- Covid-19 News
Hospitals face alleged favouritism in distribution of vaccines
A probe is being launched to investigate the director of Chaloem Phra Kiat Hospital who is accused of favouritism after his wife and an associate received Pfizer vaccines they were not qualified for. A committee was set up yesterday by the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Public Health Office to look into the improper vaccine allotment as the Pfizer vaccines have been…
- Crime News
Couple arrested shipping 490 grams of meth to Australia
After allegedly shipping crystal meth to Australia, a Nigerian man and his Thai girlfriend were arrested in Bangkok. The couple was stopped and arrested on Friday evening allegedly trying to make a shipment at a private mail drop-off point. The Nigerian man was identified as Obimma Anthony and the Thai woman is Marisa Noipitak. The pair were stopped by police…
- Tourism News
TAT still pushing to launch Phuket 7+7 plan despite Covid-19
Many of the original Sandbox-style plans to reopen tourist destinations to international travellers have been delayed as Covid-19 outbreaks spread and domestic travel has been mostly shut down, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand is still hoping to launch its 7+7 model to allow Phuket Sandbox travellers to stay one week before continuing on to a handful of other destinations.…
- Phuket News
Phuket Covid-19 infections break 100 for the second time
The Phuket Sandbox originally planned to suspend or revise the programme if ever Covid-19 infections reached over 90 in a week, but that ideal has been abandoned as daily infections hit triple digits for the second time in a week. Local infections hit a new record today of 109, topping the August 11 record of 104 by 5 people as…
- Politics News
Opposition party suing government for Covid-19 failure
The Move Forward Party has announced that it is suing the government for its alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic now ravaging Thailand. They plan on launching a class-action lawsuit in the coming week to demand compensation for the government’s failure to sufficiently address Covid-19 as the third wave causes record infections and deaths every day. The MFP is a…
- World News
Haiti earthquake: 7.2 magnitude, over 300 reported dead so far
Devastation has hit Haiti as a catastrophic 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked the struggling Caribbean nation at 8:30 am local time (7:30 pm last night in Thailand time). At least 300 people are dead but experts predict that number could rise to the tens of thousands. There is widespread destruction with homes and buildings collapsed, and Prime Minister Ariel Henry has…
- Covid-19 News
Doctor whose family died of Covid-19 urges private import of vaccines
Dr Sitthiphong Lapanich has lost a lot to Covid-19 and now he’s calling for others besides the government to import vaccines. The doctor has seen the effects of Covid-19, and the lack of effective vaccines, after losing both his parents and his sister to the virus, and is fighting to push the government to allow independent groups to directly import…
- Crime News
Police arrest woman jobless from Covid-19 for burglary
Police apprehended a woman in Nakhon Phanom who confessed to breaking into 8 homes in the area after the Covid-19 pandemic left her unemployed and broke. The 26 year old woman from Sri Songkhram district was caught with nearly 100 things she had stolen from the houses in the Muang municipal area where she lived in a rental house. Residents…
- Covid-19 News
Medics want ban on vaccine exports, legal experts warn against it
As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on in Thailand with growing numbers of infections and deaths, more and more medical experts are pushing for the government to intervene to stop Siam Bioscience from exporting AstraZeneca vaccines as the country experiences a shortage of vaccines to fight Covid-19 domestically. But legal experts are warning that this is a bad idea. A member…
- Covid-19 News
Cancelling delay, GPO will buy 8.5 million Chinese antigen test kits
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has made 2 u-turns in as many days with plans to now go ahead and purchase 8.5 million antigen test kits from a Chinese manufacturer with questionable accuracy. The GPO had originally announced the plan to import Sars-CoV-2 Antigen and Leccurate Antibody Test products by Lepu Medical Technology before changing course and pausing the purchase after…
- Thailand News
Widow of former Prime Minister dies of Covid-19
The widow of former Prime Minister Chatichai, Thanpuying Boonruen Choonhavan, has died early this morning of illness connected to Covid-19. Details around the death of the 101 year old widow are vague, but the announcement was made on Facebook today by her granddaughter. Thanpuying had one daughter who survived her, Vanee, and a son Kraisak who died last year in…
- Covid-19 News
Canada mandates domestic travellers must be vaccinated
A sweeping new announcement from Canada’s Transport Minister at a virtual press conference yesterday declared that most passengers travelling commercially in Canada will be required to be vaccinated by this fall. The new requirement will apply to anyone travelling by plane, interprovincial train, and cruise ships or other ” large marine vessels with overnight accommodations”. Canada has 71% of people…
- Covid-19 News
Thai-made subunit Covid-19 vaccine gets ok for human trials
Approval was received to begin testing on human subjects in September for a Covid-19 subunit vaccine created in Thailand by the Vaccine Research Centre of Chulalongkorn University and Baiya Phytopharm Company. The vaccine is the second to be racing to clear testing phases and be used to fight Covid-19 in Thailand. The other, an mRNA vaccine, is being developed by…
- World News
Confusing tweet implies New York Times launching porn service
A bit of corner-cutting shorthand in a tweet caused an uproar on Twitter and beyond yesterday with the announcement that the New York Times, the 3rd largest newspaper in the United States, was branching out into pornography. A former New York Times employee wrote a poorly phrased tweet about a new newsletter program the historic newspaper is launching. Mat Yurow,…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok Hospital in Pattaya announces vaccines for foreigners
Bangkok Hospital just announced a new scheme to offer Covid-19 vaccines to foreigners in Pattaya meeting certain qualifications. The hospital chain posted on their social media announcements a plan to offer free Covid-19 vaccines on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. After months of outcry, Thailand has finally begun to make vaccines more available to foreigners. The plan is a bit strange…
- World News
Former Burmese junta leader Than Shwe infected with Covid-19
As the current Burmese military junta, mired with mass civil unrest stemming from their coup February 1, struggles with the increasingly rampant Covid-19 pandemic, Than Shwe, leader of the previous military junta has been hospitalised with Covid-19. The former strongman leader, now 88 years old, is said to be in stable condition after being diagnosed with the virus. Than Shwe…
- Thailand News
Lost man reunited with family after going viral falling in well
They say all’s well that ends well, but sometimes all’s well that begins [in a] well. The bizarre story of a man missing for 15 years being found after going viral because he fell in a well now has come to a happy resolution as he was reunited with his long-lost family. 15 years ago Lamead Mueanmai was 40 years…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 plan recruits 2,000 pharmacies in Bangkok to assist
A new plan has recruited 2,000 pharmacies to aid in Bangkok’s home isolation programme in order to assist in Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment. The Pharmacy Council of Thailand brought in pharmacies across the city to provide service for people isolating at home due to Covid-19 infections. The plan was put in place hinging on the purchase of 8.5 million antigen…
- Covid-19 News
GPO pauses antigen test kits deal after skimping accusations
After a scathing letter from the Rural Doctors Society accusing the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation of basing their decision solely on price with no concern for quality or accuracy, the GPO walked back their plan to buy 8.5 million antigen test kits from Lepu Medical Technology of China. The purchase will be delayed in order to test the quality of the…
- Covid-19 News
Expert: Half of Thailand infected in 100 days without vaccines
Amid the growing outcry from the scientific community to reroute AstraZeneca vaccines set for export to urgently vaccinate people in Thailand, one expert warns of the harrowing possibility that half of Thailand’s 70 million people could get Covid-19 if we don’t vaccinate at least 40 million people within the next 100 days. Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs, a leading expert and specialist…
- Tourism News
Charter flights from Phuket approved by CAAT for Sandboxers
A new chance for travel out of the Phuket Sandbox was just approved as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand announced they will allow airlines to schedule charter flights between Phuket to Bangkok. The permission granted comes after Thai Smile petitioned the government to allow a flight on August 14 to assist people who travelled into the Phuket Sandbox, but…
- Transport News
Ferry between Pattaya and Hua Hin permanently cancelled
With travel restrictions for dark red zones limiting flights and bus services, ferries are not immune from the economic damages of Covid-19 either. The ferry service running between Hua Hin and Pattaya hasn’t been operating since last year due to Covid-19, but it now appears it will not ever restart. Royal Passenger Liner Co was operating as the sole operator…
- Phuket News
Phuket Town Fresh Market closed for 1 week for Covid-19
Following an outbreak of Covid-19 infections, officials have closed down the Phuket Town Fresh Market 1 and surrounding area for 1 week as well as the Downtown Plaza market for 11 days until August 22. The decision to close the markets stems from a cluster last Wednesday where 27 Covid-19 infections were uncovered at the market, which pushed Phuket to…
- Crime News
Kratom legalised, over 8,000 people will have charges cleared
With kratom being removed from the list of illegal narcotics in Thailand officially on August 24, the Office of Narcotics Control Board says charges will be dropped or cleared for over 8,000 people. The ONCB announced that about 1,000 people who had been convicted of use, sale or possession of the plant traditionally used in herbal medicine will have their…
- Thailand News
Order banning fear-inducing information repealed by PM
After widespread criticism from Thai media and human rights organisations, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has backed down and repealed his order banning posting information that could cause fear, regardless of whether it was true. The order was published in the Royal Gazette on July 29 and put into effect the next day, and last night the Gazette published the repeal of…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya reopening postponed indefinitely as Covid-19 persists
The Tourism Authority of Thailand announced that the Pattaya reopening plan scheduled to launch on September 1 has been postponed indefinitely. With Covid-19 still ravaging the Chon Buri province, the TAT has conceded that it won’t be possible to reopen to international travellers safely in just 20 days. Hua Hin and other tourist areas received the same bad news from…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok Covid-19 focus: vaccine, medication, treatment plan
Vaccination and Covid-19 treatment are pushing forward in Bangkok as the governor stated that he is confident that by the end of August 70% of the population in the city will have at least the first dose of a vaccine. The statement came as Bangkok Governor Assawin Kwanmuang visited a vaccine centre at the Bang Khae branch of The Mall…
- Pattaya News
Couple shocked by random bullet through their window glass
A seemingly freak accident startled and confused a Chon Buri couple when a stray bullet came through their bedroom window. The couple live in a 2 story house in Nong Ree in Mueang Chon Buri and were in bed upstairs in the master bedroom when the incident occurred. Police were called on Thursday about the random bullet and met with…
- Thailand Protest News
Penguin and 3 other activists turn themselves in to police
Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, along with 3 other well-known activists and leaders in the protests against the government turned themselves in at the National Police Headquarters today after arrest warrants were issued for protesting in violation of the Emergency Decree. Sirichai “New” Nathuang, Nutchanon Pairote, and Promsorn “Fah” Veerathamjaree also surrendered to the Royal Police today. They are accused of planning…
- South Thailand News
Koh Lipe enacts 1 month lockdown restrictions from tomorrow
After a new outbreak of Covid-19, Koh Lipe will become the latest Thai destination to go into semi-lockdown and harsh restrictions including a curfew. The governor of Lipe’s province Satun has ordered a month-long near lockdown beginning August 9 and ending September 5. The order, officially titled Satun Province 1482/2564 on preventative measures and control of Coronavirus disease 2019, comes…
