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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UPDATE: Field hospitals being established in Covid hot zones around Thailand
UPDATE: The field hospital in Bangkok’s Bang Bon district, west of the Chao Phraya river, had its first 10 Covid patients today. The director of the medical services office of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says that the 10 patients into the makeshift hospital, located at the Chalerm Phra Kiat Stadium, will enable assessment of the performance by the medical team,…
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Thailand News Today | Tour bus disaster, Covid infections drop slightly | April 13
A sad start to Songkran day after 5 people have perished, including 2 children, and another 12 seriously injured after a double-decker interprovincial bus caught fire near Khon Kaen. It was heading to Bangkok. The bus erupted into flames just after midnight on the Mitrapap highway. There were 33 passengers on board. The bus driver was also injured. 965 people…
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Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority announces health and safety regulations
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand says airlines must continue to follow health and safety regulations as the country has seen a 3rd wave of the Covid-19 virus. Its the third time the CAAT have introduced restrictions on in-flight services since airlines were grounded in April last year. The authority says new guidelines to take effect today include… • Maintaining…
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Thailand looks at proposal to make it easier for expats and long-termers
Thailand is looking to make it easier for expats and long-term visa holders to stay in the country. The Immigration Bureau is hoping to boost investments and the economy once the pandemic is over. The proposed changes could do away with 90 day reporting requirements which have been well-received by expats. Recently, the online website to report 90 day check-ins…
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Burmese students to hold Bangkok cultural event to support Civil Disobedience Movement
Burmese students in Thailand are holding an art and culture concert to raise awareness and funds for the Civil Disobedience Movement. The concert, called “Myanmar Spring,” will be held on April 24 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The event will help fund the movement, which has staged protests over the February 1 coup in Myanmar by the military.…
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5 killed, including 2 children, in north east Thailand bus disaster
5 people are dead, including 2 children, and another 12 seriously injured after a double-decker interprovincial bus caught fire near Khon Kaen. It was heading to Bangkok. The bus erupted into flames just after midnight on the Mitrapap highway. There were 33 passengers on the bus. The bus driver was also injured. The 407 Pattana Company bus left Bung Kan…
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WHO says pandemic reaching critical levels in South Asia
Despite vaccines being rolled out, the WHO is warning that the Covid-19 pandemic has reached a “critical level” in South Asia as infections keep rising. The virus has already taken 2.9 million lives, infecting 136 million worldwide and the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, Maria Van Kerkhove, says the “trajectory of this pandemic is growing…exponentially.” “This is not the situation…
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Off to a field hospital? Here’s what to pack
A Thai netizen has posted a useful list of “must pack” items for anyone being admitted to a field hospital for Covid-19 treatment. As concerns rise that the rapid rise in infections may lead to a shortage of hospital beds, officials are planning a number of field hospitals, some of which have already opened. A total of 10 field hospitals…
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2 police officers transferred over Covid cluster linked to Bangkok nightlife
2 senior police officers in Bangkok’s fashionable Thonglor district have been transferred pending an investigation into a Covid-19 cluster linked to pubs and clubs in the area. According to Thai PBS World, the superintendent of Thonglor police station, Duangchote Suwancharas, and the inspector for suppression affairs, Thanakorn Ngamyen, were re-assigned to the operations centre of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s 5th…
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China may combine its Covid-19 vaccines to improve efficacy
Health officials in China say they may consider combining vaccines to boost their efficacy, after admitting the protection rate is “low”. In a rare acknowledgment of weakness, Gao Fu from the Chinese Centres for Disease Control and Prevention admitted the country’s vaccines do not offer high levels of protection. He was addressing a conference in the south-western city of Chengdu…
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Health officials say pubs, nightlife venues the new ground zero for third wave
Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Thailand, with 967 new infections reported yesterday, when there were just 26 at the start of the month. Health officials are in no doubt where the surge is coming from, pointing the finger at nightlife venues. A rise in infections in Hua Hin appears to back up the theory first floated after a cluster…
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UK Covid strain not more severe than others- The Lancet
2 studies by The Lancet say there is no evidence that the recent UK Covid-19 variant, B117, is not more severe than other strains. Despite the bit of good news, the study did say that the particular strain is more transmissible, meaning its viral load is higher and well as its reproduction rates. The recent study, indeed, gives backing to…
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$85 to retrieve the dead after bloody Burmese military clash
Activists say the Burmese military is charging US$85 to families to recover the bodies that security forces killed in last Friday’s violent clash. The city of Bago, just northeast of Yangon, was raided by military forces with 82 people killed according to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a local advocacy group. Since the February 1 coup, the military has been…
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A Thailand Covid update that you won’t read in the news
Tim Newton goes through some of the moving goal posts regarding Thailand’s Covid situation RIGHT NOW. Vaccines for expats, what will happen after Songkran, provincial restrictions, new quarantine requirements. Reading the tea leaves and reading between the lines, Tim provides his personal opinions on many issues expats and foreigners in Thailand are worried about at this time.
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Chiang Mai: Covid-19 cancels many Songkran events
After a surge in new Covid-19 infections, Chiang Mai health officials decided to cancel Songkran celebrations and implement containment measures. As the virus spreads through Thailand, 281 new infections were just diagnosed on Sunday, reported in Monday’s daily Covid-19 statistics. These infections bring the total for the month of April to 662 people. With this outbreak spreading wider and faster…
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Thailand News Today | Covid surge continues, possible changes to 90 day reporting | April 12, 2021
Thailand’s CCSA has announced 985 new Covid-19 infections today – a rise in new case numbers but not as drastic as in the past week when there has been a steady climb. In the past 4 days there has been an increase of more than 100 new infections. Out of the 980 local infections announced today, most were in the…
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Songkran safety campaign Day 2: 357 road accidents, 30 deaths
On the second day of the Songkran road safety campaign, officials report 30 deaths, 374 injuries and 357 road accidents, up slightly from yesterday. The week of Songkran is infamous for increased traffic incidents and is often referred to as “7 dangerous days”, prompting government officials to push a campaign to raise awareness and safety this holiday. This year the…
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The Thaiger joins forces with Masii to bring you hassle-free Thailand re-entry packages and much more
PRESS RELEASE The Thiager and its sister company Tadoo, have announced they will enter a strategic partnership with the Bangkok-based fintech company, Masii. Having joined forces with Masii, The Thaiger aims to provide its 6 million-plus monthly users with exclusive deals and packages such as the Thailand re-entry package, comprising of the Certificate of Entry (COE), Covid-19 Travel Insurance and…
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Covid UPDATE: 985 new infections in Thailand, a small rise since yesterday
The CCSA has announced 985 new Covid-19 infections today – a rise in new case numbers but not as drastic as in the past week when there has been a steady climb… April 12 – 6 new infections April 2 – 58 new infections April 3 – 84 new infections April 4 – 96 new infections April 5 – 194…
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Understanding Covid-19 UK variant as it hits Thailand
The so-called UK variant of Covid-19, a strain that is 1.7 times more contagious and deadly, has arrived in Thailand, present in the cluster in Bangkok’s upscale Thong Lor area that has spawned the pandemic third wave. Here’s why you should care. Referred to as the B117 variant, it first emerged in the UK county of Kent, though new research…
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Top virologist warns of vaccine limitations against South African, Brazilian variants
A prominent Thai virologist says Thailand must prevent the arrival of the South African (also known as 20H/501Y.V2, B.1.351 lineage) or Brazilian Covid-19 (B.1.1.248) variants, warning that vaccines are not fully effective against those strains, or at least there is not enough conclusive information about their efficacy against the new variants at this stage. Yong Poovorawan from Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University…
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Health officials outline estimated daily infections based on 5 different scenarios
Health officials are using 5 different scenarios, with varying degrees of restrictions, to predict average daily Covid infection numbers in the Thailand, based on the latest rises in new infections over the past month. The Department of Disease Control and International Health Policy Program agency have based their estimates on 4 main measures in 5 different situations, based on predictive…
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Environmentalists criticise Netflix fishing doco for inaccuracies and misinformation
As Thailand accuses a Netflix documentary of using outdated and inaccurate information about the country’s fishing industry, a number of global environmental experts are echoing similar criticisms. According to a report in Coconuts, Seaspiracy has been slammed for being full of inaccuracies and twisting the science behind the damage to the world’s oceans, minimising the role of climate change and…
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Thai businesses frustrated over limited choice of vaccines, slow pace of rollout
Business and tourism representatives are expressing growing anger over the slow pace of Thailand’s vaccine rollout and the limited number of vaccines on offer. Their frustration comes as other countries around the world begin to see encouraging results from their vaccination efforts. And, while the latest rise in Covid-19 infections can be partly attributed to the presence of the so-called…
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Thailand road accidents cost 500 billion baht per year
Thailand is notorious for its road and driving conditions, and a disproportionate number of driving accidents. The World Health Organisation now reports that road accidents cost an estimated 500 billion baht in 2019 alone. The WHO report placed Thailand as the number one country in ASEAN with a 32.7 per cent death rate, the highest in Southeast Asia. The Road…
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Songkran activities cancelled in Ayutthaya due to Covid-19
After the recent outbreak of Covid-19 across Thailand, in a large part due to entertainment activities, Thailand’s former capital city of Ayutthaya has now officially cancelled all Songkran festival activities for the upcoming holiday. All events previously planned to mark the Thai New Year’s holiday between April 13 and 15 have now been called off. An urgent declaration by the…
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Investigations of Covid-19 infected elite rule-breakers demanded
Investigations are being demanded by a corruption watchdog into Thai politicians infected with Covid-19 after allegedly attending venues in the Thong Lor entertainment venues in Bangkok that have now emerged as the ground zero for the Coronavirus third wave in the Kingdom. The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand are being asked to investigate the latest Covid-19 outbreak, noting in a Facebook…
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Condolences from Thailand to UK on Prince Philip’s death
The leaders of Thailand have sent messages of condolences to their British counterparts following the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on Friday. His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has sent a message of condolence to Prince Philip’s widow, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, released by the Thai Royal Household Bureau, stating that the King and…
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Many Thais ‘skipping’ Songkran due to the recent clusters
It’s Songkran, but not as we know it. This weekend Thais start to head back home for this year’s extended national holiday. Last year the celebrations were cancelled altogether, amid Thailand’s initial lockdowns. So this year, partly aided by the mid week dates of Songkran, the government added extra days, that are topped and tailed by weekends. So, many Thais…
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Thailand’s King and PM send condolences to Queen Elizabeth | PHOTOS
Thailand’s King HM Maha Vajiralongkorn has sent a message of condolences to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II following the death of her consort and husband, His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. “We all in Thailand join the people of Great Britain in mourning this great loss, a sense of loss being shared by peoples aroundthe world, whose…
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