Shinawatras sick after Chiang Mai

Visit to North leads to respiratory woes

Several members of the Shinawatra family have fallen sick with respiratory illness after a three-day trip to Chiang Mai last week, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, leader of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, revealed yesterday.

Everyone in the family seemed to have caught a cold while her son and daughter tested positive for Covid-19, said Ms Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

“I’m now afraid [that I might have contracted the Covid-19 virus as well], but my dad is feeling okay” Ms Paetongtarn said.

Her family’s visit to Chiang Mai also occurred when its haze pollution was amongst the worst in the world.

The number of sick people visiting Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital diagnosed with conditions linked to the PM2.5 dust pollution in Chiang Mai from Jan 1 until Mar 15 was 30,339

— double that from the same period last year.

Health problems linked to PM2.5 include allergic reactions, nasal tissue inflammation, upper part respiratory system infections, eye tissue inflammation, asthma, nosebleeds, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Although Chiang Mai’s haze situation significantly improved after several days of rain, the PM2.5 level in certain areas remained high enough to be unhealthy, said Chiang Mai governor Nirat Phongsitthithawon.

The upper part of the province, which is closer to neighbouring Myanmar, in particular, remains heavily impacted by transboundary haze pollution, despite continuous efforts to curb the air pollution, including could seeding, which is now being carried out every day, he said.

Cloud seeding operations have been conducted with other measures, including the surveillance and suppression of manmade bushfires, said the governor.

Meanwhile, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, stated that 17 provinces, including Bangkok, yesterday recorded unhealthy levels of PM2.5 by 9am.

Unlike these 17 provinces, the northern province of Mae Hong Son yesterday unexpectedly had the best air quality index in a month, despite a high number of thermal hotspots and fire activities being detected in Karenni State and Shan State of Myanmar by satellite surveillance.

The province recorded 33.7 microgrammes per cubic meter (μg/m3), which is well below the 37.5 μg/m3 “safety” threshold. The serious air pollution situation, which persisted for weeks, has prompted Bangkok Airways to suspend flights to and from Mae Hong Son until March 30.