Maya Taylor
- Pattaya News
6 arrests after attack on Pattaya shop owner and family for refusing to sell alcohol – VIDEO
Six curfew-breakers have been arrested for allegedly attacking a Pattaya shop owner and his family, as well as damage to their business and car, on Saturday night. The shop owner had refused to sell the perpetrators alcohol as it was after the curfew, with a further ban on alcohol sales after 6pm in Chon Buri province. The Pattaya News reports…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket bus driver shares government quarantine facility with coffin
A bus driver who left Phuket to return to his home city of Trang was left feeling a little, well, uneasy when he realised he would be sharing his government quarantine facilities with a coffin. Were the authorities just ‘planning ahead’? Or just a ‘whoops’ moment? The man had left Phuket as part of the exodus of some 50,000 people…
- Covid-19 News
Health officials say they’re ready for a “second wave” of Covid-19
As countries around the world start to ease some of the restrictions put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19, the fear of a “second wave” persists. Now a report in Nation Thailand says healthcare officials in Thailand are using the lessons from the past fews months, in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, tracing and testing, and are prepared…
- Covid-19 News
Survey shows a third of people believe Thailand will be Covid-free in 3-6 months
A survey conducted by the Super Poll Research Office shows that a third of people believe Thailand will be free from the Covid-19 virus within 3 to 6 months. Thai Residents reports that Super Poll conducted a survey of 1,255 citizens on May 6, which also revealed that over 32% believe the virus will be gone in as little as…
- Covid-19 News
China on alert as 17 new Covid-19 cases reported, highest in two weeks
China has recorded its highest daily increase in new Covid-19 cases since April 28, with 17 new cases. Five of those are in Wuhan, where the outbreak began in late 2019, and is the highest number recorded there since March 11. A Reuters report says that 7 of the cases recorded yesterday involve arrivals from overseas, a big jump from…
- Education
Online learning system to support re-opening of schools
Thailand’s Ministry of Education is launching an online learning system designed as a back-up in the event that the re-opening of schools is deemed unsafe. With Thaialnd’s schools set to reopen their doors from July 1, a televised and online system is being tested to supplement children’s learning. The new system, set to be tested next Monday, May 18, will…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand to introduce contact-tracing app in bid to constrain virus
More news is expected today about a new contact-tracing app being launched as part of the Thai government’s latest efforts to constrain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. A report in Nation Thailand says authorities will shift their focus from location targeting to increased testing of six groups considered high-risk. They include healthcare workers, those in state quarantine and newly…
- Covid-19 News
Businesses banned from shutting down during emergency decree
Employers have been left perplexed by an order from the Thai Labour Ministry forbidding them from shutting down their businesses during the emergency decree. The same order bans employees from taking part in any industrial action. A report in Nation Thailand says companies that have already closed are being instructed to re-open, and employees advised to return to work, with…
- Covid-19 News
Thai Health Minister says China, South Korea no longer virus hotspots
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has provisionally approved a suggestion from Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul that China and South Korea be removed from the list of Covid-19 “hotspots”. Nation Thailand reports that the number of confirmed cases in each country has now dropped into single digits and attempts are being made to re-establish economic and social ties between Thailand and the two…
- Business News
Business recovery in the Covid-19 era
As some countries begin to tentatively look to reboot their economies in a Covid-19 world, what does the future hold for business? Nation Thailand reports today on an extensive Bank of Thailand survey that examined the impact of the pandemic on four business sectors and what might happen next. Things are looking a bit brighter for the manufacturing and retail…
- Bangkok News
Beware overcrowding and virus transmission – PM
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says packed crowds in public spaces are a concern when it comes to the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The Bangkok Posts reports that Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says the PM wants to see more measures put in place to reduce overcrowding. Just a few days ago, a…
- World News
Leading Philippines broadcaster shut down after clashes with Duterte
The Philippines’ leading television and radio broadcaster, ABS-CBN, has been ordered to shut down by the country’s parliament, where the majority of members are loyal to President Rodrigo Duterte. Critical coverage of President Duterte’s controversial war on drugs angered the Philippine leader, but his gripe with ABS-CBN goes back to the 2016 presidential election when he accused the network of refusing to…
- Northern Thailand News
Former employee of Thai Embassy in Singapore arrested for forging visa documents
Police in Chiang Rai have arrested a Singaporean national accused of forging visa documents. 26 year old David Han, a former employee at the Thai Embassy in Singapore, was arrested by Immigration Police at a hotel in Chiang Rai in possession of counterfeit documents required for visa extension. The Chiang Rai Times reports that Han told police he still worked…
- Bangkok News
Speeding ambulance ejects patient on stretcher into Bangkok traffic – VIDEO
A video that captured the moment a female patient was catapulted from an ambulance into busy city traffic has now been viewed over a million times. The Thai Examiner reports that the incident occurred as the ambulance, lights flashing, was speeding through Bangkok traffic, transporting the woman to hospital. As the driver accelerated along Pracha Uthit Road in the capital’s…
- Covid-19 News
Follow the rules or face the consequences – PM
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is warning that unless people and businesses continue to adhere to social distancing rules, previously lifted restrictions could be reinstated. Nation Thailand reports that the PM has already issued new guidelines on the sale of alcohol after chaotic scenes in supermarkets across the country following the lifting of the alcohol ban in all but a handful…
- Covid-19 News
Yala lab under investigation following Covid-19 testing errors
A medical lab in the southern province of Yala, which returned 40 “false positive” Covid-19 test results, is being investigated to determine where the errors came from. Thai PBS World reports that experts from Prince of Songkhla University in Hat Yai and the Medical Science Department in Nonthaburi province have been sent to the lab to investigate the situation. The…
- Covid-19 News
Concerns in Pattaya over packed trucks transporting construction workers
Whilst Thailand’s residents are being told to ensure appropriate social distancing in all circumstances as the country slowly re-opens businesses, Pattaya residents have shared their concern about the conditions local construction workers are being transported, saying there is no social distancing being observed at all. The Pattaya News reports that it has received photos of workers crammed onto packed trucks…
- Covid-19 News
Government health official warns of near-certainty of “second wave” of Covid-19
With the easing of some restrictions put in place to slow and eventually halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus, a government health official is now warning of the rise of a “second wave” from next week is “inevitable”. Nation Thailand reports that the Director of the Division of Communicable Diseases issued his warning yesterday, saying an increase in the…
- Covid-19 News
Officials issue reminder of nationwide time restrictions on alcohol sales
With the alcohol ban having been lifted in all but a handful of provinces, government officials are warning retailers and consumers that the restrictions on what time alcohol can be sold still remain in place. It comes after one wholesaler in Nonthaburi, just outside Bangkok, was found to be selling alcohol outside of the legally authorised hours of 11am – 2pm…
- Health
Obesity on the rise in the Land of Smiles
Thailand has a health problem and it appears to be an even bigger concern than the current Covid-19 pandemic. The World Health Organisation says nearly one third of the Thai population is now overweight and 9% of the country is obese. Malaysia currently holds the dubious honour of having the highest obesity rate in Southeast Asia – but Thailand is…
- Covid-19 News
Second round of tests confirm 40 Covid-19 cases in Yala were “false positives”
A second round of tests carried out on 40 people who tested positive for the Covid-19 virus in the southern province of Yala, have all come back negative. The Bangkok Post reports that the initial tests have now been confirmed as “false positives”. Now a third test is being run to remove any doubt. The spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19…
- Covid-19 News
Owners of Pattaya nightlife venues discuss Covid-19 safety regulations for re-opening
The owners of entertainment establishments in Pattaya held a meeting at the city’s Hollywood Club on Saturday to exchange ideas on appropriate safety measures to implement as part of a future re-opening. For now, all bars and clubs around Thailand are closed until further notice as part of measures in place to prevent a re-ignition of new cases of the…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya bar raided, 8 arrested for violating emergency decree – VIDEO
Police in Pattaya have raided a small bar just outside the city for violating the Covid-19 emergency decree by being open and selling alcohol. The Pattaya News reports that the raid took place at The Pussycat Club near Village Number 6 in Nongprue at 9pm on Saturday. Police officers were acting following a tip-off that the bar was open and…
- Covid-19 News
“Arrivals from Phuket have been screened for virus” – Interior Ministry
Following concerns raised in a number of destination provinces, the Interior Ministry has moved to reassure people that everyone leaving the island of Phuket to head home to the provinces has been screened for the Covid-19 virus. The Bangkok Post reports that a number of citizens elsewhere in the country became concerned when seeing footage of heavy traffic and long…
- Covid-19 News
Number of Covid-19 cases passes 3.5 million worldwide
The number of Covid-19 cases around the world yesterday passed the 3.5 million mark, with a worldometers.com tally confirming 84,004 new cases in the last 24 hours. However, the growth in new cases is finally starting to slow down – flattening the curve. Nearly a quarter of a million people have now died from the virus, with Europe and the…
- Environment News
Committee votes to ban harmful pesticides from June 1
The National Hazardous Substances Committee has voted to push ahead with the ban on two pesticides, effective June 1. The products are paraquat and chlorpyrifos, 2 of 3 toxic weed killers that have come under scrutiny. It was agreed to allow the controlled use of glyphosate, the third chemical, until the end of November this year. The vote comes following…
- Covid-19 News
Passenger numbers at Don Mueang airport plummet over long weekend
The number of passengers passing through Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport over the coming long weekend is expected to be just a fraction of the usual figures as a result of the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 outbreak and aircraft travel restrictions. Khaosod English reports that airport officials say they expect to see no more than 4,000 passengers a day, a…
- Covid-19 News
Tourists busted for partying, taking drugs, in Satun hotel
Two tourists have been arrested at a hotel in Satun after an employee reported them for partying and using drugs. Thai Residents reports that Italian national “Martire” and Dutch national “Mohammad” were arrested in possession of cocaine and marijuana at The Bara Bara Budget Hotel. Sompong Chingduang from the Immigration Police was called to the hotel by an employee who…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya mayor pledges assistance for city’s nightlife venues
A report today claims that Pattaya’s Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem and City Hall are promising to help the city’s entertainment venues that have been shuttered as part of the restrictions in place to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The pledge comes as Chonburi province moves into the “white zone” (seen as low-risk) after a period in the high-risk “red…
- Covid-19 News
All emergency decrees to remain in place for another month – PM
Any hopes people may have had of seeing lockdown restrictions eased for some low-risk businesses and social activities at the start of May have been dashed by Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The PM issued an order, published in the Royal Gazette last night, mandating all provincial governors, including the governor of Bangkok, to delay their plans to ease the measures until…
