1. The number of new confirmed cases today is 10,414 cases. There are currently 115,423 active cases with 11,580 new recoveries and 122 new fatalities. The accumulated number of fatalities is 16,620.
2. Yesterday, a total of 726,805 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered with 249,459 having received their first jabs, and 422,848 having received their second dose, with 54,498 receiving the booster dose, respectively. The aggregate total of vaccines administered stands at roughly 50.8 million doses. 73 per cent of the new confirmed cases are found in the ‘dark red’ zone provinces and the 29 ‘red’ zone provinces with Bangkok accounting for the highest number of new infections.
3. Dr. Apisamai, Assistant Spokesperson of CCSA, gave a recap of the various pilot provinces that are currently preparing for reopening in the months ahead as outlined yesterday. The provincial authorities including the Communicable Disease Committees and relevant local health authorities are closely monitoring all indicators so as to determine if and when a province is ready for reopening as may be appropriate.
4. The CCSA General Meeting decided to relax some public health measures in the 29 dark red zone provinces from 1 October 2021 onward as the COVID-19 situation countrywide has continued to improve. Starting on Friday, some of the relaxed measures will include the following:
– The curfew time has been adjusted to 22.00-04.00 hrs for at least 15 days;
– Gatherings of more than 25 persons are not allowed;
– Non-air-conditioned eateries are allowed to serve at 75 per cent of their capacity, while eateries with air conditioning may serve at 50 per cent;
– Malls and department stores, beauty salons, massage parlours, spas, and beauty clinics can open until 21.00 hrs.;
-Schools and educational institutes may use their buildings; and
– Sports stadiums and sports competitions are allowed to operate with limited number of attendees.
– The nationwide quarantine period for those travelling into Thailand will also be reduced. For travelers who have been fully vaccinated with vaccines duly approved by the Thai authorities travelling into the country by air, the quarantine period has now been reduced to 7 days. For travelers who have not yet been fully vaccinated and travelling by air and sea, the quarantine period has been adjusted to 10 days. However, travelers who have not been fully vaccinated travelling into the country by land will still be subject to a quarantine of 14 days.
5. On Tuesday, the cabinet approved the procurement of 165,000 additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by AstraZeneca from Spain, which are expected to be delivered early next month. Thailand has also received another 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Japan, which arrived in Bangkok on 26 September 2021 as the third lot of AstraZeneca vaccine to Thailand, to commemorate the 134th anniversary of Thailand-Japan diplomatic relations. So far, Japan has already provided 1.65 million doses of vaccine to Thailand. Thailand also expresses appreciation to Japan for providing 868 oxygen concentrators at a total value of 1.8 million US dollars to assist hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Thailand in addition to the provision of 1.65 million doses of AstraZeneca. The CCSA currently has plans to procure 178.2 million doses from various COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers. A total of 16.3 million doses of Sinovac, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer vaccines have already been delivered this month and 10 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine are expected to arrive this week. Our appreciation goes out to friends around the world for the assistance in negotiation for procurement. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to do its utmost in vaccine diplomacy.
6. The Department of Disease Control (DDC) is aiming to hit the inoculation target of giving the first COVID-19 vaccine shot to at least 50 per cent of the population by the end of next month. The Ministry of Public Health can administer approximately 900,000 doses per day and hopes to reach the planned coverage of half of the population by October. The DDC stresses the importance of learning to live with the pandemic by strictly following the universal prevention guidelines.
7. As per social media inquiries received from parents whether there is a plan to reopen schools shortly, the Minister of Education On 22 September revealed that the Ministry of Education is planning safety measures in close collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health for the opening of the second school second semester on 1 November 2021. One of the most important measures is to have students aged between 12 – 18 sufficiently vaccinated. However, COVID-19 vaccination for students is not compulsory and students can opt to study online at home if they prefer not to get inoculated. In this regard, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has undertaken a pilot project, vaccinating 2,295 students in the risk group of those with any of the seven underlying diseases, among more than 5,000 students who have registered for inoculation. The students, including 1,681 who received their first dose and 614 who received their second, were given the Pfizer vaccine at the Faculty of Medicine of Vajira Hospital and no side-effects were reported. The government is also preparing to inoculate more than 4.5 million students aged 12-18 with the Pfizer vaccine. To this end, the Ministry of Education is currently surveying the number of students, with parental consent, before opening vaccine units in each province with information provided by schools in the districts. Parents can also opt for their children to receive an inactivated type of COVID-19 vaccine instead of the mRNA version.
Full CCSA English briefing can be viewed here >>> https://fb.watch/8jVafcw6nH/
Source: CCSA, Ministry of Public Health and Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
