- Covid-19 News
10 new coronavirus cases in Phuket today (Sunday)
The island of Phuket in Thailand’s south has reported 10 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases today (Sunday), bringing the total to 119. Today’s new cases aren’t all in Patong, as has been the trend over the past week, with new cases being reported in Bang Tao, just north of Surin Beach area. Among the confirmed cases announced today are six members of…
- Covid-19 News
Broke and stranded, Russian tourists take shelter in Phuket temple
When their flight was eventually cancelled, they had no money left and decided to walk from the airport. They didn’t know where to go. When they came across Wat Mai Khao they asked to take refuge there. Tourism authorities in Phuket are now trying to help the 3 stranded Russian tourists who have taken shelter at the local temple. Their…
- Covid-19 News
Hong Kong riot police quarantined
Hong Kong, rocked by violent protests since last June, now faces a new hurdle. Almost all members of an elite anti-riot squad will be placed under quarantine for 14 days after an officer involved in mass arrests at an anti-government rally earlier this week tested positive with Covid-19 coronavirus. Now Hong Kong’s entire police force may have to undergo coronavirus testing…
- Covid-19 News
Even if effective, Thailand’s curfew may be extended
Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam told reporters on Friday night that even if the current nationwide curfew, currently 10pm to 4am, shows signs of helping reduce gatherings and preventing crime, it could be extended. “The primary purpose of the curfew is to encourage social distancing and combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.” Critics of the curfew say the limited 6…
- Covid-19 News
Officer who allowed 152 returnees to leave airport without quarantine has been ‘recalled’
152 Thais who arrived home from the US on Friday were inexplicably allowed to return to their homes to self quarantine, rather than endure the mandatory 14 day quarantine at state facilities faced by other arrivals. As a result, the permanent secretary of the defence ministry has recalled an army major-general from Suvarnabhumi International Airport and ordered an investigation. A…
- Northern Thailand News
146 horses dead in Korat of African Horse Sickness
African Horse Sickness, a viral disease which affects only animals, has now killed 146 horses in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima, or Korat. The chief of the provincial livestock development office says 13 other horses also had severe symptoms. The deaths have so far been limited to the province’s Pak Chong district. Previously, tests confirmed that more than 100…
- Events
World body bans Thai weightlifters from Tokyo Olympics
Thai and Malaysian weightlifters will be barred from the Tokyo Olympic Games, whenever they’re held, over their high numbers of doping cases. The sport’s governing body, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) said in a statement that the two countries’ lifters can’t compete at the Tokyo Games, regardless of the change of date. Previously there had been some hope in Thailand…
- Covid-19 News
Feverish woman spits at health workers on train – VIDEO
A woman with a high fever spat on health officials who tried to offer her a face mask on a train bound for the northern province of Khon Kaen. The incident immediately sparked Covid-19 coronavirus fears and panic amongst the train’s other passengers. The 53 year old woman, whose name was withheld, boarded the train on the Kaeng Khoi-Khon Kaen route…
- Covid-19 News
Journalists barred from field reporting during curfew hours
“There shouldn’t be any news during that 6 hour period.” Journalists have been instructed not to report in the field during the nationwide curfew that went into effect last night night. Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam told reporters at the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration that journalists will not be exempted from the curfew, though he said that newspaper circulation,…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand: 89 new coronavirus cases confirmed, 1 new death (Saturday)
Thailand now has an ‘official’ total of 2067 Covid-19 coronavirus cases, with 89 new cases confirmed over the last 24 hours and 1 new death reported. Total reported deaths now stand at 20. A spokesman for the government’s newly formed Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement today (Saturday). This is the lowest daily number in some time, perhaps…
- Environment News
Chiang Mai firefighters chased up a tree by wild elephants
Firefighters in Thailand’s North were chased up a tree by a herd of elephants yesterday. The group were on patrol searching for fires in Chiang Mai province’s Omkoi district. The men told reporters they were patrolling for fires when they ran across a small herd of wild elephants. Fearing for their safety, the fled up a nearby tree and stayed…
- Covid-19 News
8 curfew violators arrested in Phuket
Under Thailand’s state of emergency, a nationwide curfew has been imposed between the hours of 10pm and 4am. Last night 8 people, including 5 Thais, 2 Burmese men and 1 Chinese were arrested in the Patong area of the southern island province of Phuket for breaching the curfew, which began last night to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 9 new coronavirus cases
Phuket has reported 9 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases today (Saturday), bringing the total number to 109. Of the total, 17 have made a full recovery and been discharged from hospital; 92 are still in hospital, with 1 patient remaining in critical condition. 1,423 people are considered at high risk due to contact with confirmed cases. 221 people are in hospital,…
- Covid-19 News
Samut Sakhon joins other provinces in getting serious about masks in public
With the entire nation under a state of emergency and a nationwide curfew now in effect, many regions of Thailand are getting tough on those who don’t wear masks in public as an additional public prevention in the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The governor of Samut Sakhon, a large province on the coast southwest of Bangkok, today joined other…
- Covid-19 News
Onerous new document requirements for stranded foreigners announced
Thailand’s Immigration Bureau announced yesterday that 9 separate documents are now required for foreigners stranded here to extend their stay for up to 30 days. New requirements include land deeds, rental contracts, even selfies of foreigners at their accommodations, even as scenes of chaos and massive queues at immigration continue unabated. A Thai Immigration spokesman defended the inconvenience on the…
- Covid-19 News
30 arrested for violating emergency decree, 18 teens jailed
18 teenagers have been jailed for violating the Emergency Decree by holding a party and abusing drugs in Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. Yesterday prosecutors indicted the teenagers for breaching the decree, taking part in a mass gathering and drug use. The teens were arrested on Monday after officials got a tip off from local residents. Homeowners reported illegal drugs were…
- Covid-19 News
Dead Covid-19 train passenger had just returned from India, Pakistan, had contact with 3 Phuket cases
“The deceased had participated in a Dawah [Muslim missionary] activity in India in February, and before that he had been to Pakistan.” The 57-year-old Thai man found dead on a Bangkok-Narathiwat train on Tuesday had recently returned from India. Preecha Nuannoi, district chief of Su-Ngai Kolok in Narathiwat province, made the announcement yesterday. “He was a local of Su-Ngai Kolok…
- Northern Thailand News
Summer storm warning for 55 of Thailand’s 76 provinces
Today Thailand’s Meteorological Department warned people in 55 northern, north-eastern, central and eastern provinces to prepare for possible “strong winds and hail from summer storms”, that are expected through until Sunday. This time of the year is also know as the bridging season between the annual dry and wet seasons. Weather can be unsettled in parts of thailand during this…
- Covid-19 News
Surat Thani man “goes berserk” after 5 days in quarantine
Wiang Sa Police Station in Surat Thani province was notified that a 32 year old Thai man was unable to control himself and was screaming continuously inside his house. The man’s mother says that her son had just arrived back from Bangkok and she had locked him inside the house following the quarantine order. But after the 5th day of…
- Covid-19 News
103 new virus Covid-19 coronavirus cases confirmed, 4 more deaths
Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Thailand rose to 1,978 with 103 cases confirmed since yesterday and another 4 patients dying. Taveesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement today. Total deaths nationwide now stand at 19. Today’s number continues a hopeful trend of new cases in Thailand overall dropping as restrictions tighten across the country…
- Pattaya News
Jetsada’s Cunning Plan – Drunk man asks to be jailed to escape his boss
A man man in Chon Buri decided he needed a vacation, so he drank a bottle of whisky, walked into a police station and asked to be jailed. Puzzled police say the man thought jail would be a good way to get away from his boss. According to Thai Residents the man is a construction worker on a site right…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 13 new coronavirus cases, total now 100
The southern island province of Phuket confirmed 13 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus today (Friday), bringing the total there to exactly 100. Most appear to have originated in the island’s Patong area, largely from the Bangla Road red light district. The town of Patong was placed on unofficial curfew Wednesday as its governor issued a public decree urging residents…
- Covid-19 News
Curfew in place from today – the details
Under the state of emergency declared last week, the government of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has imposed a nationwide curfew starting from today, banning all people from leaving their homes from 10pm to 4am, in its latest move to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Existing curfew orders in other provinces with stricter requirements will remain in effect. In a…
- World News
Philippine President Duterte: “Shoot them dead”
The president of the Philippines is warning that those who violate his coronavirus lockdown could be shot. He also says abuse of medical workers is a “serious crime that will not be tolerated.” In a nationally televised address, President Rodrigo Duterte said it’s crucial that everyone cooperates and follows home quarantine measures to try to slow the spread of Covid-19…
- Covid-19 News
All new arrivals to Thailand banned, effective immediately
Effective today, and until at least April 15, Thailand will bar all arrivals due to the increasing number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases. Thaveesilp Wissanuyothin, spokesman of the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says that PM Prayut Chan-ocha has ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a new directive prohibiting any new arrivals. “The spread of Covid-19 must be stopped.…
- Covid-19 News
National curfew announced. Takes effect tomorrow.
Thailand will announce a nationwide curfew between 10pm – 4am starting tomorrow (Friday) to try to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The government made the announcement in a statement today. There will be some exceptions to the new measure, including the transport of medical supplies, movement of people into quarantine, patients and travel of medical personnel, according to…
- Covid-19 News
250 Germans fly out of Phuket before airport closes on April 10
Some 250 German nationals flew out of the southern island of Phuket this morning on a special flight chartered to take them home before the airport closes on April 10. Condor Airlines flight DE8759 took off at 10:10am. Phuket has closed all its land and sea borders already, and Thailand is under a state of national emergency until at least…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok, Phuket order convenience stores closed overnight to battle virus
To fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, Bangkok’s convenience stores, food shops and stalls are to be closed from midnight to 5am, effective from now until end of April, by order of City Hall (the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, or BMA). A BMA spokesman says that all public and private parks in communities, housing estates and condos will also be…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand confirms 104 new coronavirus cases (Thursday)
Thailand now has at total of 1,875 Covid-19 coronavirus cases, with 104 new cases confirmed over the last 24 hours and 3 more patients dying. Total deaths now stand at 15. Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the government’s newly formed Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement today (Thursday). This continues a hopeful trend of new cases in Thailand overall…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 12 new coronavirus cases, all from Patong
The southern island province of Phuket confirmed 12 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus today (Thursday), bringing the total on the island to 87. All appear to have originated in the island’s Patong area, most from the Bangla Road red light district. The town of Patong was placed on unofficial curfew yesterday as its governor issued a public decree urging…
