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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Entertainment and nightlife reps submit petition for aid, reopening
At 10 o’clock this morning a rally of owners, staff, musicians and entertainment sector workers gathered at the House of Representatives to submit a petition for support after long-term Covid-19 closures or permission to reopen August 1. Dozens of representatives from the entertainment industry took part in the demonstration after 3 continuous months of shuttered businesses due to the pandemic…
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COVID: Vaccination workers come under attack in Kashmir
Zareena Bano, a health care worker from Srinagar city, has not been to her home for almost two months. She’s currently on duty in India-administered Kashmir’s northern Bandipora district, where she’s carrying out a door-to-door COVID vaccination campaign. Last week, Zareena and her co-workers visited Zaban village, located 8 kilometers (5 miles) away from Bandipora town. In the village, Zareena…
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India: Fake vaccines undermine fight against COVID
The discovery of fake vaccination camps in cities like Mumbai and Kolkata has shocked India, with authorities vowing to take firm action against unauthorized inoculations. Media reports say that thousands of people, desperate to get a COVID vaccine, have fallen prey to the scam. In one such case, Debanjan Deb, a 28-year-old man, posed himself as a civil servant and…
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Uptick in Covid-19 in Isaan as workers flee Bangkok construction camps
With numerous workers fleeing to their home provinces to avoid Bangkok’s recent disease control restrictions sealing off construction camps for the next month, there has been an uptick in Covid-19 cases in other various provinces, particularly in the Isaan region. This week, 129 people in 32 provinces tested positive for the virus after travelling from Bangkok. 84 people tested positive…
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More than 30 children at Isaan care centre test postive for Covid-19
More than 30 young children at a care centre tested positive for Covid-19. Health officials say a 2 year old boy, who was first infected by this mother, spread the virus to the childcare centre in the Isaan province Khon Kaen. Altogether, 8 teachers and 34 students at the centre tested positive for the virus. The 2 year old boy’s…
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Laos reports first Delta variant cases, patients had returned from Thailand
Laos has reported its first Covid-19 cases involving the rapid-spreading Delta variant of the virus. The patients who tested positive for the variant had returned to Laos from Thailand, according to the National Taskforce for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Since the mutated strain, which was first found in India, is the most transmissible Covid-19 variant identified, Laos health officials are…
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Police arrest woman for possession of 20,000 meth pills she claims she found next to electrical pole
Police in the Sai Mai district of Bangkok have arrested a 56 year old woman for possessing 20,000 meth pills. Yesterday, the Sai Mai police arrested 59 year old “Somgsong” yesterday for possessing 20,00 meth pills that she claims she found the pills next to an electrical pole. The woman allegedly confessed that pills were in her room in a…
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South Korea lifts quarantine for some travellers who are vaccinated
Today, South Korea is lifting its 14-day quarantine for some foreign arrivals who have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Those from countries classified as a high risk for infection must still undergo quarantine. Foreigners who are vaccinated against the coronavirus can enter South Korea under the new policy, but only if they are entering the country for business, for academic or…
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COVID: Life slowly coming back to normal in India
Less than two months ago, India’s health care infrastructure was dealt a hefty blow by the second wave of the coronavirus. After a period of collective grief, Indians are now stepping out as life resumes. SOURCE: DW News
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3 planes arrive in Phuket; 25 on 1st flight, 400 expected today
The first 3 flights have now arrived in Phuket for the Sandbox reopening, with details emerging from the first arrival this morning, an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi. A total of 25 passengers, down from yesterday’s estimate of 37, were the first to be welcomed back to Phuket with fanfare and celebration. A total of 400 international travellers are…
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Thai researchers to study animal antiparasitic drug for treating Covid-19
Thai researchers are studying whether an antiparasitic medication, which is typically used for animals, can be used to treat humans infected with Covid-19. Reports on the new study come after a warning from Thai Food and Drug Administration advising people not to use the drug Ivermectin as it is typically used for veterinary treatment and not for human use, especially…
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Can drone warfare in the Middle East be controlled?
Last weekend, the US launched airstrikes against militant groups loyal to Iran near the Iraqi-Syrian border. According to a statement issued by United States defense officials, the strikes were in retaliation for the groups’ drone attacks on American troops in Iraq. The US military said that drones, also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (or UAVs), have been used against their…
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Thursday Covid Update: Cases and deaths spike amid Phuket reopening
Just as Phuket is reopening to foreign tourists, Thailand’s current and most severe wave has hit a high of 52,052 active Covid-19 cases, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The daily death toll has set a record high with 57 coronavirus-related fatalities today, raising the total Covid fatality count since the start of the pandemic to 2,080. 5,533…
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Man allegedly poses as Government Lottery Office official, steals millions
Yesterday, the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) working with the Government Lottery Office announced they had arrested a man who was posing as a GLO employee to swindle the GLO out of millions. The Thai national, identified only as “Mr Jaturong” was arrested and had a laundry list of items seized including property, a house, land, 5.5 million baht in…
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Thailand’s virology expert: give Sinovac to children over 3
Thailand’s top virologist Yong Poovorawan has suggested that the Sinovac vaccine be given to children older than 3 years old by the end of 2021 in an effort to reach Covid-19 herd immunity. The doctor who heads the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University said he believes that the Chinese vaccine has the least severe side effects…
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Police in Bangkok seize 2 truck loads of sex toys valued at 1 million baht
Sex toys valued at 1 million baht were seized by police in Bangkok. Reports don’t say exactly how many sex toys were seized by police, but apparently, police filled 2 large trucks with the dildos, vibrators and other pleasure enhancing products. A Chinese man was arrested for allegedly smuggling illegal sex products into Thailand and selling them online. Photos from…
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Phuket reopens but botched preparation limits travellers
So Phuket is finally reopened with today marking the start of the Phuket Sandbox and the welcoming of international travellers without quarantine. But the days leading up to the launch saw a precipitous drop in expected arrivals as constant changes, lack of preparation, delays in implementation, and overall chaos marred the Phuket rollout and damaged tourist confidence in the scheme.…
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Thailand to import 5 million Moderna vaccine doses for private hospitals
5 million doses of the US-made Moderna Covid-19 vaccine will be imported to Thailand at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 to be administered by private hospitals. A set price of 3,400 baht for a package of the 2-dose vaccine, including service fees and insurance, was agreed on by the Private Hospitals Association. The first 3.9 million…
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Phuket police to patrol bridges for Covid carriers
Police in Phuket have been ordered to patrol the bridges to be on the lookout for anyone not adhering to Covid protection measures. However, it is not just the police that will be monitoring the bridges, soldiers and navy personnel will also monitor the bridges. The news came at a general assembly earlier this week. Region 8 Police Commander Kitrat…
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PM orders 1,500 extra field hospital beds as infections surge in central Thailand
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has ordered an additional 1,500 beds for a field hospital in the central province of Nonthaburi. According to a Nation Thailand report, the beds are to accommodate patients in the red and yellow groups at the Bussarakham Field Hospital. Red group patients are those who have severe symptoms and are in need of respirators. Yellow…
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Petrol station heist possibly inside job
Last week, a petrol station in the Bang Bon district of Bangkok was robbed. New information has come to light to suggest that the robbery was an inside job. “Information” has come out that the petrol station employee acted as a lookout while his friend burglarised the station. Police arrested the main suspect “James” on Tuesday and interrogated him, but…
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Government urged to provide booster shots in sandbox destinations
Tourism representatives are calling on the government to provide vaccine boosters for people who live in sandbox destinations. Chamnan Srisawat, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, says the country can’t wait for the virus to disappear completely and the only solution is for residents in sandbox areas to get maximum protection against new variants and outbreaks. “Herd immunity across…
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Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 57 deaths; 5,533 new infections
5,533 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 57 Covid-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 235,971 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 44 were reported in correctional facilities, showing an improvement in the Covid…
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German Covid-19 vaccine only 48% effective in final stage trials
A German Covid-19 vaccine that uses the same RNA technology as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, has shown an efficacy rate of just 48% in final stage trials. According to a Bangkok Post report, the results for the CureVac vaccine, or CVnCoV, were not a surprise after poor interim data was released earlier in the month. The company has defended…
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Phuket opens – Around 300 seats sold for July 1 arrival flights
Officially, Phuket is open again. The doors are now open to vaccinated international travellers. Driving north along Thepkasattri Road this morning around 6.45am was a convoy of 15 white passenger vans, vans which haven’t really seen the light of day, ferrying tourists around the island, since April or May last year. Today they are being pressed into service for a…
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Finnish judges acquit Danish man of 1987 Baltic ferry murder
A Danish man accused of bludgeoning a German backpacker to death on a Baltic Sea cruise more than three decades ago was set free by judges in Finland on Wednesday. Prosecutors accused the 52-year-old, identified in court only as Herman H, of killing Klaus Schelkle, 20, and attempting to murder his girlfriend Bettina Taxis. The fatal incident took place on…
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Nicaraguan President Ortega eyes dictatorship
It was late evening when Miguel Mora heard a loud banging at his door. His wife, who was in the process of putting their son to bed, remembers the moment well. Police officers stormed inside, took Miguel Mora and locked him up. He runs Nicaragua’s opposition news platform 100% Noticias. His work landed him in jail in 2018. Now, he…
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Turkey to pull out of Istanbul Convention on violence against women
In March, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a decree aimed at withdrawing his country from the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, or Istanbul Convention for short. Turkey was the first country to sign the 2011 agreement, but is set to leave the framework for good on July 1. Turkish presidency…
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Small businesses fear Phuket Sandbox will leave them behind
With the Phuket Sandbox reopening just hours away, many businesses in the tourist-reliant province hopefully await the return of foreign travellers and the restart of the economy. But while businesses that had the financial means to weather the long-term closures due to the Covid-19 pandemic prepare excitedly, many smaller businesses that lacked the funding to revive themselves are not nearly…
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How Nigeria arrested secessionist leader Nnamdi Kanu
Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of a group that has called for the independence of Biafra from Nigeria, was presented before a federal high court in Abuja on Tuesday, days after his arrest at an undisclosed location. “Nnamdi Kanu has been intercepted. … He has been brought back to Nigeria in order to continue facing trial after disappearing,” said Justice Minister…
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