Thaiger
- Environment News
Chon Buri struggles with severe drought
As Thailand faces its worst drought in 40 years, officials in Chon Buri met yesterday to discuss a solution regarding lack of water and low water pressure in the province’s Sattahip district, south of Pattaya, also the home to a naval base. Responding to many recent complaints, Sathira Pueakprapan, a member of the council in Chonburi, told reporters that Sattahip…
- Covid-19 News
Chiang Rai restricts travel in and out until April 30
Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province, has now been partially locked down, effective today until April 30, by order of its governor. Only four routes in or out will remain open. Vehicles and passengers will undergo strict screening at entrance and exit checkpoints. Those with a fever or who fail to wear facemasks will be not allowed to enter. Until April…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 2 new Covid-19 cases (Saturday)
Continuing a hopeful downward trend, the southern province of Phuket today reported only 2 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases, down from yesterday’s 9 and Thursday’s 21. Many if not most of cases originate from the island’s Patong subdistrict, which is now has restricted access, and especially its legendary Bangla Road red light area. The island province has taken stringent measures to…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket residents instructed to stay home for at least 14 days
All residents living in the southern province of Phuket are being directed to stay in their homes for at least two weeks, starting next Monday, April 13. The provincial governor announced the measure last night to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus on the island, which now has the highest rate of infections in Thailand and is the second…
- Covid-19 News
50 new coronavirus cases nationwide (Friday), 1 death
50 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases were confirmed around Thailand at this morning’s briefing by the The Ministry of public Health and the Covid-19 Coronavirus Situation Response Centre, a slight drop from yesterday’s 54. There was also one new death. The total number of infections since the outbreak began now stands at 2,473. 33 patients have died. The cases span 68…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 9 new coronavirus cases (Friday)
Phuket, which has now closed all points of entry by land and sea, and today closed its airport, has reported 9 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases today (Friday). That’s less than half of yesterday’s 21 cases and even lower than Wednesday’s 14. The new cases bring the total on the southern island to 170 since the outbreak began in January. No…
- Northern Thailand News
Stricken horse farm owners consider suing government over AHS virus outbreak
An outbreak of African Horse Sickness has already killed more than 200 horses in 4 provinces, including Nakhon Ratchasima, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chon Buri and Phetchaburi since it was first reported on March 26. Now, at least 1 owner of a horse farm is considering suing the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, along with other agencies, for approving imports…
- Covid-19 News
Illegal Chinese casino in Pattaya operating after curfew – VIDEO
Police from several units, including the Transnational Crime Unit of Chon Buri, led a raid last night on an illegal casino in Pattaya where nearly a dozen people were gambling. It was located above a Chinese Restaurant. Police went to the Fu Manow Chinese Restaurant at about 10:15pm after a tip that there was an illegal gathering happening in a…
- Covid-19 News
Thai army puts off military purchases until coronavirus outbreak passes
The Royal Thai Army says Thailand “needs to heal” after the Coronavirus pandemic is over in the country so plans to delay purchases of military equipment in the 2020 defence budget. They say the change is in order to prioritise national recovery efforts in the wake of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. A Defence Ministry spokesman says cuts to the 2020 budget…
- Covid-19 News
Did an Issan woman get coronavirus for a second time?
A 38 year old woman from Thailand’s northeastern Chaiyaphum province in the Issan region appears to have contracted the Covid-19 coronavirus for a second time, after she was ‘cured’ of the virus in Bangkok in the middle of March. The woman, who in March had only recently returned from overseas, was found to be infected with the virus and was…
- Covid-19 News
90 day ban on transporting horses to control AHS virus outbreak
Thailand has issued an order banning the movement of all horses nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of African Horse Sickness , which has already killed more than 200 horses in the kingdom. The Ministry of Agriculture announced the order yesterday, effective for 90 days. The disease has already killed nearly 200 horses in the country. A spokesman…
- Northern Thailand News
North still choked with dangerous smog
Chiang Mai takes the number one spot for air pollution yet again today, as a thick shroud of smog blankets huge areas of the province. Thailand’s Pollution Control Department reported today that dangerously thick smog covered the upper northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son. A red alert signifying severe air pollution was posted for the…
- Crime News
Burmese pair arrested at border for smuggling 16.5 million baht
Police in the Tak province, northern Thailand, yesterday arrested two Burmese nationals for trying to smuggle 16.5 million baht in cash into Thailand. Authorities say the two, identified as 29 year old Ded Paioou, and a 24 year old woman called “Namitu” were arrested in tambon Tha Sai Luad, following a tip-off. Officers say the pair were driving a pickup…
- Covid-19 News
21 new coronavirus cases in Phuket, total now 161 (Thursday)
The southern province of Phuket today (Thursday) confirmed 21 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases, up from 14 yesterday. All the new cases are Thai citizens and are centred around Patong’s Bangla Road or Bang Tao. Today’s new cases bring the total in Phuket to 161 cases since the start of the outbreak in January. Phuket has become a hotbed for new…
- Covid-19 News
Who will receive free coronavirus testing?
Free Covid-19 coronavirus testing will be provided for 4 groups of people who are considered ‘patients under investigation’… this from the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration Thailand has vastly raised the number of centres and clinics certified to perform testing for the virus, and more are expected by the end of this month. A former deputy PM yesterday posted…
- Covid-19 News
Police say most Chiang Mai curfew violators drunk
More than 250 people have been arrested in Chiang Mai province since the national state of emergency was enacted on April 3 to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, after breaking its subsequent curfew. Police say most were drunk. Another 43 people were arrested overnight on Tuesday for violating curfew. Police report that amongst those arrested, 2 were in…
- Covid-19 News
International visitor numbers down 35% January-March, exceeding worst predictions
International visitor numbers to Thailand from January to March dropped by 8.5 million, or 35.3% year-on- year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. You can be sure the specific numbers for March would have been a lot worse. The biggest decline, unsurprisingly, was in Chinese visitor numbers, which dropped by 59.4% compared to 2019, to around 2.4 million.…
- Covid-19 News
Former Deputy PM stresses need for more testing, emulating South Korean model
“Test, test, test was the former Deputy PM’s message, especially now that the country has the labs to do so.” Dr Surapong Seubwonglee, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand posted on Facebook urging the government to investigate the number of people tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus in Thailand and appeal for wider testing. He gave several reasons why testing…
- Covid-19 News
111 new Thai coronavirus cases. 3 more deaths, all foreigners
Thailand’s National Covid-19 Coronavirus Disease Management Centre has announced 111 new confirmed cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus today. Total cases now stand at 2,369 nationwide. 3 foreign men died, pushing the total death toll up to 30. 42 of today’s new cases were all returnees from a religious festival in Indonesia. The new fatalities include a 48 year old Russian man…
- Covid-19 News
Chiang Mai bans booze to battle coronavirus
There’s likely to be a rush on for booze over the next few days in Chiang Mai. The northern province is banning alcohol sales for 10 days, from April 10 – 20 in its local battle with the Covid-19 coronavirus. Provincial governor Charoenrit Sanguansat issued the order yesterday. He says the Chiang Mai Communicable Disease Committee has already issued emergency…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 14 new coronavirus cases, total now 140
Phuket has reported 14 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases today (Wednesday). The island is on virtual lockdown, especially Patong, home of the Bangla Road red light area, the flashpoint of most of the island’s infections. The new number bring the island’s infections to 140. Phuket has closed off all land and sea routes and barred entry to all but essential goods vehicles,…
- Covid-19 News
Boris Johnson ‘stable’ but on oxygen support as he battles coronavirus
Britain’s PM Boris Johnson spent his second night in an intensive care unit receiving supplemental oxygen, as Britain reels under the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic that’s confined its exuberant leader to a bed reserved for the sickest patients. Johnson is the first world leader to fall sick with the virus. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is carrying out the PM’s…
- Covid-19 News
Government doubles cash stimulus period for informal workers
The Thai government is doubling the period of monthly cash handouts for “informal workers,” from 3 months to 6. Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana made the announcement after yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting. The government initially only planned to provide cash to 3 million people for 3 months. The new stimulus marks a huge investment by the Thai government to keep the…
- Covid-19 News
More than 600 prosecuted for violating emergency decree
The national state of emergency declared on March 26 and the resultant curfews are no laughing matter, and violators are being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. More than 600 people nationwide have been prosecuted for defying the emergency decree invoked to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. A spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General says…
- Crime News
Police hunt Burmese man accused of killing Chon Buri boy
Police in Chon Buri have launched a manhunt for a Burmese worker who is a suspect in the murder of an 11 year old boy. The boy’s body was found in a cassava farm in the province’s Sri Racha district on Sunday. Police believe the 49 year old Burmese national known only as “Wan,” may still be hiding in Chon…
- Covid-19 News
New coronavirus cases in Thailand fall to 38, 1 more death
“The lower number of daily new cases and the slower increase in accumulated patients apparently resulted from the nationwide curfew starting on April 3.” In another dramatic drop, Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported only 38 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours, and one additional death in its daily press briefing today (Tuesday). The cumulative death…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket adds Kathu and Chalong sub-districts to ‘lockdown’ list
Chalong and Kathu districts are now being added to Phuket’s “lock down” list by the Phuket Governor. The notices, like the others for Rawai, Karon and Patong, say all non-essential vehicles are banned entry or exit into these two areas, including public transport. “People are asked to say in their homes, and public health teams will be deployed to check…
- Covid-19 News
Interior ministry sends new measures to provincial governors to fight coronavirus
The permanent secretary of Thailand’s interior ministry has sent an urgent communiqué to the nation’s provincial governors, telling them that the newly formed National Covid-19 Coronavirus Disease Management Centre will require new measures at the provincial level to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. These measures are issued under the national state of emergency declared last week by the…
- Covid-19 News
British PM running government from hospital – the latest
Boris Johnson, the British PM, has become the first world leader hospitalised by the Covid-19 coronavirus. He was admitted to hospital for tests last night after suffering “persistent symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus”. The UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab will chair the Government’s Covid-19 daily meeting after Boris Johnson was hospitalised as a “precautionary step” although…
- Covid-19 News
No, 5G does NOT cause coronavirus
“About the only similarity between 5G and the Coronavirus is that you can’t see them. And that’s about it!” The Thaiger enjoys a good conspiracy theory as much as the next person – hey, maybe Francis Bacon really DID write all of Shakespeare’s works, and maybe we’re all ruled by lizard people – but mostly, in the 21st century we’ll…
