A medical worker collects sample for COVID-19 testing in Samut Sakhon province of Thailand (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand has for the first time put into operation aCOVID-19 quarantine facility which was converted from a factory of the PattayaFood Group.
According to the government’s COVID-19 task force, the factory, which was usedto manufacture canned foods under the Nautilus brand, is now a 600-patient bed quarantine facility.It is divided into three zones: a green zone is the reception area, a yellowzone is where medical professionals are stationed and where they will changetheir clothes, and a red zone will house infected persons.
Thai health authorities will speed up COVID-19 tests for more than 35,000workers at 400 factories in Samut Sakhon by January 24. Samut Sakhon houses alarge number of plants and migrant workers, most of whom come from Myanmar.
Provincial chief public health officer Naretrit Khatthasima said the province'sefforts are being bolstered by medical teams from across the country who havebeen sent to work there, adding the outbreak in Samut Sakhon has been containedas a result of active case finding and proactive screening in the province.
Deputy governor Surasak Pholyangsong said the province is scheduled to open itsfourth field hospital in tambon Nadee on January 15.
He said the facility, which is formally known as Samut Sakhon's care centre,has 350 beds to accommodate COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.
To date, the outbreak in Samut Sakhon has spread to more than 50 provinces andcities across the nation.
The Southeast Asian country documented 271 new COVID-19 infections on January14, bringing its total COVID-19 cases to 11,262. Sixty-nine people died of thenovel coronavirus./.
The Government of Thailand has banned all gatherings "posing risk of disease transmission", except for household meetings and government activities, effective immediately in COVID-19-hit areas.
Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has declared stricter measures for 28 "red zone" provinces, including the capital of Bangkok, amid COVID-19 spikes across the country.
A committee under the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on January 4 approved the extension of the Emergency Decree nationwide until the end of February.
The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
A technical issue combined with an extreme heatwave was blamed for a series of explosions at a military base that killed 20 soldiers and injured several others in Cambodia on April 27, the country’s Ministry of Defence said in a May 2 statement as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
Malaysia should harness the collective expertise and resources to drive sustainable growth and development of the halal industry, according to Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
Laos has officially restored the 10% value-added tax (VAT) rate starting May 1, in a bid to support the country’s budget revenue and socio-economic development.
The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
A medical worker collects sample for COVID-19 testing in Samut Sakhon province of Thailand (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
