Surawong branch of the Bank of Ayudhya, or Krungsri Bank. Photo: Grigory Zimenkov / Courtesy
BANGKOK — A foreign resident on Wednesday said he was turned away by employees at a bank in downtown Bangkok who allegedly cited coronavirus measures and his ethnicity as the reason.
Russian national Grigory Zimenkov, 36, said he was wearing a face mask when he tried to enter a Bank of Ayudhya’s branch on Surawong Road at around 1pm.
Zimenkov said a guard asked him to wait outside. Then a couple of employees came out offering to help him use the ATM rather than entering the bank, but Zimenkov said he needed to use a teller’s service to do bank transactions. Then, a bank manager came out.
“The manager showed me on his phone some announcement about COVID-19. So I asked, ‘because of COVID I cannot enter? Because I am a foreigner?’ And he nodded,” the Russian expat said.
Zimenkov said he then offered to hand him his card and passport to the bank employees so they could do the transactions for him while he waited outside, but his request was rejected. While the exchanges happened, other Thai customers were free to enter, he said.
The expat said he later went to the Krungsri branch at Chamchuri Square to do his transactions: “It was smooth, without any problems or questions.”
An employee answering the phone at the Surawong branch Wednesday said he would not comment on the matter, but insisted that the incident was “related to COVID.”
The Bank of Ayudhya’s call center said that the company does not have any policy to bar foreigners from using its services.
“We don’t have any policy that discriminates against customers. It could have been a misunderstanding since he does not speak Thai,” the operator said, adding that the headquarters will look into the matter.
Zimenkov said he has not left Thailand since Dec. 2019. Since he does not speak Thai, the expat said it was possible that a miscommunication had transpired.
“I don’t know how to explain or characterize it, but it was strange,” he said, laughing. “I wasn’t expecting that it would happen so soon after the new outbreak in Samut Sakhon.”
A number of businesses and state-run attractions shut their doors to foreigners after the coronavirus broke out in January – regardless of their travel history.
There are little legal consequences for discriminating against foreign customers, though government officials have intervened in some high-profile cases. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it does not endorse the practice of refusing services to foreigners.
“Any signs that suggest banning foreigners are business establishments’ prerogative. Such action is discouraged and limited to only a small number of shops in certain areas,” the ministry said in a statement.
People stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Photo: Jerry Harmer / AP
SAMUT SAKHON — Members of the public, including expats, can donate both money and medical equipment to migrant workers and frontline medical professionals in Samut Sakhon, where many are grappling with the new wave of coronavirus cases.
As of Thursday, 1,273 infections were found in Samut Sakhon province over the past week. The cluster was traced by health officials to the Mahachai Market’s shrimp section.
The Red Cross is collecting donations for care packages for migrant workers under quarantine in Samut Sakhon. According to rights activists, both healthy and infected workers are being locked together and unable to work for their salaries, as prices of basic necessities skyrocket.
Donate to the Thai Red Cross for Disaster Relief account at Kasikorn Bank, account number 001-1-34567-0 to contribute. When donating, you can add a note either in Thai or English to specify the donations be used to aid migrant workers affected by COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon.
Worakit Jariyasophon, a doctor at Tha Chalom City Hospital, says that his colleagues need more medical equipment to conduct COVID-19 tests in the province.
“We need protective equipment since we go into the ‘red zones’ and need to change the equipment daily,” Worakit, 45, said. He has first posted online asking for donations in doctor’s online group
Mail donations of N95 masks, medical PPE suits, alcohol gel, face shields, and so on (not money) to:
Worakit Jariyasophon Tha Chalom City Hospital 978 Thawai Road, Tha Chalom District Samut Sakhon 74000
To donate to Samut Sakhon Hospital, whose doctors and nurses are central to the ongoing bid to contain the outbreak, transfer money to SCB account number 570-443547-6 to the hospital’s donation account (in English the account name may show up as “Ngenborijakko” on your phone).
Contact the hospital’s donation department for corporate donations at 061-2199885.
Until Dec. 30, Kerry Express delivery service is offering free delivery for people sending masks and other medical equipment to hospitals located in Samut Sakhon.
Bring your parcel to any branch of Kerry nationwide and address it to one of the eligible hospitals. Kerry will deliver it for free (but charges for buying a box still applies).
The following hospitals are eligible: Jessada Hospital, Mahachai Hospital, Mahachai Hospital 2, Mahachai Hospital 3, Vichaivej Hospital International Samut Sakhon, Vichaivej Hospital International Om Noi, Samut Sakhon Hospital, Ekachai Hospital, Krathumbaen Hospital, Vibharam Samut Sakhon Hospital, Mahachai Hospital, and Ban Phaeo Hospital.
Visitors at a botanical fair in Khon Kaen province registers her temperature on Dec. 23, 2020.
BANGKOK (Xinhua) — Five-star hotels in Bangkok, Thailand have dimmed their lights for more than half a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that forced the country to shut its doors to foreign tourists since April.
In a once-bustling riverfront night bazaar in Bangkok, Christmas lights have been put up only to attract few visitors and the dazzling lights could hardly beat the gloom. The city is not in a festive mood.
In southern Thailand’s resort island Phuket, hotel occupancy rate hovers at less than 20 percent. “Cheaper flights, public holidays added by the government and drastic drop of hotel rates are still far less likely to win domestic tourists,” a receptionist at a local hotel told Xinhua.
Unprecedented Crisis
Tourism and hotel industries are suffering from the absence of international tourists. Only 1,201 foreign tourists visited Thailand in October, as the country gradually opened up to a select number of visitors to help its struggling, tourism-reliant economy.
Thitiporn Maneenetr, director in charge of the East Asian market of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, told Xinhua that Thailand welcomed 3.07 million foreign visitors in the same month last year. Two thirds of the kingdom’s tourism revenue comes from foreign arrivals.
Few visitors are seen at Phuket Old Town on Dec. 19, 2020.
“Though domestic tourism started to recover with people flocking to some destinations during weekends, it’s not enough to salve the whole industry as the domestic market contributes only 30 percent of total tourism revenue.”
Tourism-related businesses that are heavily reliant on foreign tourists have to adapt and now cater to local customers. If they keep shutting down their businesses, facilities will be run down and staffs dismissed, said Thitiporn.
“Price war will damage the whole industry. It’s the toughest challenge ever for tourism industry.”
Find Way Out
Facing the pandemic-induced economic woes, some tourism-related businesses in Thailand are trying to find a connecting piece within the collapsing jigsaw.
The hotel industry is in an unprecedented crisis. “Our enemy is even invisible. Yet the pandemic has only served to push us to realign our strategies to suit domestic travellers who now seek exclusive escapes with a component of seclusive, valued-added and heightened wellness experiences,” Suphajee Suthumpun, CEO of Dusit International, a leading hotel and property development company, told Xinhua.
“We partner with travel platforms, such as travel agencies and local communities, to jointly explore some niche routes, the hidden gems that could be hardly discovered in mass tourism. We offer guests bespoke itineraries and value-added packages. We try to reinvent ourselves to stay attractive to domestic travellers,” she said.
Tourists pose for photos with a field of sunflowers in Lopburi province on Dec. 21, 2020.
Hotels under Dusit group are baiting consumers with bundle deals, such as the flower field trip package, including accommodation, meals, transportation and personal photographer. It offers tourists trips to less visited local communities all over the kingdom with authentic experiences.
To whet the appetite of the visitors, some hotels invite chefs from less known local restaurants with family recipes to prepare meals with distinct tastes.
The pandemic has enhanced customers’ demand for health wellness. Some Thai hotels offer personal coaching sessions with experts or celebrity trainers. Some bring medical services, sleep tests, and sound treatments to hotels.
“Hotel industry needs to diversify its services to survive. Hotel should no longer be the mere place to stay and eat, but a second home for guests to experience different life,” said Suphajee.
Beachgoers walk along the mostly empty Chaweng Beach on Samui Island, Dec. 18, 2020.
She said the tourism industry is suffering a reshuffle by COVID-19, adding that the hospitality sector has to undergo inevitable changes as part of the “new normal,” including an added emphasis on hygiene, a redefined business concept and design alteration.
“Integration of tourism resources and new partnerships with tour agencies seem to be the only way for operators to survive. We have to move forward together, though less profitable,” said Suphajee.
Opaque Prospect in Near Future
As a way to make the pandemic-hit economy move, the Thai government has given greenlight to extend a stimulus package for local tourists. The “We Travel Together” campaign, which subsidises 40 percent of hotel expenditure and airfares, is likely to run from January to March next year.
In tandem with the domestic tourism stimulus plan, the government tries to invigorate the domestic economy by holding events and festivals.
The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has launched a Festival Economy policy to nurture partnerships between professional festival associations and local city governments to co-create new festivals with lasting economic, social and environmental impacts.
Phuket’s old town seemed to be wakened from a long quiet low season, with people flocking to trendy destinations at the recent Living Art Festival.
Security officers inspect hygeniene measures at a beer hall in Khon Kaen province on Dec. 23, 2020.
TCEB is bringing new and high-profile festivals based on the city’s unique DNA. Such festivals will help attract visitors with high spending power and help revive the local economy, stimulate job creation and spur infrastructure development, said Nichapa Yoswee, TCEB senior vice president who chaired the opening ceremony of the art festival.
“We don’t focus on how much revenue it creates, we just aim to generate events to bring tourists to local communities, thus to make their business run,” she told Xinhua.
However, consumer sentiment is likely to be dented in the wake of recent surge in COVID-19 cases. With the New Year countdowns cancelled in many provinces and Samut Sakhon province, the epicenter of the latest outbreak, locked down, the prospect of tourism industry remains opaque.
The tourism sector may have to wait until 2022 to see “normal,” or 80 percent of the pre-pandemic level, as major markets are reluctant to ease travel restrictions unless there is distribution of a successful vaccine, said the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The video message that plunged Washington into chaos was filmed in secret.
President Donald Trump stood in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room, holiday garland and gleaming ornaments draped on the fireplace behind him. He spoke into the camera not to deliver warm Christmas wishes, but to threaten to detonate Congress’ $900 billion COVID-19 relief and year-end package.
The video was released without warning Tuesday night, its recording orchestrated by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and kept from all but a handful of aides. On Wednesday, few Republicans or even White House staffers knew what Trump plans next, in a return to the around-the-clock chaos of his first months in office.
The moment was also a flashback to the start of Trump’s political career, when he delivered direct assaults on GOP leadership and the party’s establishment. Now Trump appears willing to do that again on his way out of office, potentially sabotaging his party’s chances of controlling the Senate as he lashes out in anger at those he believes have not supported his efforts to overturn the election.
Since his defeat by Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has been holed up in the White House with an ever-shrinking circle of aides and allies, including some pushing fraudulent conspiracy theories about the election. He has ignored the surging pandemic that is killing 3,000 Americans a day, and has mostly left it to others to promote vaccines being counted on to bring it to an end.
His focus has largely been on trying to overturn Biden’s victory, embracing baseless conspiracy theories, pushing futile legal challenges and undermining confidence in the tenets of American democracy and the peaceful transfer of power.
The president, who has not held a public event in 10 days, departed Wednesday afternoon for more than a week at Mar-a-Lago, his coastal Florida estate. Up until the president’s departure, aides were unsure whether he would cancel the trip, adding uncertainty to a fatigued, hollowed-out West Wing featuring scores of empty desks as staffers begin leaving for new jobs.
“There are mixed signals from the White House leaving more confusion than calm,” Biden noted on Wednesday.
Confusion was the watchword Tuesday night when Trump released two videos, one falsely declaring that he won the election in a “landslide” and the other calling on lawmakers to increase direct payments for most Americans from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples, a boost most Republicans strongly oppose.
The payments are included in sweeping legislation passed by Congress earlier this week. Trump personally played little role in the negotiations, though the White House had initially sent signals that he would sign the bill.
The president’s focus has remained on the election and he has grown increasingly frustrated with Republicans who are acknowledging Biden’s victory. He also complained to allies in recent days that Vice President Mike Pence, who has spent four years demonstrating his loyalty, was not doing enough to defend him. And he said he was pleased by the departure of Attorney General William Barr, who had not supported his calls for a special counsel to look into election fraud.
Trump has been buoyed by support from some House Republicans who are entertaining options for snarling congressional certification of Biden’s victory in early January. Any such effort would be futile in blocking Biden, but would likely deepen the disinformation campaign Trump and his allies have launched since Election Day to undercut the incoming president’s legitimacy.
Whether Trump is threatening to hold up the relief bill simply to spite Republicans is unclear. But the timing of his declarations is particularly problematic for the party, given the upcoming Senate runoffs in Georgia, which will determine whether Republicans can keep control of the chamber.
There are also personal political considerations at play for Trump. Aides believed that fighting to put more money in the hands of average Americans could boost his popularity and populist credentials for whatever his potential next move might be, including a possible presidential run in 2024.
Some of his aides have already begun planning for a post-presidency with Trump in Florida, where the outgoing chief executive is expected to reside after he leaves office. Trump is expected to remain highly visible after leaving office and may launch political and media endeavors even if he holds off on announcing another possible campaign.
But now sequestered in near-isolation in the White House, Trump has paid attention to attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, both promoting election conspiracy theories, and listened to his former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s push to declare martial law. Yet he rebuked aides who urged him to denounce Russia for likely perpetrating a vast hack directed at the computer systems of U.S. government agencies.
Adding to the tumult, Trump on Wednesday vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats against a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress. It potentially sets up the first override vote of his presidency.
And while Trump has disengaged from the pandemic, he did use the powers of the office when he pardoned 15 people, including a pair of congressional Republicans who were strong early supporters, a 2016 campaign official ensnared in the Russia probe, and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad. And within minutes of Air Force One lifting off for Florida, Trump sent out a warning tweet to Iran after a recent series of rocket attacks in Iraq by Iranian-backed militias.
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Lemire reported from New York. Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed reporting from Washington.
In this Dec. 21, 2020, file photo, Tessa Boulton, left, takes a swab test from Michael Kruse, dressed as Santa Claus, at a coronavirus testing center at the Helios Clinic in Schwerin, Germany. (Jens Buettner/dpa via AP, File)
Montserrat Parello lost her husband eight years ago, and Christmas gatherings with children and grandchildren had helped her deal with her loneliness. But this year, the 83-year-old will be alone for the holiday at her home in Barcelona, due to the risk of infection from the coronavirus.
“In these days of pandemic, I feel loneliness and anger,” Parello said, expressing fears that “I will leave this life devoid of affection, of warmth.”
All most people wanted for Christmas after this year of pandemic uncertainty and chaoswas some cheer and togetherness. Instead many are heading into a season of isolation, grieving lost loved ones, worried about their jobs or confronting the fear of a new potentially more contagious virus variant.
In this Nov. 30, 2020, file photo, a shopper walks by holiday window displays in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
Residents of London and surrounding areas can’t see people outside their households. Peruvians won’t be allowed to drive their cars over Christmas and New Year to discourage visits even with nearby family and friends. South Africans won’t be able to go to the beach on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.
Thepatchwork of restrictionsbeing imposed by local and national governments across the world varies widely — but few holiday seasons will look normal this year.
People the world over are facing wrenching decisions — to see isolated elderly relatives despite the risk or to miss one of the potentially few Christmases left in the hopes of spending the holiday together next year.
There are no nationwide travel restrictions in the United States, but health officials have urged people to stay home and limit gatherings. Some states require travelers to get tested or quarantine.
In this Dec. 19, 2020, file photo, Augusta Grigis, is flanked by nurse Michela Valle, left, and director Maria Giulia Madaschi, as she talks via a tablet with a donor who bought and sent her a Christmas present through an organization dubbed “Santa’s Grandchildren”, at a nursing home in Alzano Lombardo, in Northern Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Michelle Dallaire, 50, an attorney in Idlewild, Michigan, said this would be her first Christmas away from her father, who lives in northern Virginia. They decided it wasn’t worth the risk this year.
“It’s sad, but better than never seeing him again,” said Dallaire, who has health issues that also make her particularly vulnerable to the virus.
In Brazil, which has the world’s second-highest virus death toll after the United States, Francisco Paulo made a similar decision to skip a visit to his elderly mother in Sao Jose do Belmonte, in Pernambuco state. The 53-year-old doorman will work the holiday instead at a building in Sao Paulo.
“Now I’m hoping to drive there (to Pernambuco) in May, and crossing my fingers that she’ll be vaccinated by then,” Paulo said. “It isn’t a happy Christmas, but at least I’m healthy and so are all the people I love.”
In this Dec. 18, 2020, file photo, Fredy Parra, dressed as Santa Claus, speaks to a girl at a Christmas fair in Caracas, Venezuela. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
The virus has been blamed for more than 1.7 million deaths worldwide, and many are still grieving — or worried about loved ones in hospitals or nursing homes as the virus surges anew. But some who have survived sickness — and everything else that 2020 has thrown at them — are looking to rejoice.
Dr. Elisaveta Tomova, an anesthesiologist in North Macedonia, is exhausted after months of helping women with the virus give birth and caring for her 26-year-old son, who became infected himself.
“I have faced a nine-headed monster, and my son and I have beat it,” the 54-year-old said. “All I need now is my family to be around me, to celebrate in silence and to fill my heart with joy.”
Many people head into the holidays facing financial uncertainty after lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus have decimated economies.
In this Dec. 19, 2020, file photo, hosts, protected by glass window, attend a Christmas concert in a nursing home in Alzano Lombardo, one of the area that most suffered the first wave of COVID-19, in Northern Italy. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)
Matteo Zega, a 25-year-old Italian chef who has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, lost a job offer in France when bars and restaurants there were ordered to remain closed until mid-January. He’s hoping to start an internship in Copenhagen — as long as restrictions don’t scupper that plan, too.
“It makes me stressed,” Zega said. “But at the end of the day, I wouldn’t complain when there are so many people suffering or dying. You can lose many things: jobs, money. But I’m here, I’m healthy.”
In recent weeks, many countries tightened restrictions in the hopes of bringing the spread of the virus under control so that the rules could be relaxed for Christmas. But that has not worked in many places.
In Italy, which has Europe’s highest confirmed death toll and where many have fallen into povertyfollowing lockdowns, the government has imposed even more restrictions.
The four nations of the U.K. — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have all ditched their original Christmas relaxation plans. Hopes that a vaccine could stop the spread were high just weeks ago when Britain was the first country to roll out a rigorously tested shot, but now an aura of dread hangs over the holiday as daily new infections soar.
For Matt Balch, a 40-year-old Australian who lives outside London, the ability to ditch the Christmas plan came as almost a relief. Balch was set to go to his in-laws’ home in Wales with wife, Kelly, and their two young children.
In this Dec. 22, 2020, file photo, relatives touch each other’s hand through a plastic film screen and a glass to avoid contracting COVID-19 at the San Raffaele center in Rome ahead of Christmas. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse via AP)
“The prospect of being in a car for six hours each way with a 3-month-old and a 2-year-old filled me with dread,” he said.
But James Wren, who works in Hong Kong’s finance industry, was downbeat about his change of plans. He was initially going to fly home to Ireland — but the rapidly changing travel and quarantine policies, coupled with the uncertainty in the coronavirus situation both in Hong Kong and abroad, led him to cancel.
“This is my first time ever not being with my family for Christmas, even though I have lived outside of Ireland for many years, so it was an extremely upsetting decision to make,” he said.
While many countries tightened restrictions, Lebanon, with the largest percentage of Christians in the Mideast, was actually easing them despite rapidly growing cases. It made that decision to boost an ailing economy and alleviate despair exacerbated by a devastating port explosion in Beirut in August.
In this Dec. 8, 2020, file photo, Santa, portrayed by Dan Kemmis, laughs as he talks to Kristin Laidre as she walks her dog, Scooby, a Bassett Hound mix, as he sits inside a protective bubble in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
But even that provided no relief to some.
“It will be a disaster after the holidays,” said Diala Fares, 52. “People are acting like everything is normal, and our government doesn’t care.”
Amid all the gloom, at least some children can rest assured that Santa Claus is still coming to town.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease specialist, said during a CNN special program with Sesame Street characters that he had been to the North Pole and vaccinated the man himself.
“He is good to go,” Fauci said.
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Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed.
First Network To Apply Ndid Standard for Convenience and Confidence in Security
Partnering With Kiatnakin Phatra To Allow the Opportunity for Thais To Open a Bank Account Without Visiting the Branch
AIS has partnered with National Digital ID Company Limited (NDID), the creator of a platform to verify digital ID, to be the first mobile network provider to launch online ID self-verification. This uses biometric data verification from physical identity data to validate and verify ID to international standards, including the standards of the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (Public Organization).
– To kick off, AIS has joined with Kiatnakin Phatra Bank Plc. (KKPB). It will be the first financial institution allowing customers to digitally verify themselves to open a deposit account, with no need to travel to a bank branch. This service is part of a joint trial and development of innovation with new technology supporting financial services of the Bank of Thailand. (Regulatory Sandbox)
– The service is open to customers from every mobile network, and any Thai person who must verify themselves digitally for any transaction in both state or private sector, such as opening a deposit account, investment in mutual fund or purchasing life insurance. This is done through AIS channels starting with AIS Smart Kiosks @AIS shop, at all branches nationwide. Next year this will be expanded to every branch of Telewiz, and participating branches of AIS Buddy.
Mr.Pratthana Leelapanang, Chief Consumer Business Officer at Advanced Info Service Plc. (AIS) noted, “Digital services have become popular in the financial sector and have shown continuous growth, which is a good sign for expanding the digital economy. Giving the public the opportunity for self-verification in the online world, or the correct National Digital ID with security standards, is the crucial factor. AIS is a Digital Life Service Provider, which provides the services of both Digital Infrastructure and comprehensive Digital Services with channels within easy access for any Thai person nationwide. We are thus primed to provide the service of online ID self–verification and be the first mobile network to be an identity provider, to increase opportunities, convenience and access to all categories of financial services for Thai people at every level. Meanwhile, we are adding to the growth of the country’s digital economy. We are delighted to be collaborating with National Digital ID Company Limited (NDID) and Kiatnakin Phatra Bank Plc. to launch this service together, before expanding our collaboration to other financial institutions.”
Mr.Boonsun Prasitsumrit, Chief Executive Officer of National Digital ID Co., Ltd. (NDID) said, “Digital transactions are currently growing rapidly. The first step to confidence in digital transactions for both the end user and the service provider is confidence that the individual conducting the transaction is in fact that person. NDID is a central platform for digital self-validation and verification, with members from many sectors providing services causing an exchange of data. NDID is delighted that Advanced Info Service Plc. is graciously providing the service of self-validation and verification through AIS Kiosks. These will increase channels accessing digital self-verification, which will continuously develop and expand the scope for serving customers through NDID’s digital self-verification. NDID sincerely hopes that this cooperation between AIS, KKP and NDID will benefit the general public and promote the growth of digital transactions in Thailand.”
Mr.Philip Chen Chong Tan, President of Kiatnakin Phatra Bank, commented, “In the banking industry, confidence in transaction security is critical. Traditionally, the bank required a process of strict verification at the branch before an account could be opened. But now, we are pleased that Kiatnakin Phatra Bank has teamed up with AIS, whose service network has great coverage, and NDID, whose ID verification platform has international-class security. This has given our customers alternatives when opening an account at Kiatnakin Phatra Bank, without requiring a trip to the bank. The customer only has to bring their ID card for verification at AIS Smart Kiosks nationwide, and the bank can verify and validate the customer’s ID. This development will make future online transactions quicker and more convenient, while retaining high security standards. This will reduce costs massively for the whole country and drive the digital economy to the next level.”
AIS online self-verification service starts today and is free at AIS counters nationwide. For more details see www.ais.co.th/ndid
Security officials question a group of migrant workers left abandoned in front of a factory in Samut Prakan province on Dec. 22, 2020.
SAMUT PRAKAN — Police on Wednesday said they are gathering evidence to press charges against individuals who drove a group of migrant workers from Samut Sakhon and left them on the roadside outside Bangkok.
Fourteen Myanmar nationals were found by locals with their luggage on Bangna-Trad Road on Tuesday night. The group said they were employees of STI Precision plastic factory in Samut Sakhon province, prompting security officials to investigate the factory on Wednesday morning.
“They’re not involved with the seafood industry in Samut Sakhon province,” head of Samut Prakan provincial police Chumpol Phumphuang said. “Six of them have passports, while the remaining do not.”
Calls to phone numbers listed in the company’s contact information went unanswered as of publication.
Maj. Gen. Chumpol said the individuals who led the group out of Samut Sakhon could be charged for violating the Governor’s order on travel restrictions of migrant workers. The order, which was imposed under the emergency decree, carries a maximum penalty of 2 years in prison and a 40,000 baht fine.
“The workers said they didn’t know where they would be heading to and they were just following their employer’s order,” he said. “We will take legal action against anyone involved without exception.”
Police have expressed concerns that some migrant workers could be abandoned by their employers, either out of fear of the crackdown on undocumented workers, or fear of coronavirus infections.
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said the authorities will allow undocumented migrant workers to obtain a temporary ID card in order to offer them a reprieve during the ongoing virus outbreak.
One of the workers abandoned in Samut Prakan last night told Khaosod that a total of 23 people were fired from the factory last night because the executives fear a police raid. Most of them were able to find relatives to stay with, but the remaining 14 people were refused by their families and left abandoned in front of a factory.
The workers were sent to a hospital for checkup, though none of them show signs of infection, police said. They are now under quarantine at a stadium in Samut Prakan.
Migrant workers are seen behind razor wires on Dec. 21, 2020, at a seafood market that has been sealed off in Samut Sakhon province.
Top: Migrant workers are seen behind razor wires on Dec. 21, 2020, at a seafood market that has been sealed off in Samut Sakhon province.
BANGKOK — Labor rights activists on Wednesday urged the government to rethink its policy of putting hundreds of migrant workers in the same residential buildings without segregating those who caught the virus from those who did not.
Food, unemployment assistance, and more sanitary quarantine lodgings are also sorely needed by the workers left adrift by the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in Samut Sakhon province, civil rights watchdogs said. More than 1,000 migrant workers were infected by the virus in the past week alone, official reports said.
“They are stuck in apartments and without work,” Sompong Srakaew, director of the Labour Protection Network Foundation, said by phone. “Even grocery stores inside the quarantine buildings are charging more for eggs, nearly twice the normal price.”
At least 400 families of migrant workers from Myanmar are currently quarantined in crowded dormitories close to the Central Shrimp Market, the epicenter of the latest outbreak, Sompong said. They were put in five apartment buildings, each of them four-storey. None of the 3,000 occupants are allowed to leave the area.
Although the Red Cross and provincial authorities have been handing out food and basic necessities over the past few days, the supplies are still far from enough, Sompong said, adding that the workers are growing desperate to be locked down without having any salary.
“I may have to talk to the provincial business confederation to convince the employers to pay them salaries regardless of the situations,” the activist said.
People stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer)
Adisorn Kerdmongkol, coordinator of Migrant Working Group, which has representatives with the migrant workers in 20 provinces, said he’s alarmed to discover that infected workers are forced to share their apartment buildings with non-infected workers.
“This is not appropriate, putting those infected and not infected together. It violates their human rights,” Adisorn said.
A news report by PPTV also said many workers don’t even know if they are infected at all – since they never received the lab test results.
“I don’t know which person I have to avoid, because I don’t know who’s infected, and who isn’t,” a migrant worker told the channel in a video call. “Right now, we don’t know the situation at all.”
Repeated calls to the provincial public health office to seek answers about the latest situation on the ground went unanswered as of press time.
But a spokesman of the government pandemic center insisted that the policy is appropriate because most of the infected migrant workers are young, strong, and asymptomatic. The workers will be taken to hospital only if they are found to be ill, spokesman Taweesin Wisanuyothin said on Sunday.
He later said on Wednesday that the government is building a field hospital with 100 beds to accommodate any migrant workers who may require medical attention.
Prejudice in Pandemic
A considerable segment of popular opinion also blames migrant workers who allegedly sneaked into Thailand for the new outbreak.
“This latest flare-up of infections in Samut Sakhon is primarily due to such illegal immigrants,” PM Prayut Chan-o-cha said Tuesday, without providing evidence.
A Myanmar interpreter who regularly assists migrant workers said on the phone Wednesday that he’s concerned about the growing backlash against the foreign workers that he saw on social media over the past few days.
“Nobody wants to be infected with COVID-19,” said the interpreter, who goes by the name of Jack. “Please don’t look at them in a negative light or with prejudice.”
Health workers test migrant workers at a market in Pathum Thani province for coronavirus on Dec. 23, 2020.
Lia Rosalia Sciortino, a populations study lecturer at Mahidol University, said that the surge in infections could lead to stigmatization against Burmese migrant workers.
“It’s important to change the narrative in reporting and focus more on the locations of the outbreak without starting to blame individuals ethnic groups,” Sciortino said. “This is a disease so it should be treated as a public health issue, and not crimes.”
To their credits, several high-ranking officials have denounced the prejudice against Myanmar migrant workers.
“We’re brothers and sisters, no matter if they’re legal or not,” coronavirus response center spokesman Taweesin said. “We’re all on the same boat. They’re here to help drive our country’s economy. They’re helping us since Thais don’t do jobs they’re doing. Please understand and help take care of each other.”
A security officer inspects a migrant worker’s identification papers in Yala province on Dec. 23, 2020.
Taweesin said people wishing to donate food and other necessities to the Myanmar workers can do so by contacting the Samut Sakhon administration.
“The Myanmar people living in the Central Shrimp Market are not convicts. They are not criminal suspects. They did nothing wrong,” Samut Sakhon Gov. Veerasak Vijitsaengsri also said on Tuesday. “The important thing right now is we have to take care of them, to make sure they are safe.”
Jack, the Myanmar interpreter, suggested that the government could go further and grant an amnesty for undocumented migrant workers, in order to encourage them to step forward for the coronavirus tests.
The proposal is said to be under discussion; Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said on Tuesday that he supports an idea of an amnesty, but it will be up to the government’s coronavirus center to make the final decision.
Migrant workers line up to have their details recorded by security officers in Phichit province on Dec. 23, 2020.
Under the 2008 Migrant Labour Act, a migrant worker working illegally could face a maximum imprisonment term of 5 years or fine of up to 100,000 baht or both. Employers hiring undocumented migrant workers could face a fine of up to 100,000 baht.
Not all migrant workers in the province are registered and therefore are not covered by unemployment assistance, while registered workers will find it very difficult to access compensation due to language barriers, said Adisorn, the activist from Migrant Working Group.
“Paperworks are in Thai and they are a hassle,” Adisorn said. “These people are losing their income for 14 days. The provincial authorities should consider stepping in to grant the fund to be used and afford these workers with half their daily wage instead.”
The header image on KateSpade.cn, accessed Dec. 23, 2020. The Kate Spade Thailand’s website links to the Chinese version of the website.
BANGKOK — You may have filled your online shopping cart with an Everything Tote Bag, but if you can’t read Mandarin, then you’re out of luck for that year-end treat-yo self purchase.
A number of Thai shoppers were scratching their heads on Wednesday when they found that the Kate Spade New York website inexplicably sent them to a distributor based in China instead.
The redirect appears to be based on the user’s locations. In case of Thailand, clicking on the link will send the shoppers to Katespade.cn, with the entire website in Chinese. At the bottom of the webpage, there’s even information of a business permit issued by the Chinese government. Products are listed in Chinese Yuan.
Posts on the Kate Spade New York’s Facebook page for Thailand link to the website of the Pat Luxury Group, a Thai distributor of luxury goods, which writes in English and lists products in Thai baht, however.
A screenshot of KateSpade.cn, accessed on Dec. 23, 2020.
The confusion isn’t just a mild annoyance for the shoppers who can’t read Chinese either. The Chinese page lists items at a slightly higher price than the Thai distributor: the Everything Puffy Large Tote is 9,150 baht on the local website, but CNY2,200 (10,166 baht) on the Chinese website.
Likewise, the Everything Puffy Cat Large Tote is 11,900 baht on the Thai website, but CNY2,800 (12,938 baht) on the .cn page.
Kate Spade Thailand Facebook page did not respond to messages as of press time. The brand has about 10 stores around Thailand.
A screenshot of KateSpade.cn, accessed on Dec. 23, 2020.A screenshot of KateSpade.cn, accessed on Dec. 23, 2020.
People line up to take COVID-19 test in Samut Sakhon province on Dec. 23, 2020.
BANGKOK — The government’s pandemic response center on Wednesday appeared to adopt a new policy of leaving out numbers of new coronavirus cases in Samut Sakhon in today’s news briefing.
The Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration reported only 46 new cases nationwide today, without mentioning how many were found in Samut Sakhon province, where at least 1,000 cases were discovered in recent days.
Center spokesman Taweesin Visanuyothin did not say why the latest update from the province was excluded in the briefing, though he said it will be reported at a later time.
“We’re not going to report the number of cases we found during active case-finding operations among the migrant workers. It now stands at zero at the moment,” Taweesin said. “There are a number of reasons we have to discuss further.”
The Thai government has been struggling to maintain its reputation of having near zero local transmissions for months – a feat routinely touted by the government as its prized achievement.
Health minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Dec. 18 said he ordered the authorities to “close the case” of the new outbreak within one week – an apparently impossible task, while other public health officials insisted the massive case spike does not count as a second wave of the outbreak.
Over the past few days, confirmed infections in Samut Sakhon were released to the media by provincial governors or local health officials, not the central government, who reported those cases much later.
People line up to take COVID-19 test in Samut Sakhon province on Dec. 23, 2020.
That practice may soon change. In today’s news briefing, Taweesin said he has requested Samut Sakhon’s provincial authorities to submit reports of new coronavirus cases to the health ministry before passing them on to the public.
“You can still hold a press conference, but please submit the data to the health ministry’s epidemiology bureau first,” Taweesin said. “We want this database to be as accurate as possible.”
He also urged fellow Thais to show compassion for migrant workers who are currently placed under quarantine in Samut Sakhon.
“We’re brothers and sisters, no matter if they’re legal or not,” Taweesin said before signing off. “We’re all on the same boat. They’re here to help drive our country’s economy. They’re helping us since Thais don’t do jobs they’re doing. Please understand and help take care of each other.”
As of Tuesday, the country’s cumulative case of infection now stands at 5,762, with 60 deaths. The latest fatality was reported in November.
