, an initiative by Geneva-based nonprofit The Commons Project and the World Economic Forum, has partnered with several airlines including Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as hundreds of health systems across the United States and the government of Aruba. The CommonPass app created by the group allows users to upload medical data such as a Covid-19 test result or, eventually, a proof of vaccination by a hospital or medical professional, generating a health certificate or pass in the form of a QR code that can be shown to authorities without revealing sensitive information. For travel, the app lists health pass requirements at the points of departure and arrival based on your itinerary. "You can be tested every time you cross a border. You cannot be vaccinated every time you cross a border," Thomas Crampton, chief marketing and communications officer for The Commons Project, told CNN Business. He stressed the need for a simple and easily transferable set of credentials, or a "digital yellow card," referring to the paper document generally issued as proof of vaccination. Large tech firms are also getting in on the act. IBM (IBM) developed its own app, called Digital Health Pass, which allows companies and venues to customize indicators they would require for entry including coronavirus tests, temperature checks and vaccination records. Credentials corresponding to those indicators are then stored in a mobile wallet. n an effort to address one challenge around returning to normalcy after vaccines are distributed widely, developers may now have to confront other challenges, ranging from privacy issues to representing the varied effectiveness of different vaccines. But the most pressing challenge may simply be avoiding the disjointed implementation and mixed success of tech's previous attempt to address the public health crisis: contact tracing apps. Early on in the pandemic, Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) set aside their smartphone rivalry to jointly develop a Bluetooth-based system to notify users if they'd been exposed to someone with Covid-19. Many countries and state governments around the world also developed and used their own apps.

This article in Coconuts Bangkok is about as clear as a London fog. And was probably intended to be that way. So I leave it to members to read between, above or below the lines and interpret as you wish. What’s now banned at Bangkok’s bars and clubs through New Year’s Eve Bangkok’s bars, nightclubs and karaoke parlors may remain open and continue to sell alcohol but must dial down the carousing – and no “soapy massage.” Clarifying a vague order hastily announced last night, a City Hall spokesperson this morning said that nightlife venues with food and alcohol licenses may continue to operate if they close at midnight, and may stay open later if they don’t play music. Ittipol Visa of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said they must not allow dancing or beer girls to help contain the current outbreak which has stricken dozens in the capital and more than 2,000 nationwide. The order, a blow for the city’s nightlife venues looking to recoup the year’s losses during the busy year-end holidays, takes effect today and is effective for one week – though likely to be extended. Ittipol said venues may host live music shows as long as performers maintain social distancing and don’t interact closely with patrons. Ittipol said if those without any music may be able operate past midnight, depending on their business licenses. Massage and physical therapy venues are still allowed to operate, but not the “soapy” variety, City Hall announced late last night, using a euphemism for commercial sex facilities. He added that people in Bangkok can still enjoy a good foot or back rub at a massage parlor, but sexy-time massages are totally banned.

With a grain of salt is how you have to consider news reports coming out of Bangkok. On Monday the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said that massage parlors, entertainment and other venues were to be closed through Jan. 4. Bar boys had been informed Sunday night not to report for work the next day. The next evening, contrary to Bangkok Post article above, I received texts saying that Patpong venues were open. There's only one explanation that will be universally and immediately understood: TIT.

From Channel News Asia TAIPEI: Taiwan has agreed to buy almost 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 10 million from AstraZeneca, the government said on Wednesday (Dec 30), adding that it had confirmed the island's first case of the new British variant of the disease. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to early and effective prevention and strict quarantine of all arrivals, with imported cases accounting for almost all its tally of 798, including seven deaths. The island's Central Epidemic Command Centre said apart from AstraZeneca, it had agreed to buy 4.76 million doses from global vaccine programme COVAX, and was still in talks with another company it did not name. The first vaccines are expected to arrive in March at the earliest, it added. The AstraZeneca vaccine, being jointly developed with Oxford University, was approved by the British regulator on Wednesday, soon after Taiwan's announcement. Taiwan plans to get a total of 30 million vaccine doses to cover about 65 per cent of its population, the centre added.

From Bangkok Post Herbal Covid treatment cleared, vaccine registration opens Health officials said Thailand is ready to register Covid-19 vaccines after separately approving the use of a herbal plant extract to treat early stages of the disease as a pilot program amid a flareup in the coronavirus outbreak across the country. Andrographis Paniculata, commonly known as green chiretta, will serve as an alternative treatment to reduce the severity of the outbreak and cut treatment costs, the health ministry said in a statement Wednesday. The treatment will be available in five state-owned hospitals initially, it said. Thailand reported 250 new cases on Wednesday, taking the nation’s total to almost 7,000, and a government official said the rate of increase in local transmissions was alarming and urged people to stay at home to prevent the virus from spreading further. The government has also banned large gatherings in high-risk areas, said Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, a spokesperson for the national Covid-19 response centre. The herbal treatment will be on a voluntary basis for those in the 18-60 age group with minor symptoms and should be within 72 hours of confirming infections The extract from the plant, known as Fah Talai Jone in Thai, can curb the virus and reduce the severity of inflammation, the ministry said, citing studies. Human trials showed patient conditions improved within three days of the treatment without side effects if the medicine is administered within 72 hours of testing positive. Separately, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it’s ready to register Covid-19 vaccines. The FDA has opened a special channel for the registration to ensure speedy processing.

From Pattaya Mail After reporting more than 20 new coronavirus cases in a day, Chonburi’s governor ordered cockfighting and similar venues closed and reinforced limits on operating hours of bars and massage parlors in an effort to stem the spread of Thailand’s second wave in the East. Chonburi Gov. Pakarathorn Thienchai issued a similar order to one put out Monday afternoon by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration shutting down massage parlors, go-go bars and animal-fighting rings while limiting pubs to offering anything only food before midnight until at least Jan. 4. The order came after 22 cases tied to a new coronavirus cluster in Rayong spread to Chonburi, including 17 cases in Banglamung District that includes Pattaya. Alcohol is not banned and pubs that enforce strict social distancing and offer food will be allowed to continue to serve. Initial reports late Monday said Walking Street bars will be permitted to open until midnight, although the situation is fluid and could change at any time. Establishments subject to the order are defined by the Service Places Act of 1966 and includes businesses where music is performed, instruments are arranged for customer use, services allowing customers to sing or have employees sit with customers, offers dancing or offering dance shows, light shows, food and liquor.

From Bangkok Post Indonesia will sign vaccine procurement deals with Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc as it braces for a flare-up in Covid-19 infections after the year-end holiday. The government will sign an agreement with Pfizer in the first week of January for 50 million doses, after state-owned vaccine producer PT Bio Farma signs a separate deal for the same amount with AstraZeneca this week, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in a briefing. Both deals will include the option to procure an additional 50 million doses from each company. The country that’s grappling with Southeast Asia’s worst coronavirus outbreak has signed multiple deals with vaccine suppliers, including with China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd that has already shipped 1.3 million doses in early December. The first available shots will be gradually deployed to its 1.3 million health workers across the world’s largest archipelago once the vaccine is approved by the local food and drug regulator.

From The Nation Foreigners who have been vaccinated still need to quarantine The Public Health Ministry issued a statement on Tuesday saying all arrivals to Thailand will have to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine even if they have been vaccinated. Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said the Covid-19 vaccines are still new and their effectiveness have still not been determined. He added that it still too early to say whether an inoculated person can be considered safe enough to travel.

From Bangkok Post Two-year stay allowed for illegal migrant workers The cabinet on Tuesday approved the registration of illegal migrant workers from three countries who can stay in the country for two years in a bid to contain the novel coronavirus. Deputy government spokesperson Traisuree Taisaranakul said online registration, set for Jan 25 to Feb 13, would allow Cambodian, Lao and Myanmar migrant workers to work in the country for two years, or until Feb 16, 2023. According to the deputy government spokesperson, many migrant workers were found to be infected in the new outbreak. When the government tried to test more of them in at-risk areas, many employers who had hired illegal migrants moved them to other areas and abandoned them there for fear of legal action. Several illegal migrant workers also voluntarily left the areas for fear of prosecution. This made it more difficult to contain the spread of the disease, she said. or the new round of registration, an illegal migrant worker who does not have an employer must find one within 90 days. After the online registration, health officials will conduct a physical checkup and Covid-19 tests on them. The costs of the tests and the required two-year health insurance, totalling 7,200 baht, will be paid by the workers or their employers. ======================================== From The Nation Outbreak spreads to 45 provinces, could grow to ‘thousands of cases per day’ Thailand recorded 155 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday – 134 domestic infections, 10 in state quarantine, and 11 migrant workers – taking the total since January to 6,440. The latest outbreak has now spread to 45 provinces, said Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). The Disease Control Department warned that cases could rise to 18,000 per day in the next two weeks if the outbreak went unchecked. The department’s epidemiology working group calculated three possible scenarios. First scenario (red line): If nothing is done, new cases will rise steadily until January 14 when infections reach 18,000 per day. The trend would start at 1,000-2,000 infections per day at New Year then grow steeply. Second scenario (yellow line): If moderate measures are imposed, new cases will rise to reach 10,000 per day by mid-January. Third scenario (green line): If strict measures are imposed and people maintain mask-wearing, hygiene and social distancing practices, cases will rise less than 1,000 per day. "We are currently in an ‘orange line’ scenario,” said Taweesin. “I admit that I am worried because if the orange line goes up at 45 degrees, there will be thousands and thousands of infections. "During the New Year holidays, people can travel anywhere except Samut Sakhon, which is under lockdown, but the 45 provinces with cases should have strong measures to monitor the virus. This New Year will be unusual. The threat of two- or three-digit daily infection rate has forced us to adapt to a new situation. Provinces don’t have to impose strict lockdowns, but all must adjust by tightening disease control measures,” he added.

From Bangkok Post As a new wave of Covid infections bites, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has ordered the closure of all entertainment venues from Tuesday until Jan 4. The order covers bars with hostesses, horseracing tracks and cockfighting arenas and other entertainment venues including massage parlours. However, pubs and restaurants can stay open as long as they serve only food and drinks, and close by midnight. BMA spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang on Monday advised entertainment venues to switch to serving only food and observe disease control measures.

From Bangkok Post Long holidays will be every month in 2021 The government is poised to allocate long holidays every month next year to stimulate local tourism demand, while pledging to commence travel bubbles after April. Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said domestic travellers will continue to be a major market for at least the first four months of 2021, with frequent holidays helping to increase the number of domestic trips while the international market remains unpredictable. He said on Dec 28 the Tourism Authority of Thailand plans to announce the extension of 1 million room nights as part of the subsidy scheme for local travellers, despite the ongoing probe into fraud. In the cabinet meeting scheduled for Dec 29, the ministry is to propose a 5-billion-baht stimulus campaign for senior travellers aged 55 and above that could help increase liquidity for tour operators because the scheme will require eligible tourists to buy tour packages only from operators, said Mr Phiphat. Speaking at the Tourism Council of Thailand meeting on Friday, Mr Phiphat insisted tourism operators should not stop thinking about plans to attract the foreign market as it remains a vital source for tourism. But to mention those plans out loud now may not be appropriate as Thailand is still struggling with a new wave of infections. "The ministry wants the private sector to think about possible plans for foreign tourists that could be implemented next year after Thailand controls the recent outbreak," he said. "I believe we still have a chance to see a beautiful year ahead."

George Orwell introduced the world to the Thought Police in "1984," a novel still in publication 71 years later. Today's edition of the Thaiger introduced readers to the snot police who were summoned after a bus passenger removed his mask to blow his nose into a tissue. If this is any indication of the new covid hysteria, a vaccine can't come soon enough. From The Thaiger Police called after Bangkok bus passenger removes his mask to blow his nose Police were called after a passenger on a public Bangkok bus blew is nose and spit in a tissue. Thai media reports that the bus driver ordered the man to get off the bus in Bangkok’s Petchkasem area and that the passenger eventually agreed after the police were called. The man had removed his mask and was wiping and blowing his nose with a tissue. Someone video recorded the man and posted it on Facebook saying it was “terrible behavior.” Thai media reports that many passengers were worried about the spread of Covid-19 after the recent spike in cases. ================================= P.S. I'm omitting a video of the heinous act shot by a fellow passenger that was embedded in the article just in case the virus can be transmitted over the internet.

+1 ====================================== I noticed that the Thai government was opposed to the hospital's "adverting" availability of the vaccine but not necessarily the distribution. Government probably doesn't like the idea of publicizing that limited doses of vaccine being made available to those who could afford the 10,000 bht price tag but well out of reach to working class citizens.