1. As of 15 Aug 2021, Thailand administered a total of 23.5 million doses of vaccines. Yesterday, there were 162,511 doses of vaccine inoculated. Furthermore, 3,918 foreign nationals who registered for vaccination through expatvac website will be contacted by hospitals for the appointment for getting vaccinated, the inoculation starting from 18 Aug 2021 onwards.
2. The number of new confirmed cases today is 21,157 cases. There are currently 210,934 active cases with 20,984 new recoveries and 182 new fatalities with accumulated total stands at 7,640.
3. The area with the highest number of new cases remain Bangkok with 4,324 new cases followed by Samut Sakhon (1,869 cases) Chonburi (1,223 cases) Samut Prakarn (1,147 cases) and Nonthaburi (790 cases).
4. The MOPH underlines the need for the existing restrictions to continue. And it is vital to increase inoculation in every province and for risk groups in Bangkok and surrounding provinces, as well as in the provinces designated as the maximum controlled areas to curb the spread of the virus.
5. Due to the situation in Phuket which recorded over 100 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, all locally transmitted, the Phuket Province Administration announced it would extend its border entrance controls. No one is allowed to enter Phuket domestically by land, sea or air. However, there are exceptions including Phuket residents, visitors from abroad arriving in the sandbox scheme, and people who have been vaccinated or those who have recovered from Covid-19 for at least 90 days.
Phuket also announced a list of places which will close and activities with high-risk of infection which will be banned. The closure list includes places such as pubs, bars, karaoke, entertainment venues, boxing arenas, swimming pools etc.
6. On Saturday, the second batch of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines had been distributed for healthcare professionals in 77 provinces. The Department of Disease Control (DDC) informed that 257,200 doses of Pfizer vaccine arrived in the provinces during past weekend. To date, total of 700,000 doses had been distributed with the first batch of 442,800 doses delivered last week.
The CCSA reiterated that that the Pfizer vaccines, donated by the US government, will be distributed to the most vulnerable groups of people both Thais and foreign nationals. Pfizer vaccine will also be allocated to those who need to travel abroad for essential reasons such as diplomats and students.
7. The CCSA general meeting on 16 Aug 2021 was chaired by PM, which it discussed many issues regarding the vaccination plan, disease control measures and other urgent matters, as follows:
7.1 The vaccine distribution plan in the September will still mainly focus on the high-risk and vulnerable groups. People who received the appointment for the second dose will get vaccinated as per their appointment.
7.2 There was also a discussion on other sources of vaccines including:
(1) Vaccine Swap arrangement between the Bhutan and Thailand government, which Bhutan will send 130,000 – 150,000 doses of AstraZeneca Vaccine to Thailand on the basis that Thailand will send back vaccines to Bhutan later on.
(2) The donation of Monoclonal Antibody from Germany. Approximately 1,000 – 2,000 doses of Monoclonal Antibody, produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, will be donated to Thailand. The andibody-medicine proves to be effective for relieving cases with serious illness and fatalities at the rate of 50-70 percent. The CCSA general meeting already approved for those arrangements and details will be further coordinated.
7.3 The meeting discussed and revised the disease control measures;
– Due to the ongoing high infection rate, the current disease control measures that have been imposing are still effective from 18-31 Aug 2021
– The COVID-19 disease-control zonal measure (by color) remains.
– The curfew in the maximum and strict controlled area remains at 21.00-04.00 hrs. and other restrictions will continue.
– Banks and financial institutions in shopping malls or department stores can be opened.
– The meeting emphasized all related agencies for encouraging the use of Antigen Test Kit (ATK) and make the ATK more accessible by the public.
– The CCRT rapid team and Test-trace-isolated scheme should be implemented for more efficient preventive and control measures.
– The meeting still highly recommended all government and private agencies to apply strict working from home policy.
– The meeting discussed plan to establish ‘Thai Covid Pass’ as the certification for people who were vaccinated.
7.4 The CCSA has approved new measures for Phuket Sandbox Programme (7+7) starting from 17 August. This extension allowed travelers who joined the scheme can stay in Phuket for the first 7 days and, after receiving the Transfer Form from authority, they can travel to other tourist destinations in the Southern provinces of Thailand namely Surat Thani, Krabi, Phang Nga and for another 7 days. The extension part will be allowed for travelers on the sealed routes and by specific vehicles only.
Full CCSA English briefing can be viewed here >>>https://www.facebook.com/thailandprd/videos/546657493423564
https://www.facebook.com/thailandprd/videos/555462419225911
Source: CCSA, Ministry of Public Health and Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
