- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s emergency decree extended until May 31
Thailand’s Emergency Decree will be extended for another month after it expires this Thursday. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration on Monday recommended to extend the decree which would be extended to the end of May. The emergency decree gives the Thai PM sweeping powers and is provided for in the Thai Constitution for situations like the current Covid-19 outbreak.…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand turns to China to revive post-Covid tourist economy
The Covid-19 pandemic has crushed Thailand’s tourism sector, long considered a lifeline for the nation’s already battered economy, as numbers of foreign visitors have dropped below even the worst predictions plunging 76.4% in March from last year after a 42.8% drop in February. For an economy that derives 12-14% of its gross domestic product from tourism, receipts, the impact of…
- Covid-19 News
25 more arrested entering Thailand by wading across river from Malaysia
Another 25 Thai workers were arrested this morning for illegal border crossing after wading across the Kolok River from Malaysia to Thailand. They were placed in mandatory 14 day quarantine and charged with illegal entry. They are part of a group of Thai workers left stranded in Malaysia, which has extended its lockdown order to May 12. Their desperation is…
- Economy News
Thailand loses US free trade benefits worth billions of baht
Thailand loses duty free access for 42.2 billion baht in exports to the US market from today, 6 months after Washington warned it would pull back on trade privileges unless the kingdom committed to labour rights reforms. Once trade preferences for Thai products are removed they are subject to tax of between 4% and 5%, making them more expensive in…
- Covid-19 News
Park chief, officers arrested for house party
A group of 8 officers from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation are in trouble after being spotted drinking and socialising at a house party in Ngao Waterfall National Park in the southern Ranong province. They’ve all been arrested for defying the Emergency Decree. Police told reporters yesterday the 8 were rounded up last Friday night after…
- Covid-19 News
15 new national virus cases, 5 imported (Sunday)
Thailand’s health officials have confirmed a total of 15 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Of these, 5 were imported cases of Thai nationals recently repatriated from abroad who were sent directly to mandated state quarantine. No new deaths were reported in today’s daily media update. 2,922 people have been infected in Thailand since the beginning of the outbreak in…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket reports 4 new Covid-19 cases, all in Bang Tao (Sunday)
The southern province of Phuket reports 4 new confirmed Covid-19 cases today, all in the Bang Tao area of the island’s Cherngtalay subdistrict, bringing the total in Phuket to 206 since the outbreak began in January. One more patient has recovered, bringing that total of recovered patients to 161. 45 cases are still in hospital of which 4 are ‘severe’.…
- Politics News
North Korean leader reportedly in “vegetative state”
For days the government of North Korea has been tight-lipped as speculation about the health of the nation’s leader Kim Jong-un’s health spreads. Now the Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai is reporting that a failed surgery has left the 36 year old in a vegetative state. American celebrity tabloid website TMZ has gone a step further and claimed he’s actually…
- Covid-19 News
Tourism minister, TAT hope for a return of limited domestic travel
For weeks, interprovincial travel has been heavily restricted if not outright banned due to the Emergency Decree announced on March 24 to combat the spread of Covid-19. And although the National Security Council is expected to present a proposal on Monday to extend the Decree, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakan expects the government to ease some measures and allow…
- Technology News
Online video platform TikTok assessing live streaming in Thailand
TikTok, the most downloaded app in the world for 2 years running and the world’s leading short-video platform, has announced a trial of its first live streaming series in Thailand as part of its push to develop platform experiences for users around the world. TikTok’s first live streaming in Thailand was hosted by Vuthithorn “Woody” Milintachinda, a celebrity and influencer,…
- Economy News
“Thai Airways will survive”. Emergency meeting next Wednesday.
“Thai Airways will not collapse. The fact that Deputy PM Somkid stepped in to handle the issue means the government will rescue it.” It’s no secret that Thailand’s national carrier has been a financial basket case for over a decade, bleeding money and marketshare as the years pass. The top-heavy Thai company is bailed out by the Thai government each…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket adds 4 Covid-19 cases, 3 in Bang Tao (Saturday)
4 new Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in the southern island province of Phuket today. The island has the highest rate of infection and the second highest number of cases, after Bangkok. A single new case was reported this morning, bringing the total there to 202: a 60 year old Thai woman who lives in Witchit, Phuket Town. She fell…
- Crime News
Knicker-sniffing panty thief arrested in Chiang Mai – VIDEO
After receiving complaints, police in Chiang Mai have arrested a food delivery driver for stealing women’s knickers (panties) while making deliveries throughout the city. 27 year old Nontawat Intanachan was arrested after at least one woman reported to police that her knickers had frequently been stolen while hanging out to dry. When police examined the surveillance footage, they saw a…
- Covid-19 News
Housing registration not required to receive free masks, says ministry
False reports are circulating online that housing registration details are required to receive free face masks from the government, and the Ministry of Industry is publicly warning people not to believe them, calling them “fake news.” A spokesperson says that reports are appearing on online media that the ministry plans to distribute free cloth masks by post, but only after…
- Covid-19 News
Public health must take priority – Thai PM
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has stressed that public health will take priority when the government makes a decision on Tuesday whether to ease restriction imposed by the Emergency Decree to fight the spread of Covid-19. At a press briefing at Government House yesterday, Prayut said that although Thailand has, up to now, managed to flatten the infection curve, the nation “cannot…
- Crime News
Attempted murder charge for hit-and-run Mitsubishi driver
In a follow-up to a story previously reported in The Thaiger, police in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat are charging the driver of a Mitsubishi Mirage with attempted murder after he ran into a policeman, then sped off with the officer still clinging to the hood of his car. The officer held on for dear life as the…
- Covid-19 News
“Healthy stickers” to be required of all Buriram residents starting May 1
Buriram, one of Thailand’s major provinces in the lower northeastern region know as Issan, will soon require residents to carry a “healthy sticker” whenever they go outside. The provincial governor made the announcement yesterday and said the measure will come into effect on May 1. The sticker, to be attached to residents’ ID cards, will be required as a proof…
- Covid-19 News
Government ramps up production of 5 anti-Covid-19 medicines, procurement of others
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation is increasing production of five drugs used treat Covid-19 to ensure adequate stocks for all patients. A GPO spokesmansaid that excluding Favipiravir also known as Avigan, Thailand has five drugs to treat Covid-19, totalling 39.6 million tablets: there are 1.8 million tablets of Chloroquine, an anti-malarial drug; 30.6 million tablets of an antiretroviral drug containing Lopinavir and…
- Covid-19 News
Experimental antiviral drug Remdesivir fails first clinical trial
Reports are emerging that the experimental antiviral drug Remdesivir, developed by the American pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, has failed in its first randomised clinical trial to treat Covid-19, according to draft documents accidentally published by the World Health Organization and seen by the Financial Times. Gilead disputed how the now deleted post characterised the findings, saying the data showed a…
- Covid-19 News
15 new Covid-19 cases in Thailand (Friday), no new deaths
At this morning’s daily press briefing from the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, announced somewhat of a stabilising of cases. 15 new confirmed Covid-19 cases were announced. This brings the total since the start of the outbreak to 2,854. 60 more people recovered and were released in the same 24 hour period. The total number of patients…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s Security Council eyes extending state of emergency, easing some restrictions
Next Monday, the day before the weekly Cabinet meeting, Thailand’s National Security Council will present a proposal to extend the national state of emergency to PM Prayut Chan-o- cha, recommending the relaxation of some current restrictions to allow some businesses and daily activities to resume amid the Covid-19 crisis. The NSC met with other security agencies to evaluate the current state…
- Covid-19 News
320,000 of Singapore’s migrant workers living in Covid-19 limbo
As the Covid-19 pandemic sweeps the world, some countries are faring better than others. Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and as late as March, Singapore, had all been hailed for using the hard-won lessons of the 2003-04 SARS outbreak to combat the new virus, a relative of SARS. For Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong, the story might well have been one…
- World News
China opens 2 more border points to allow transport of Thai fruits
The director-general of the Department of Agriculture announced today that China has opened two more points at its Vietnam border to allow the transportation of Thai fruits during the Covid-19 crisis. The move comes after the existing Youyi Guan checkpoint was overwhelmed with 15 kilometre queues of Thai and Vietnamese goods vehicles. The Department of Agriculture together with National Bureau of…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today – Thursday, April 23
Thousands of tourists stranded on a trio of Gulf islands An estimated 10,000 foreign tourists are stranded on three islands in the Gulf of Thailand – Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. More than half of them, around 5,700 are on Koh Samui, another 3,300 foreign tourists on Koh Phangan and about 1,000 on Koh Tao, after passenger flights…
- South Thailand News
Police officer clings to hit-and-run car for 2 kilometres – VIDEO
A policeman in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat was taken on an unplanned car ride yesterday when a Mitsubishi Mirage tried to run him down, forcing him to jump onto the front of the car and hold on for about 2 kilometres. The incident was caught on security cameras. Officer Montri Nitichai of Tha Sala police station says…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket eyes lifting restrictions on Tambons that are virus-free for 14 days
Phuket’s outgoing governor Pakkapong Tawipat recently extended emergency measures in the southern province until April 30, including severe travel restrictions on the island. Now there is speculation the incoming governor, Narong Namsouw, currently the governor of the northeastern Chaiyaphum province, will extend them, though there has been no confirmation of this. Governor Pakkapong says the provincial government is seeking opinions from…
- Covid-19 News
New Covid-19 cases drop to 13, lowest in weeks, with 1 new death
Health officials reported just 13 new Covid-19 patients nationwide today, down from yesterday’s 15 and marking the fifth consecutive day of declining new cases. The total is now 2,839 since the outbreak began in Thailand. There was 1 more death, bringing the cumulative toll to 50. 13 more cases have recovered and were sent home from hospital in the past…
- Covid-19 News
March tourist arrival numbers worse than predicted
It’s no secret that the Covid-19 outbreak has been disastrous for Thailand’s tourism sector, long considered a vital lifeline of the nation’s already battered economy. Data released by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports today showed foreign tourist arrivals in Thailand slumped 76.4% in March compared to a year earlier. This follows a 42.8% drop the previous month, as the…
- Covid-19 News
Thousands of tourists stranded on a trio of Gulf islands
An estimated 10,000 foreign tourists are stranded on three islands in the Gulf of Thailand, more than half of them, around 5,700 on Koh Samui, after passenger flights were suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Surat Thani province’s tourism and sports chief Tikamporn Sutti-udomrat, said yesterday that apart from the 5,700 visitors on Koh Samui, there are another 3,300 foreign…
- Covid-19 News
PM says he won’t bow to pressure on easing emergency restrictions
In a public address after yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha said he will not bow to increasing private and public pressure to ease restrictions and closures of businesses caused by Covid-19. Prayut stated that the priority is the health of the public, and that although he deeply sympathises and understands the pain of the people, with an estimated…
