News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news from across Thailand and beyond with The Thaiger. Our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from this stunning part of the world, covering a diverse range of topics, including local politics, business, culture, and tourism. Keep yourself informed about the Kingdom’s rich history, stunning landscapes, and thriving expat communities, as well as updates on events, attractions, and transportation.
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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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Tuesday Covid UPDATE: 31 new deaths and 1,919 new infections
The Thai public health officials have reported that there has been 31 Covid-related deaths and 1,919 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours. • An entry ban has been extended to cover foreign travellers coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, as well as India, to help contain any further “highly contagious” Indian variants of Covid-19. The includes all foreigners departing…
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Entry ban extended to non-Thais arriving from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal
Non-Thai nationals arriving from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal are now included in an entry ban aimed at preventing the spread of the so-called Indian variant of Covid-19. The ban was first introduced for arrivals from India late last month, amid the escalating crisis in that country. It has now been extended to 3 other South Asian nations as the government…
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Health officials race to vaccinate 70% of Khlong Toey slum residents
Health officials are racing to vaccinate 70% of residents in Bangkok’s Khlong Toey neighbourhood, the largest slum in the city where hundreds have tested positive for Covid-19 since April. With people living in crowded conditions and many unable to take off work to self-isolate, Thai authorities have been rolling out proactive Covid-19 testing and a mass vaccination campaign in an…
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ICU beds for Covid-19 patients in Phuket are close to a “critical” low
Covid-19 patients in severe condition may have to been transferred from a government hospital in Phuket to a private hospital as the number of available hospital beds at public intensive care units in Phuket is close to a “critical” low, according to Vachira Phuket Hospital Director Chalermpong Sukontapol. There are 9 ICU rooms at the Vachira Phuket Hospital. 5 are…
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Covid-19 variant first detected in India reported in Thailand state quarantine
The mutated strain of Covid-19 that was first reported in India has been detected in Thailand. Health officials say a Thai woman and her young son tested positive for the variant while in quarantine for those arriving in Thailand from overseas. The mother and her sons, ages 4, 6, and 8, had arrived in Thailand from Pakistan on April 24,…
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Glass bridge in China shatters, tourist hangs on 100 metres above the ground
A tourist walking on a glass bridge in China, looking down at the ground 100 metres below, quickly had to cling onto the bridge’s rails after high winds caused some of the panels of the glass-bottom bridge to shatter. Reports say the wind blew at up to 145 kilometres per hour, damaging the glass bridge and leaving the tourists stuck…
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‘Safe zone’ in Thailand for refugees fleeing Myanmar violence
Due to the ongoing violence between the Myanmar military and ethnic troops, the Thai military has set up a “safe zone” for thousands of refugees in Mae Hong Son near the Salween River, the natural border between Thailand and Myanmar. The prominent armed wing of the Karen National Union has openly supported the anti-coup movement in Myanmar, leading to clashes…
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Covid UPDATE: 1,630 new cases and 22 deaths, provincial totals
1,630 new Covid-19 cases and 22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. There are now 29,376 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 85,005 Covid-19 cases and 421 Covid-related deaths. Out of the 22 deaths, most of the patients had chronic illnesses. Many contracted…
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Chon Buri sees lowest number of new, daily infections since early April – Monday, 63
Chon Buri province, including Pattaya, is reporting 63 new, daily Covid-19 infections, and 1 new death. The number is a large drop from yesterday’s totals and is the lowest daily amount reported since early April. The total in the current wave of infections is now 3,361, with 1,507 currently listed as in treatment for the virus, and 9 deaths. 1,845…
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Royal Thai police say new uniforms will help in pursuit of criminals
The Royal Thai Police say new uniforms will help them be more “agile” in their pursuits of criminals. The uniform’s prototype is still under trials and has yet to be launched. The move to change uniforms has been attempted in the past, with tourist police once seeing their usual long-sleeved khaki shirt with shoulder pads and metal badges morph to…
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Man struck and killed by freight train just 2 days after being released from prison
Just 2 days after being released from prison, a 34 year old man was struck and killed by a freight train in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district yesterday. Police suspect the man intentionally ran onto the tracks in front of the moving train as it was leaving the Hat Yai railway station about 300 metres away and headed toward the Bang…
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From BIB to Boys in 2-tone khaki – Thailand’s new police uniform on trial
Elastic waistband and fitted baseball caps – the new height of Thai constabulary haute couture to grace the streets of Thailand. Some law-enforcing super models are currently strutting the streets parading some of the ‘nouveau’ look police uniforms. The boys in brown are morphing into the boys in 2-tone khaki with black accessories and utility accents. 10 officers from 3…
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Tests confirm Sinovac, AstraZeneca effective at stimulating immune response
Tests at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University have confirmed the efficacy of both the Sinovac and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines. Renowned virologist, Yong Poovorawan, says both vaccines proved successful at stimulating an immune response against Covid-19. The tests were carried out as part of a study done by the university’s Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology. Yong says that people given the first…
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Security tightened at Burmese border as Tachileik nightlife venues re-open
Security patrols are being stepped up along the Thai-Burmese border amid reports that nightlife venues in Tachileik are set to re-open. The Burmese town is just across the border from Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district. It hit the headlines late last year when a number of Thai nationals working in the town crossed back into Thailand illegally, bringing Covid-19 with…
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303 staff under Thailand’s Transport Ministry contract Covid-19 in recent wave
Over the past 2 months, 303 staff under the Transport Ministry, including minister Saksayam Chidchob, have contracted Covid-19. While infected staff just make up around 0.27% of the total staff under the ministry, more than 1,600 staff had to quarantine after coming in contact with an infected person. The agency under the Transport Ministry with the most Covid-19 infections is…
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Third wave of Covid: CCSA blames patients for not speaking up
Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is blaming the latest virus wave on those patients who failed to speak up about their symptoms. The latest round of the virus has seen a total of 512 health workers in 57 provinces infected, with authorities saying the main cause of the spread was due to patients lying about their health conditions. The…
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Vietnamese woman becomes first to die in Vietnam after receiving AstraZeneca’s vaccine shot
A Vietnamese woman is the first person to die in Vietnam after receiving the Covid-19 AstraZeneca shot. The Ministry of Public Health says the 35 year old developed anaphylactic shock after getting the first dose of the vaccine, passing away in Vietnam’s southern province of An Giang last Friday. “This is a very rare case in the vaccination against Covid-19.”…
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Government will not re-capitalise struggling Thai Airways
The State Enterprise Policy Office says the government will not back a billion-baht cash injection for Thai Airways. The national airline is currently been dragged through bankruptcy proceedings. Pantip Sripimol from the SEPO says the Thai Finance Ministry will not re-capitalise the carrier, although it remains its largest shareholder. The Bangkok Post reports that there are concerns Thai Airways could…
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Buses and motorbike taxis to face tougher disease prevention measures
Public buses, cars, and motorbike taxis now need to comply with tougher Covid-19 measures, following an announcement from the Department of Land Transport. Jirut Wisarnjit from the DLT, says the stricter rules are effective immediately and are in addition to measures already in place, such as mandatory mask-wearing, hand-washing, and use of contact-tracing apps. According to a Pattaya News report,…
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Monday Covid UPDATE: 1,630 new cases and 22 deaths
Monday’s totals have been announced for Covid-19 infections and new deaths over the past 24 hours. The Thai public health ministry reports 22 deaths and 1,630 infections. • The only 5 imported Covid-19 cases yesterday were from neighbouring countries, Cambodia, Malaysia and Myanmar. Authorities say that patrols will have to be stepped up at this time to control the illegal border…
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Illegal border crossings bringing in new Covid-19 infections
Authorities are worried about illegal border crossings into Thailand bringing in the Coronavirus after 5 recent Covid-19 infections from such crossings. Bypassing all health and security checkpoints along the border, 5 Thai nationals were identified today as being positive for Covid-19 after they snuck into the country, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Authorities nabbed 2 after border…
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9 student nurses experience side effects from Sinovac vaccine
After receiving the Sinovac vaccine, 9 student nurses at Thammasat University have complained of side effect according to the Facebook page of the Student Organization of Thammasat University. After 88 student nurses received the Chinese-made vaccine on April 23 and May 5, 2 experienced minor side effects of a little pain in the arm they were vaccinated in, while 7…
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Testing increased in Singapore after unlinked Covid-19 cases
Singapore, where there has been over 61,000 Covid-19 infections and 31 deaths, is increasing testing to find sources for recent unlinked cases. Over the past few weeks, new cases of Covid-19 have been cropping up without any apparent connection to known Coronavirus infections. The Health Ministry of Singapore said yesterday that a junior college student and 3 staff members at…
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Thailand Consumer Confidence Index hits record low
The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has reported that the Consumer Confidence Index has hit another new record low of 46.0 in April. The Covid-19 global pandemic has had a devastating effect on the economy and consumer confidence has fallen frequently to the lowest points that it has seen since 1998. The president of the UTTC believes that…
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Covid-19 third wave cuts Thai domestic flights predictions by 38%
The Aeronautical Radio of Thailand is predicting a 38% drop in travel by domestic flights due to the effect of the third wave of Covid-19. Aerothai is a department under the Ministry of Transport that provides aeronautical communication and air traffic control in Thailand. With Covid-19 experiencing a rapid spread beginning in April and not yet under control, infections across…
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Thailand now plans on 150 million Covid-19 vaccines
Thailand upped its target from 100 to 150 million vaccines in an announcement on social media by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. This expanded goal would be enough to cover the necessary 2 jabs for every person in the country, and possibly all the foreign residents that the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is again reassuring will get vaccines. The original plan…
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Sunday Covid UPDATE: 17 more deaths, 2,101 covid infections, provincial totals
For Sunday, the numbers for new infections and Covid-related deaths from Bangkok and the Thai provinces over the past 24 hours were announced early this morning. There has been 17 deaths and 2,101 new cases announced by the CCSA. Thailand has now reached 83,375 total cases since January 2020 and 399 deaths. Out of the 17 deaths, 8 were male and 9…
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Thailand ploughs ahead with plans for re-opening tourist areas
The Thai government says they’re pressing ahead with plans to waive the current mandatory quarantine for vaccinated visitors to Bangkok and and 5 other major tourist destinations from October this year as an effort to reboot the country’s battered tourism industry. Dr. Traisulee Traisoranakul from the CCSA says the new measures will provide easier access to the main tourist locations…
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Murder of Thai wife may have been 2nd attempt by US man
The American man accused of the murder of his Thai wife in Chiang Mai has now confessed to the brutal crime. And it may not have been the first time he tried to kill her. The 32 year old man, who was a computer programmer in the United States, admitted that he killed his wife while she was 3-months pregnant.…
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UPDATE: Chinese rocket debris plunges into Indian Ocean
UPDATE: 10.30am (Thai Time) Trackers have confirmed that the debris has splashed down somewhere west of The Maldives in the Indian Ocean. 9.30am (Thai Time) The Chinese Long March 5B carrier rocket should land in this area… 72.47°E longitude and 2.65°N latitude, just west of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. That’s according to China’s National Space Agency. “Most of…
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