"SONGKHLA"

The end of Buddhist Lent Day on Thursday is not expected to be as lively as it has normally been due to the present Covid-19 pandemic and floods, while many cultural ceremonies have been cancelled in a bid to prevent more virus outbreaks from occurring.

Police officers seized 470,000 drugs worth over THB14 million on a Kukrit roadside in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district on Wednesday night.

A police officer’s love for red-whiskered bulbuls has turned into a profitable business, with some birds earning him hundreds of thousands of baht.

The Songkhla private sector has proposed the “Dan Nok Sandbox” initiative to reopen the province to cross-border trading with Malaysia.

The pandemic is having such a monstrous impact on Hat Yais travel industry that as many as nine tour guides have committed suicide since 2019 and more than 600 in the Songkhla district have lost their jobs.

Merchants at Hat Yai’s Kim Yong market are ready to welcome a large number of shoppers after Covid-19 measures were relaxed in Songkhla province. Virus prevention measures are to be strictly adhered to while most of the merchants have been vaccinated.

Seals in Songkhla Zoo are ready to welcome visitors with a special "volleyball show". Staff are preparing for the reopening of the zoo in 14 days when Covid-19 measures are eased.

Immigration Division 6 set up a committee on Wednesday to investigate the case of an officer asking for a monthly fee from an immigrant in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district.

Songkhla is planning to launch the “Dannok Sandbox” scheme to help boost the economy of Sadao district, which sits on the border with Malaysia.

A pharmacy in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district has already started selling rapid antigen test kits after the Public Health Ministry approved the use of these kits earlier this week to combat long queues for RT-PCR tests.

Songkhla province in the South of Thailand went into high alert on Monday and announced maximum control measures for 30 days after hordes of workers began crossing the border into Malaysia.

Songkhla health officials have closed Koh Noo and Koh Maew (Cat and Rat islands) from June 15 to 28 amid fears that a pending invasion of tourists could spread Covid-19.