Month: March 2020
- Covid-19 News
“We’re not going to run out” – Thai Retailer Association
Retailers are insisting that supplies of new stock have been unaffected as local residents, afraid of a Cornonavirus-prompted lockdown, rush to retailers to restock on essential goods – drinking water, rice, canned food, semi-instant noodles, sugar and toilet paper have been found to be in short supply in various department stores, supermarkets and retail stores, as people start hoarding supplies.…
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Thammasat University cancels classes for a week, Thai universities urged to ‘go online’
Thammasat University has cancelled all classes for at least one week, saying in a statement that they plan to resume classes again next week (below). The statement from the university mentioned the Covid-19 world pandemic and said it would co-operate to protect its students. “All classes at Tha Prachan and Rangsit will be cancelled during March 16 –22, 2020. Classes…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
New Covid-19 specialist hospital to open as Thai government steps up response
The Thai government plans to use a freshly constructed hospital as a Covid-19-only patient hospital. Yesterday the number of infections in Thailand rose by 32 cases for a total of 114, the largest single rise in new daily cases. The Thai PM was speaking about the possibilities of moving to Stage 3 after chairing a meeting yesterday on new measures…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Summer storms batter Korat, Buri Ram
Sudden summer storms caused extensive damage in two provinces in Thailand’s northeast yesterday: many villages in tambon Nong Ma Nao in Khong district of Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, were struck by a summer storm late last night. Numerous houses were severely damaged by the storm, which started at about 11pm. Some structures were entirely demolished. The roofing sheets…
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PM: Nightlife stays open for business
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-cha announced he has rejected, for the time being, the suggestion from Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to temporarily close the country’s massive nightlife industry. Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday the suggestion was one of several measures he and the Ministry of Public Health would bring up with the PM tomorrow. But as social media exploded, fiercely…
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Huge jump as Thailand confirms 32 new coronavirus cases
Thailand today confirmed 32 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference with the Department of Disease Control, and confirmed by The Ministry of Public Health. The list of new infections is varied, and includes nine from a boxing gym, three more who had contact with a cluster that had a party with…
Read More » - Politics News
Health minister denies racist tweets
“Many farang dress dirty and don’t shower. As hosts we have to be very careful.” Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul certainly knows how to grab the spotlight: just days after messages posted on his Twitter account caused a social media uproar and prompted the account to be shuttered, he has denied making the tweet. In a short…
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83 students returning from Italy quarantined
83 Thai students arriving on a Thai Airways flight from Italy were taken from U-Tapao International Airport to Sattahip naval base in Chon Buri this morning for Covid-19 coronavirus screening. Six students had fevers and were separated and taken to nearby hospitals for tests and a 14 day mandatory quarantine. The other 77 were taken to guesthouses within the naval…
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Coronavirus UPDATE: Fortress Australia, Europe new ‘epicentre’
As of lunchtime today, there are 156,766 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the world. There have been 5,839 deaths and 75,937 patients who have now recovered. Italy now has more active cases than China, and new Chinese cases have drastically reduced over the past two weeks. The countries with more than 1,000 confirmed cases below… INFOGRAPHIC: worldometers.info In other…
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Thailand now lists UK, USA as “high risk” countries
Thailand has added the UK, USA and several other countries to the list of countries it regards as being “high risk” for Covid-19 coronavirus contagion. The list now includes: Japan, France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the UK and USA. An update posted on the Tourism Authority of Thailand website yesterday advised travellers arriving in Thailand from these…
Read More » - Northern Thailand News
Khon Kaen University students in anti-government demonstration
“We are afraid of the virus. But, we are also duty-bound to study and seek the government’s ouster.” Adding to a growing trend, students at Khon Khaen University in northeastern Thailand held a second demonstration last night, despite fears of the Covid-19 coronavirus spread, saying they’ve “had enough” of the government. Students from all departments gathered at the multi-purpose ground…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Government tries, fails to clarify visa-on-arrival confusion
After days of rumours, assertions and flip-flops, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry in a press briefing yesterday provided some much-needed clarity regarding visa-on-arrival (VOA) status for 18 countries and visa exemption for three countries with high infection rates of the Covid-19 coronavirus: they are cancelled. Cherdkiat Atthakor, director-general and spokesman of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department says the cancellations are in place…
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US and China compete to control the narrative on the origins of Covid-19
With the two year trade war between the economic super-powers still being sorted out, the Chinese and US governments have entered into a tit-for-tat exchange of blame for the origins of the Covid-19 virus this week. Conspiracy theories have been fired back and forth between officials in the two countries. Washington has described the coronavirus outbreak as the “Wuhan Virus”.…
Read More » - Environment News
Smoke and mirrors, northern Thailand’s annual smog problem
Congratulations Chiang Mai. Again you are the world’s Number One. Sadly, you’re the number one in the world’s worst air pollution, again. The third time in this week alone. And, sadly, because the problem is almost completely avoidable, but not easily solved. Chiang Mai city has a PM2.5 micron reading this morning of 282, whilst just north of the city…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Manila goes on lockdown
“It’s a lockdown It’s just a matter of protecting and defending you from Covid-19. That’s about it.” Some 12 million people in the Philippine capital of Manila are now in near total lockdown after a Thursday order from the nation’s president Rodrigo Duterte banning domestic travel and an announcement earlier today of a nighttime curfew in the capital. The president…
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Health minister to “suggest” closing bars, nightclubs
Thailand’s gaffe-prone public health minister and deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul is back at it, telling a press conference this afternoon that the Public Health Ministry will “suggest additional precautions” to the government and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday, including the temporary closure of bars and entertainment venues, including nightclubs, concerts, live music venues and other venues where people congregate.…
Read More » - Crime News
Wife and sister stabbed to death in Chon Buri, second domestic murder in a day
Police in Chon Buri province are hunting a suspect who allegedly stabbed his wife and her sister to death in the central province’s Panthong District yesterday. Panthong police were notified of the incident, at a shrimp fishing pond on Panthong-Baankhao Road, at 6:30pm. Police arriving at the pond and adjacent home found it locked. They broke the bedroom door to…
Read More » - Politics News
PM urges unity in the face of adversity
In a nation battered by drought, a slowing economy and the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha has appealed to the public to unite and join the government in its efforts to overcome. In a public statement yesterday, the PM said some of the measures adopted by his administration to cope with the threat of coronavirus contagion are…
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Phuket Covid-19 ‘updates’
The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus prompted tourism industry leaders in Phuket this week to support moves to cancel or postpone mass events across the island. All official Songkran Thai New Year festivities in the southern resort island’s Patong district have already been cancelled, along with the annual Phuket Bike Week, usually the biggest motorcycle event in Asia. Even the…
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Body of Chinese man lies untouched for hours over coronavirus fears
A Chinese man who fell to his death from a Bangok hotel room yesterday was left lying untouched for more than six hours, as responders feared contracting the Covid-19 coronavirus from the body. Police, who were notified at about 12;30pm, say the 39 year old Chinese national was staying in a room on the sixth floor of the hotel, which…
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Seven new confirmed coronavirus cases in Thailand include popular actor
The Public Health Ministry confirmed 7 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus today, raising the number of infections in Thailand to 82 since the virus struck in January. Of those, 35 have recovered and been sent home, while 46 remain under medical care. One man died from complications arising from the illness. Sukhum Karnchanapimai, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said that…
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240 Thais return home after ‘naval quarantine’
240 “phee noi” (little ghosts), Thais who have thus far returned from South Korea, have been allowed to return to their homes after they tested negative for the Covid-19 coronavirus. A spokesman for the Royal Thai Navy made the announcement yesterday. “We prepared 16 buses to take them to their homes and we have coordinated with Public Health offices in…
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Doctors warn Thailand unprepared for Stage 3 virus outbreak
The Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak is still only at the second stage in Thailand, permanent secretary for public health Sukhum Kanchanapimai said yesterday, meaning the spread is still limited and mostly confined to overseas returnees, foreigners from affected countries and those in close contact with either group. But an association of doctors is warning that the nation might not be equipped…
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The Thai Tourism Ministry hopes for Covid-19 to abate
Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said yesterday that if the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus continues, it will be a “big issue” nationally not only in terms of public health but also the tremendous loss of tourism revenue. However if the outbreak can be contained by then end of next month, the ministry expects more than 36 million tourists…
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Europe is the new epicentre of Covid-19 coronavirus – WHO
The World Health Organisation has now put Europe as its current “epicentre” for the global coronavirus pandemic, warning that it was impossible to know when the pandemic would peak. In the past 24 hours there has been a swift rise in new cases and deaths, compared to past months, primarily in Europe, as well as Iran and the US. WHO…
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Monkeys plunder town hall building in South, apparently searching for food
Days after a pitched battle between rival monkey gangs rocked Lop Buri in central Thailand, dozens, perhaps hundreds of monkeys have ransacked an old town hall building in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, forcing staff to flee. It’s believed in both instances that the drop in tourism caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus, combined with dry weather and drought,…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thailand News Today, Friday, March 13, 2020 – Daily TV News
Thai health minister has a slash at ‘dirty farang’ Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is at it again making public disparaging and xenophobic comments about ‘white’ foreigners (farang). This time he’s warned his fellow Thais about the foreigners fleeing their own countries for the ‘safe haven’ of Thailand. “Today I visited Chiang Mai and noticed that there are almost…
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Amazon cafe suspends ‘bring your own cup’ campaign
Thai coffee shop chain ‘Amazon’ announced today the suspension of their promotional campaign called “Café Amazon for Earth” which was aiming to reduce plastic waste by allowing customers to bring their personal cup when buying a beverage and receive a discount of 5 baht. The company says the decision to end the promotion was made to increase customers’ awareness to…
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Thailand’s virus testing goes to the next level
There are currently 35 labs in Thailand that can test up to 200 specimens daily, and 20 more are expected to open soon. But there’s now a “superlab” that can perform 4000 tests per day. The facility, unveiled today by the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Medical Sciences, will use the Rapid Polymerase Chain reaction method of testing. A department…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Russian overstayer busted for drugs in Pattaya
Chon Buri Provincial Police arrested a Russian man today in relation to a visa overstay and reports that he was selling narcotics to tourists, predominantly visiting East Europeans at bars and nightclubs in Pattaya’s Walking Street. Russian national Maxim Kurbatov, aged 33, barefoot, shirtless and visibly intoxicated, was swooped on by several officers outside his rented house, along with two…
Read More » - Thailand News
Thai stock exchange pulls 30 minute circuit breaker
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) had pulled a 30 minute “circuit breaker” to suspend trade between 9:59 and 10:29am leading to a fall at 11am, when the SET fell by 78.95 points, or 7.08%, to 1,035.96. Foreign investors made net sales of 1.929 billion baht in the stock market and 13.646 billion in the bond market. Most global stock…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Friday the 13th: Thai bourse uses “circuit breaker” as coronavirus batters Thai stocks
The Stock exchange of Thailand (SET) pulled the “circuit breaker” for the second time in as many days, to suspend trade between 9:59 and 10:29am after the index fell by over 10% this morning. A stock analyst at Krungsri Securities said that move was due to panic selling after US President Donald Trump suspended travel from Europe for 30 days,…
Read More » - Crime News
Serial thief who robbed Russian couple at knifepoint in Pattaya re-arrested
Police in Pattaya have re-arrested a thief who was involved in a robbery and knife attack on a Russian couple five years ago. A team of Pattaya City Police arrested 29 year old Thai national “Manat” yesterday afternoon. Another Thai man, 60 year old Niphon Meechaiyo, was also arrested for buying stolen items and allegedly fencing them. Police seized six…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Covid-19 reaching ‘stage 3’ in Thailand
Yesterday The public Health Ministry insisted that the country was yet to enter Stage 3 of the covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Despite the discovery of a new cluster of infections, the number of cases still remains at 70. (Update: 5 new cases were announced on Friday morning) The permanent secretary for public health, Dr Sukhum Kanchannaphimai reports some cases can be…
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Thousands laid off, millions of baht lost as Chiang Mai elephant camps close
Elephant businesses in Chiang Mai and elsewhere in Northern Thailand are being wiped out in their dozens by the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. Most have closed their doors and laid off thousands of staff. Those that remain open are haemorrhaging money. According to Boonthachai Lert, chairman of Mae Taeng Elephant Camp and a spokesperson for the industry, 85 of Chiang Mai’s…
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“Little ghosts” going home
Some of the Thai nationals dubbed “phee noi” (little ghosts), who recently returned from South Korea and were quarantined at a naval base in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district are today being sent to their hometowns. Public Health Ministry and Royal Thai Navy officials agreed this week that many of the migrant workers can be released. All are suspected of being…
Read More » - Covid-19 News
Thailand confirms five new coronavirus cases
The Public Health Ministry confirmed five new Covid-19 coronavirus cases this morning in its daily press briefing. The new cases take the total number of infections in the country to 75 since January. 34 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital. Meanwhile, worried citizens continue to have difficulty buying face masks and hand sanitiser due to short supply and…
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