Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’s southern region has become a COVID-19 epicentre, with a surge in the numbers of cases and fatalities.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said four southern provinces - Yala, Pattani Songkhla, and Narathiwat recorded 2,303 new infections as compared to 1,610 cases logged in the Extended Bangkok Metropolitan Region.
To deal with this situation, the Thaigovernment decided to set up a task force to aid COVID-19 control in the four provinces. Former National Security Council (NSC) secretary-general Gen NatthapolNakpanich was assigned to lead the southern operation, with officials from the PublicHealth Ministry sent to aid him.
The Southeast Asian country has taken more than 31.5 million doses ofSinovac since February, starting with two doses for frontline health workers,high-risk groups and residents of the Phuket resort island.
In July,Thailand started administering a combination of Sinovac's vaccine as the first shot and AstraZeneca's vaccine as the second. It is expected that the country will switch to a combination of AstraZeneca andPfizer/BioNTech vaccines.
On October 18, Thailand reported 10,111 new COVID-19 cases and 63 fatalities, bringing thetotal infections in the kingdom to 1,793,812, including 18,336 deaths./.
Thailand’s Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said his ministry plans to implement travel bubbles this year along borders such as Trat province and Cambodia’s Koh Kong province.
Thailand's fruit export between January and August this year generated 169 billion THB (about 5 billion USD), an increase of 46 percent year-on-year, according to the Thai Ministry of Commerce.
Reopening the tourism industry to vaccinated foreigners from November will help drive GDP growth and sustain business confidence of Thailand, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
Thailand is planning to resume on-site teaching in Bangkok capital next month, while Siem Reap province of Cambodia is shifting its focus on making sure that this international tourism hub is read to welcome tourists back.
Thailand’s economic growth may reach 1.3 percent this year, as forecast by the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), according to Pisit Puapan, director of the Bureau of Macroeconomic Policy.
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.
Illustrative image (Photo: AP) 
