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December 24, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News • the Outbreak of the Virus Continued to Spread Across the Country With

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December 24, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News • the Outbreak of the Virus Continued to Spread Across the Country With December 24, 2020 Thai Enquirer Summary Political News The outbreak of the virus continued to spread across the country with as many as 30 of the 77 provinces in the country having been infected now. Bangkok now has more than 16 cases, and the number of cases were rising fast New case was reported in Bangkok Insurance Building on Sathorn yesterday Fast food joints - Swensen and Bon Chon chicken, in Silom Complex are closed to undertake deep cleaning after infection reached there Lamptitude – the home lighting shop, in Soi Ekamai (Sukhumvit Soi 63) has come out to say that it was sorry to its customers for one of its staff was infected with the virus and continued to work in the shop. Today embattled Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is set to hold the meeting of the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) where many decisions are set to be made including the big issue of ‘LOCKDOWN’. Issues to be discussed at the board of the CCSA to be chaired by Prayut includes Lockdown New Year celebrations Children’s day (2nd Saturday of January) The so called ‘small board of the CCSA’ held their meeting yesterday and reports suggest that the meeting decided on the following. Remember that the smaller board’s recommendations are usually decided upon by the main board which is chaired by Prayut. Some of the recommendations are That the country would be divide zones as per the problems and lockdown depending on the situation There will be 4 zones – Red, Orange, Yellow and Green Red is high infection area such as Samut Sakhon o The measures would include . The lockdown will be to help trace those infected . People would have to use the application and will be more mandatory testing . No movement of migrant workers allowed to leave . Have to implement Work from Home (WFH) . Implement online learning and e-learning Orange (areas that is more than 10 people infected and near Red zone) o Samut Songkram o Ratchburi o Nakhon Pathom o Bangkok in the west zone . Requirements would be There will be limited opening of the businesses etc. WFH as well Educational institutions need to be asked to go online and be cautious Will be monitored closely and no movement of migrant workers will be allowed. Yellow zone (of less than 10 infections and situation can be under control) o Saraburi o Nonthaburi o Chachangsao o Ayuthaya o Samut Prakarn o Pathum Thani o Petchburi o Phuket o Suphanburi o Uttradit o Phetbun o Kamphaengphet Green Zone (no infection yet) o Even here no movement of migrant workers o No major events to take place Five provinces facing the risk of a new wave of Covid-19 infections have now been put under lockdown. The 5 provinces are: 1. Samut Sakhon declared that the province is now a “quarantined area” from December 19 to January 3. Various public venues such as sports stadiums, public parks and educational institutions are now closed. Restaurants have only a takeaway option and grocery shops must be closed from 10.00 hrs to 17.00 hrs. 2. Samut Songkram announced a lockdown yesterday which will stay in effect until January 4, resulting in a closure of public venues and the cancellation of New Year festivities. 3. Samut Prakan also has also gone into lockdown – from December 23 to January 4, closing public venues and cancelling all public events. 4. Chiang Mai which clamped a lockdown in 3 sub-districts – Tha Ton, Malika and Mae Ai. 5. Suphan Buri’s Song Song Pee Nong district after 7 Covid-19 cases has emerged in the district including a 7-months old baby. Residents at Song Pee Nong district will be refrained from non-essential travel out of the district from December 23 to January 3. All indoor exercise and recreational facilities will be shut. Meanwhile the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) yesterday ordered all 437 schools and 299 kindergartens under its supervision to close for 12 days from today to contain the latest Covid-19 outbreak. The latest Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand has been rising fast and yesterday the CCSA reported 65 confirmed new cases outside of Samut Sakhon. The number of confirmed cases in Samut Sakhon alone is now 1,202 based on 6,314 samples. There are now 1,267 people, both Thais and migrant workers from Myanmar, who have been infected by the outbreak that started on December 17. Sixty-five cases were reported including 16 cases in Bangkok followed by Nakhon Pathom (10), Chachoengsao (6), Samut Prakan and Saraburi (5 each) and Pathum Thani (3). The Department of Medical Sciences yesterday said the Covid-19 strain responsible for the outbreak in Samut Sakhon matches the variant of the virus that is common in Myanmar and India. Laboratory tests showed that the GH strain is responsible for the Samut Sakhon outbreak. This is the same strain behind the outbreak in Myanmar’s Shan state that recently spread to the Thai border districts of Mae Sai in Chiang Rai province and Mae Sot in Tak. Meanwhile, 3 more Myanmar nationals who worked at a plastic factory in coronavirus- plagued Samut Sakhon province were found abandoned in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district. Police from Bang Phli station said it had picked up 3 abandoned workers yesterday. The 3 were taken for Covid-19 screenings afterwards. The 3 migrant workers were among a group of Myanmar nationals taken in five vehicles from the factory in Samut Sakhon to Samut Prakan province late on Tuesday night. Seri Ruam Thai Party leader Pol Gen Sereepisuth Temeeyaves, as chairman of the House anti-corruption and misconduct committee, is seeking to strip Phalang Pracharath Party MP (PPRP) Sira Jenjakha, also a committee member, of his MP status, citing Sira’s past offences. Sereepisuth said he had asked Parliament speaker Chuan Leekpai to petition the Constitutional Court to rule on Sira’s MP status over a lengthy complaints from the public. In response, Sira has threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against Pol Gen Sereepisuth. The complaints that pointed to Sira’s past offences include: The case in which Sira confessed as the guilty party to the Bangkok South Municipal Court in a cheque fraud case more than 20 years ago; An embezzlement case in which Sira confessed as the guilty party to the Pathumwan Municipal Court; An assault case in which Sira confessed as the guilty party to the Phrae provincial court; A road accident in which Sira crashed into a motorcycle. Sira confessed as the guilty party of the crash at the Prachuab Khiri Khan provincial court. Meanwhile, the future of other 2 government MPs is in doubt as the Constitutional Court is set to rule on their fate. The 2 MPs are Paiboon Nititawan, Phalang Pracharat Party (PPRP) list MP, and Thepthai Senpong, a Democrat Party MP. The Constitutional Court yesterday accepted a petition to rule on Paiboon’s status after he decided to terminate his own party last week and to join the PPRP. Activist Srisuwan Janya has asked the Election Commission (EC) to seek a Constitutional Court ruling on Paiboon’s status after he sought to disband the People Reform Party (PRP) before joining the PPRP’s party list system despite not being on the system. The court ordered Paiboon to submit his explanation for his defence within 15 days without suspending him from carrying out MP duties. Thepthai’s MP status remains in doubt after the Nakhon Si Thammarat court sentenced him to 2 years in prison without suspension with a ban from politics for 10 years after being found guilty of cheating in the provincial administration organisation (PAO) election in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 2014. The Constitutional Court is set to decide on Thepthai’s fate on January 27, 2021 following the Election Commission (EC)’s petition for it to rule on Thepthai’s MP status. The Senate whip yesterday voted to appoint senators Wallop Tangkhananurak and Chaweerat Kasetsunthorn as its representatives to sit on the national reconciliation committee to find solutions to political conflict. The Senate is reported to submit the names of its representatives to parliament speaker Chuan Leekpai yesterday. Senate speaker Pornpetch Wichitcholchai Pornpetch who forwarded the Senate’s 2 representatives to Chuan said both representatives are suitable to sit on the reconciliation panel due to their extensive experience working for society and are of political neutrality. Meanwhile, the opposition insisted that it would not join the proposed reconciliation panel unless the protest movement also takes part. Opposition leader Sompong Amornvivat has accused the government of lacking sincerity in fostering unity without including the government’s opponents. Chaithawat Tulathon, secretary-general of the Kao Klai (Move Forward) Party, said the opposition parties agreed with efforts to bring about unity, but the process cannot proceed as long as those who hold different views continue to be persecuted. Economic News Kerry Express (Thailand) Plc will start its trading today on the Stock Exchange of Thailand today, after it successfully undertook an initial price offering (IPO) at the high end of the offering price of 28 baht a share. KEX offered 300 million ordinary shares to the public as it becomes the first parcel delivery firm to be listed in the SET. KEX’s IPO price is expected to rise because KEX is a large-cap stock while the spread of the Covid-19 outbreak may continue to have an impact on the parcel delivery business. KEX continues to see fierce competition from e-commerce titans Lazada and Shopee which moved to launch delivery services of their own.
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