- Covid-19 News
Anutin misspoke again, later apologises, again
“We’re not happy with some health personnel who do not take good care of themselves. They should have set an example for others.” Thailand’s volatile Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday criticised medical personnel infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus , drawing furious responses on social media until he apologised, again. The deputy PM and Bhumjaithai Party leader originally told reporters…
- Covid-19 News
Defence chief: Stay home for the sake of the nation, or curfew is inevitable
“We should control ourselves instead of being forced to by the state.” Under the state of emergency that went into effect yesterday, the head of Thailand’s defence forces Pornpipat Benyasri has urged people to stay in their homes today and the weekend or face an enforced curfew to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Pornpipat, who under the emergency…
- Covid-19 News
Blue Flag grocery vehicles deployed in greater Bangkok to encourage staying home
With the state of emergency requiring people to stay home as much as possible and keeping their ‘social distance’ in public to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the Ministry of Commerce has launched a fleet of Blue Flag vehicles to sell and deliver groceries and other consumer goods at affordable prices, right to people’s homes. Starting yesterday, mobile…
- Covid-19 News
‘Boxing Stadium Cluster’ investigation over banned March 6 event
The head of the Royal Thai Army, General Apirat Kongsompong today ordered the creation of a committee to track down those responsible for holding a competition in Lumphini Boxing Stadium on March 6, days after it was ordered closed. The stadium, which is under the management of the army, has been a major hotzone for the spread of the Covid-19…
- Covid-19 News
20,000 expected to apply for unemployment in Chiang Mai
With thousands of businesses shuttered and public spaces closed to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coroavirus, Chiang Mai’s social security office expects some 20,000 laid-off workers to register for unemployment benefits. “People started registering on Tuesday and we’re getting at least 1,000 a day on average. And they’re not just Chiang Mai people, but also from other provinces.” Registration…
- Crime News
“Comply or I’ll tear it down myself” Pattaya mayor tells encroaching resort
Pattaya’s mayor Sontaya Khunpluem yesterday ordered his staff to post notices at Ban Sukhawadee, or “Sukhawadee House” as it’s known in English, a luxury beachfront property and tourist attraction on a total of 80 rai in the Bang Lamung district, that encompasses Pattaya. The company that runs the resort, HealthFood International, has two weeks to comply with a judgment relating…
- Covid-19 News
No public transport bus tickets until at least April 30
“We cannot provide additional buses and all available buses have been used. Complying with the social distancing policy halves the number of passengers per bus.” Due to the state of emergency declared by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the president of state enterprise Transport Company, Jirasak Yaovatsakul, announced today that ticket sales for all…
- Covid-19 News
Escaped coronavirus patient nabbed in Krabi, faces charges
A patient who fled isolation and treatment for the Covid-19 coronavirus in the southern province of Krabi has been nabbed at a checkpoint last night and returned to hospital. The 25 year old faces criminal charges for violating the Communicable Disease Act. The director of Krabi Hospital says the patient had been at the hospital since Saturday but escaped on…
- Covid-19 News
Military checkpoints set up to monitor domestic travel
Under the state of emergency which went into effect around Thailand last night, the military has set up 357 checkpoints to monitor interprovincial travel in an additional measure to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. A statement said the checkpoints are in response to the PM tasking the military command with supervising security measures. The checkpoints are manned by…
- Covid-19 News
Thai government reassures public: No food shortages
“There will be no shortage of food and goods for domestic consumption, even if a lockdown is implemented, be it for three months, six months or a year.” The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has prompted some outbreaks of panic buying for staple items, but the Thai government is assuring the public there will be no shortages of food. The Office of…
- Northern Thailand News
1000 kilograms of marijuana seized in northeastern Thailand
More than a tonne of marijuana has been been recovered in Thailand’s Bung Kan province, in the far north east on the Laos border. The stash was discovered in fertiliser sacks by a security patrol boat along the Mekong river. Authorities say a longtail boat with 4 to 5 men on board was spotted pulling up to the river bank,…
- Covid-19 News
Fortress Thailand – Thai PM asks for co-operation
The Kingdom has raised the drawbridge and hunkers down for weeks, or months, of self-isolation and a roll-out of measures to control the spread of Covid-19. Foreign nationals may no longer enter Thailand and the government has not ruled out a 24 hour curfew under the state of emergency declared by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, which went into effect at midnight,…
- Hot News
April Thai lottery postponed
The Thai national lottery scheduled for April 1 will now take place on May 2, and the other April 16 and May 2 lottery draws have been cancelled. The Thai Government Lottery Office made the announcement today. The bi-monthly drawing of the six magic numbers is one of the most watched TV programs in Thailand. The move, sure to disappoint…
- Covid-19 News
Wuhan, original epicentre of coronavirus outbreak, will lift outgoing travel ban
Wuhan, the likely origin of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, and the city hardest hit by it, plans to remove outbound travel restrictions from April 8 after over two months of lockdown. People in Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, will be allowed to leave if they hold a ‘green health code’, meaning no contact with any infected or suspected virus…
- Covid-19 News
Thai PM: State of emergency begins at midnight
“I am in charge of this mission.” In a nationally televised address, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha told the public today that Thailand has reached a turning point in its fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and he is now “in charge of every aspect” of the government’s efforts to combat the disease. An emergency decree, announced yesterday, will be enforced across…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Hot with showers in the North, cloudy in the South
Thailand’s Meteorological Department said today is a “hot to a very hot day for the North and the Northeast” as a thermal low covers upper Thailand. A combination of southerly and southeasterly winds prevails over the Northeast, the East, the Central and the lower North regions. Thundershowers with gusty winds are forecast in some areas of the upper country (hey,…
- Covid-19 News
Authorities searching for bus travellers in Chiang Rai after passenger tests positive
Authorities in Chiang Rai are trying to track down the passengers of a tour bus after three tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus. The bus was travelling from Bangkok to the Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai in northern Thailand. The three, all from the same family, are being treated in hospital. A spokesman for Chiang Rai’s health department has…
- Covid-19 News
Thai Airways suspends all flights, some from today
The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic has claimed another victim: Thai Airways, the national carrier, has announced the suspension of all operations until May 31. The struggling carrier, once considered one of Asia’s most luxurious airlines, said yesterday that the suspension is necessary “because the global pandemic has prompted many countries to impose border closures and lockdowns, forcing many Thai offices abroad…
- Covid-19 News
107 new coronavirus cases confirmed, total now 934 (Wednesday)
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and the Department of Disease Control announced 107 new confirmed cases of the Covid-19 Coronavirus in their daily press briefing this morning. This makes the total number of cases found in Thailand since the outbreak began in January 934, with 4 total deaths. Yesterday 106 confirmed cases were announced. 52 patients have so far recovered.…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 3 new coronavirus cases (Wednesday)
Newshawk Phuket reports 3 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus on the southern Thai island of Phuket. 2 Chinese patients have recovered and been discharged, bringing the total remaining cases to 27. 98 people are still in hospital in Phuket, with 71 awaiting test results. The new cases are… An English traveller who arrived in Phuket on March 19 via…
- Covid-19 News
2020 Tokyo Olympics put on hold for a year
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are to be delayed by one year due to concerns over the world Covid 19 coronavirus pandemic. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe made the announcement yesterday, telling reporters he has won the backing for the proposal to delay the games, originally scheduled to start in July, in a call with IOC president Thomas Bach. “The Tokyo Olympics will…
- Covid-19 News
5000 baht per month for “informal” Thai workers
Informal workers, meaning temporary workers, contractors and the self-employed will be able to claim 5000 baht in government assistance per month during the Covid-19 Coronavirus crisis, which has already closed untold thousands of businesses, even before yesterday’s announcement of a state of emergency. The program and payments begin on April 1. Workers must be Thai nationals and register with either The…
- Covid-19 News
5 people who were bloody amazing during “self-quarantine”
Life in Thailand has changed rapidly since the WHO declared the Covid-19 coronavirus a pandemic on March 11. Offices have closed, public spaces have emptied, and the nation is in a state of national emergency, effective tomorrow. People are urged to to stay home and “self-isoltate” to the extent possible. Many have suddenly found themselves, to put it charitably, “with…
- Economy News
The almighty baht set to fall further despite rate cuts, stimulus
A lot has changed for the baht. It was only months ago that The Bank of Thailand considered drastic measures to rein in the rambunctious baht, whose massive gains in currency markets made it the darling of speculators. In December Kasikorn Bank released a report outlining reasons the baht “will remain strong into 2020.” The bank’s research arm forecast the…
- Covid-19 News
Sharp jump in Thai coronavirus cases due to new testing methods
Thailand’s Ministry of Public health explained today that the sharp rise in confirmed Covid-19 coronavirus cases reported in recent days is due to new testing standards. In the past, two labs have had to show a positive result before a case was confirmed, but now a positive result from one lab is considered a confirmed case. The situation was explained…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand under a State of emergency – Prime Minister
Thai PM Prayuth Chan-o-cha told a news conference today that Thailand will be under emergency decree from this Thursday (March 26) until the end of April, 2020 to deal with the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in the Kingdom. The decree means the PM will have the executive power to declare further measures to contain the virus, including giving extra authority to…
- Covid-19 News
Professor says social distancing, self-isolation are crucial to control infection
“People must stay home and not socialise, or Thailand will become like Italy with coronavirus patients overwhelming health resources and medical personnel having to decide which patients to treat, or not.” Dr Prasit Watanapa, dean of the faculty of medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, yesterday emphasised the need for strict social distancing on the university’s online TV channel, saying…
- Covid-19 News
PM asks cabinet for emergency decree
PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha formally asked the Thai Cabinet this afternoon for the declaration of a national emergency to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Thailand. The decree, which the Cabinet is currently discussing, will likely be enacted for a month. A decision is expected to be announced later today. The decree would allow authorities to impose curfews,…
- Covid-19 News
Thai epidemiologist warns public to stay home to avoid virus surge
As the number of Covid-19 coronavirus infections rises around Thailand, an epidemiologist from the Ministry of Public Health is urging the public to stay home, avoid all social interaction unless absolutely essential and practise social distancing whenever you need to go outdoors to avoid an outbreak like those in Italy and Spain. Ministry epidemiologist Walairat Chaifoo says that the total…
- Covid-19 News
UPDATE: Thailand confirms 106 new coronavirus cases, 3 more deaths
UPDATE: New cases announced in Phuket (below). ORIGINAL STORY: Thailand health officials have reported 106 new Covid-19 coronavirus infections today, bringing the total to 827 in the Kingdom. The number of new cases is lower than the 122 recorded yesterday. The Ministry of Public Health has also reported 3 additional deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing…
