Neill Fronde
- Tourism News
“Visit Thailand Year 2022” tourism campaign launching
“Visit Thailand Year 2022” has been approved by the Cabinet as a new tourism campaign as the CCSA creates a special panel to address tourism industry problems due to Covid-19. The campaign is following PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s goal of bringing back the ailing industry according to Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakan who proposed the programme for the cabinet’s…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 falling, even in Deep South, but still dire in Chiang Mai
According to the Ministry of Public Health, the good news is that, throughout Thailand, Covid-19 infection rates are successfully falling. The bad news is that Chiang Mai, traditionally a popular tourist and expat living destination, is a notable exception to the rule, with an increasingly dire situation on the ground there. Infection numbers in the Deep South of Thailand continue…
- Environment News
Pollution Control Department sets checkpoints for black exhaust
Not only has the Pollution Control Department set up 20 checkpoints to find vehicles with black exhaust emissions on the roads going in and out of Bangkok, but they announced tighter regulations for next year as the country attempts to reduce the PM2.5 air pollution issue. Cars older than 7 years, along with trucks and diesel cars were being stopped…
- Phuket News
Pangolin wanders out of jungle and is captured in Kamala, Phuket
The Phuket sub-district of Kamala in Kathu district had a shocking visitor recently as local residents spotted a pangolin, sometimes known as a scaly anteater, creeping out of the area jungle. The often trafficked animal was seen by the Water Production Plant in Kamala on Tuesday in the Khlong Nam area. The locals who spotted the pangolin notified the Kamala…
- Covid-19 News
Fact Check: Does a vaccinated blood donation protect from Covid-19?
No, you can’t get vaccinated against Covid-19 by receiving a blood donation from a vaccinated donor. The warning comes from the Anti-Fake News Centre responding to new posts online claiming that blood donations are affected by Covid-19 vaccines. The false claims seen circulating on Thai social media say that if you accept a blood donation from someone who has already…
- Covid-19 News
Thai Red Cross offers free Moderna booster for those qualifying
For those that qualify, the Thai Red Cross Society will be offering free Moderna booster shots in late November at their headquarters in Bangkok. The booster shots of the mRNA vaccine long-awaited in Thailand will be given to people who are fully vaccinated and are over 70 years old. They will also offer the free shots to women over the…
- Covid-19 News
Paxlovid deal allows generics of Covid-19 treatment for 95 countries
Pfizer struck a deal with Medicines Patent Pool to allow generic drug manufacturers to produce its new Paxlovid antiviral Covid-19 pills cheaply for less wealthy countries. The deal was announced yesterday and will bring down the cost of the Covid-19 treatment course for 95 countries that are considered low and middle-income. The access covers about 53% of the world population.…
- World News
Malaysia sees over 95% of adults, 81% of teens fully vaccinated
While countries around Southeast Asia have been working on their reopening plans, Malaysia is looking at reopening Langkawi as the country has now surpassed a 95% vaccination rate of the adult population. Thailand’s neighbour to the south is reporting reaching 95.4% of all the adults in Malaysia having been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 with 2 doses. The figure is still…
- Covid-19 News
RT-LAMP test could reduce time and cost of Covid-19 testing
A new style of Covid-19 test has been created in Thailand by a team at Chulalongkorn University and is said to be accurate, easy, and cheap. The 3-gene RT-LAMP method test was developed by the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Science, the Department of Chemistry, the Department of Microbiology, and the Innovation Hub of Chulalongkorn University. The Covid-19 test…
- World News
Duterte and Marcos children join forces in Philippines election
Two political dynasties in the Philippines seem to have formed an alliance, as President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter is running for vice president on the same ticket as deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos’s son Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Rumors of a partnership between the 2 famous (or some consider infamous) political families have been swirling around for weeks and been the subject of…
- Pattaya News
Officials call for Pattaya restaurant patrons to get Covid-19 tested
A new warning calls on anyone who attended a Pattaya restaurant to get tested for Covid-19 after an outbreak was identified. The bulletin was released yesterday by the Chon Buri Public Health Office urging anyone who has been in or eaten food from Puyai Note Wild Food Restaurant to use an antigen test kit. The restaurant, located on Sukhumvit-Pattaya 54…
- Thailand Protest News
Protesters march to German embassy, present statement against monarchy
Today saw a large and intense pro-democracy demonstration that culminated in a march to the German embassy where protesters submitted a statement against absolute monarchy. When they arrived, 3 representatives of the protesters were allowed to enter the embassy and officially present the declaration which stated that they were calling for a protection of democracy and an opposition to a…
- Tourism News
Chiang Mai tourism almost exclusively domestic for now
With Chiang Mai currently experiencing the fourth-highest daily infections in the country – 357 people in today’s figures – it’s not surprising that international tourism has hardly bounced back since the reopening of Thailand 2 weeks ago. The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the province has been estimated to have lost tourism revenue as high as 70 billion baht…
- Tourism News
Pattaya sees big tourism growth, but mostly domestic
Pattaya has been frustrated for being passed over for an exemption from the national alcohol ban that other tourist areas like Phuket have received as a tourism “Blue Zone”, but nevertheless, one of Thailand’s most popular resort cities is seeing tourism slowly emerge from its Covid-19 pandemic induced slumber. With a menu of events through the end of the year,…
- Tourism News
Phuket post-Sandbox arrivals double, surge in domestic tourism
Thailand has only been reopened for 2 weeks, but the Phuket Sandbox was the tourism experiment that started it all. And though Phuket has been welcoming international travellers since way back in July, the November 1 reopening saw a noticeable boost in arriving visitors, both foreign and domestic. The Sandbox scheme that required a soft quarantine where travellers could roam…
- Thailand News
COVID-19 SUNDAY UPDATE: Vaccinations, provincial totals
Today, the CCSA reported 7,079 new Covid-19 infections, up 22 since yesterday, and 47 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 8 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,989,547 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 6,917 recoveries, down 476 from…
- Tourism News
Tourism in Thailand is slowly returning, still a long road ahead
Though the government’s expected flood of tourists entering Thailand since the reopening 2 weeks ago has been closer to a trickle, businesses are seeing a bit of an uptick in tourism. Still, they are calling on the government to loosen Covid-19 restrictions and asking for federal financial programs to be extended and expanded to help speed recovery. The president of…
- Covid-19 News
COVID-19 SUNDAY: 47 deaths, 7,079 new infections
Today, the CCSA reported 7,079 new Covid-19 infections, up 22 since yesterday, and 47 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 8 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,989,547 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 6,917 recoveries, down 476 from…
- Crime News
Alleged Constitutional Court website hacker tracked down
A 33 year old man in Ubon Ratchathani was arrested today by the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau for allegedly hacking the Constitutional Court website on Wednesday. The man was arrested at his home in Warin Chamrab district of the Northeastern province after an investigation by the CCIB. The CCIB started an investigation immediately after the hack was reported by the…
- Crime News
Police officer and his wife arrested for drug dealing, illegal guns
In the Phunphin district of Surat Thani, crystal methamphetamine was impounded from the home of a police officer and his wife could have now been arrested. The 52 year old police officer who worked at the Phunphin Police Station was arrested along with his 44 year old wife and charged with selling illicit drugs. A fact-finding investigation has been launched…
- Thailand News
Unlicensed construction may be cause of Koh Larn resort death
A simple and tragic case of a girl who was found dead in her resort bathroom on the popular holiday island of Koh Larn has taken a twist as officials say the property had no construction license. Though the first information released about her death last week implied a night of heavy drinking led to a fatal accident, poor building…
- Covid-19 News
COVID-19 SATURDAY UPDATE: Provincial Totals
Today, the CCSA reported 7,057 new Covid-19 infections, down 248 since yesterday, and 55 Coronavirus-related deaths, up 4 from yesterday. Since April 1, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 1,982,458 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. In the 24 hour period since the last count, the CCSA has reported 7,393 recoveries, up 507 from…
- Tourism News
First 10 days: 30,000 arrivals; 147,000 Thailand Pass applicants
The Tourism Authority of Thailand totalled up some data for the first 10 days of Thailand’s reopening, with over 30,000 arrivals so far and nearly 150,000 applications submitted for the Thailand Pass to gain entry to the country. The TAT’s report states that the combined total of international travellers arriving at all of Thailand’s international airports – both Bangkok airports,…
- Crime News
Thitisan ‘Joe Ferrari’ and his officers now facing death penalty
The 7 police officers including Pol Col Thitisan “Joe Ferrari” Utthanaphon, who were arrested after a video leaked of them suffocating a suspect to death during interrogation, will now face full charges as the Attorney-General has given the go-ahead to begin prosecution. The 7 will be tried for multiple charges including premeditated murder by means of torture, coercion, illegal detention,…
- Bangkok News
Hospital in Bangkok catches fire, no injuries reported
A fire broke out at Mongkutwattana Hospital in Bangkok yesterday morning, though it appears everyone was evacuated and no one was harmed. The hospital, on Chaeng Wattana Road in the Laksi district of northern Bangkok, was reported to have gone up in flames around 7 am yesterday. Thai media published photos of crowds outside the hospital in what appears to…
- World News
Burmese junta hands down 11-year sentence for US journalist Fenster
US journalist Danny Fenster, the managing editor of Frontier Myanmar who was arrested while attempting to leave the embattled country in May has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. The military court found the 37 year old guilty of incitement and unlawful associations as well as immigration violations. While the court backed down so far on charges of terrorism…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya restaurant busted serving alcohol for the fourth time
Fourth time’s the charm? After 3 previous raids with apparently little effect, the Pattaya Police have once again raided a restaurant near Bali Hai for breaking Covid-19 restrictions, selling alcohol and shisha. The raid took place last night and police found about 100 people at the restaurant that were not wearing masks, socially distancing, or taking any Covid-19 safety precautions.…
- Tourism News
Zipair is the first budget airline to fly from Asia to the US
As tourists finally begin to take to the skies again, a low-cost airline in Japan is set to become the first budget carrier to fly from Asia to North America. Zipair Tokyo Inc announced today that it is launching flight service between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Los Angeles International Airport in California, the first budget airline to do so. Zipair…
- Bangkok News
3 clinics raided with unlicensed South Korean chiropractic doctors
In Bangkok, 3 health clinics were raided by the Consumer Protection Division Police who found unregistered South Korean doctors working there. The raids took place in Chitlom and Sri Nakharin in Bangkok, and Muang Thong Thani housing estate in neighbouring Nonthaburi and were carried out under the coordination of Ministry of Public Health Ministerial Aide Sathit Pitudecha. The raids took…
- Pattaya News
Chon Buri father arrested for drugging and assaulting his daughter
After a 10-day manhunt, police have arrested a Chon Buri father accused of drugging and then sexually assaulting his 16 year old daughter. Police released details of the incident yesterday after chasing the man down in Minburi, Bangkok and taking him into custody. A woman went with her 16 year old daughter to the Ko Chan Police Station with the…
