Thai people wear face masks to protect themselves from coronavirus. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Bangkok
(VNA) –
Thailand’s cabinet on December 29 approved eight special holidays
for 2021 in a bid to boost local tourism.
According to deputy government spokesperson Traisuree
Taisaranakul, February 12 will be a holiday for the Lunar New Year, which
normally is not an official holiday.
Another special holidays included April 12 as another
Songkran holiday and July 27 as a holiday in lieu of the Buddhist Lent day.
Some of the approved events combining with weekends create
long holidays in February, April, July and October.
The newly planned holidays were aimed at stimulating
NCID nurse becomes first person in Singapore to receive COVID-19 vaccine | Video Singapore
31 Dec 2020 12:11AM)
Senior staff nurse Sarah Lim became the first person in Singapore to receive a COVID-19 vaccination on Wednesday (Dec 30), with a total of 40 healthcare workers at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) receiving the jab. Cheryl Goh reports.
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Singapore rolls out Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
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Singapore becomes first Asian country to approve Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
Singapore has also placed advance orders for Moderna vaccine
SINGAPORE: Singapore kicked off Asia s first inoculation programme on Wednesday as it began administering Pfizer-BioNTech s coronavirus vaccine to health workers.
Singapore is the first country in Asia to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
At least 30 staff at the National Centre for Infectious Diseases were vaccinated, the healthy ministry said. They will return for the second dose of the vaccine on January 20, 2020.
Among the firsts to receive the vaccine were a 46-year-old nurse, Sarah Lim, and a 43-year-old infectious disease doctor, Kalisvar Marimuthu.
World News Quick Take
Vaccine rollout begins
The city-state, which earlier this month became the first Asian country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, started by vaccinating healthcare workers, the Ministry of Health said yesterday. Nurse Sarah Lim, 46, was the first, the ministry said. “I feel grateful and thankful for being the first to be vaccinated,” the nurse from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases was quoted as saying by the Straits Times. SOUTH KOREA
Cluster outbreak in prison
A prison in southeastern Seoul has 771 inmates and 21 staff infected, bringing the facility’s total to 792 cases, Yonhap news agency reported, citing the Ministry of Justice. Media displayed images of inmates holding up signs that read: “Please save us.” The Disease Control and Prevention Agency said that an inmate with underlying conditions died this week from COVID-19.