Covid-19 News
Thailand Covid-19 news, vaccine updates, travel restrictions, and government policies—stay informed on case numbers, safety measures, and global developments. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Covid-19 updates in Thailand.
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Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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More details on visa amnesty “grace period” proposal
The Thai Immigration Bureau has provided more details on a proposed visa amnesty extension. The proposal, expected to go before the Cabinet at its regular meeting on Tuesday, is being presented as more of an application for a grace period than an extension. The proposal would essentially provide a grace period for those on amnesty without a valid visa, to…
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Diplomats no longer exempt: will be subject to quarantine
The CCSA announced yesterday that centre has resolved that ambassadors and diplomats entering Thailand will no longer be exempt from Thailand’s quarantine requirements, and will be required to enter “alternative state quarantine” on arrival for 14 days. The announcement follows the discovery of a case of Covid-19 in the daughter of a Sudanese diplomat living in Bangkok. That case ostensibly…
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Cabinet to decide on third visa extension for foreigners
The Foreign Affairs Ministry announced today that a third “automatic extension” of visas for foreigners is “in the works” and will be proposed to the Cabinet with the results announced “soon” by the Immigration Bureau. A decision was originally slated for July 15, then postponed to today. Spokesman Natapanu Nopakun’s remarks this afternoon indicate the decision hasn’t yet been made.…
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All transit passengers must now show Covid-19 certificate: CAAT
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand will enforce a new rule requiring all passengers, even on Thai-owned chartered flights or special flights transitioning through Thailand, to have a valid Covid-19 clearance certificate. CAAT has probibited all transit flights with Covid-19-infected passengers following China’s temporary ban of 2 Thai registered airlines after several passengers tested positive upon arrival in China. In…
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Research institute says Covid vaccine will bring tourists back
As Thailand’s economy remains the hardest hit in Asia, a new prediction slates the end of 2021 as the saviour in terms of tourists coming back. The Thailand Development Research Institute says.. “once a vaccine is rolled out late next year, the tourists will once again return to the kingdom”. Kirida Bhaopichitr, the Institute’s research director said that most visitors…
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Everyone tested for Covid-19 in Rayong, Bangkok negative
The Department of Disease Control has announced the results of Covid-19 testing among 1,603 high-risk people involved in the incidents of an Egyptian military crew member (in Rayong) and a 9 year old girl from Sudan (in Bangkok). The results in Rayong province show that all of 1,336 people tested are negative, while in Bangkok, all 267 tested in a…
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Thailand to allow medical tourism within 2 weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around 2 Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first…
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Rayong protesters arrested ahead of Thai PM’s visit – VIDEO
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Rayong yesterday was marred by drama as 2 protesters were forcibly removed and taken into custody after raising signs condemning him just minutes before his motorcade arrived. The signs, expressing fury over the government’s recent mishandling of an imported case of Covid-19, read… “If you stay longer, the country will be in ruins. Get out,…
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Egyptian Covid case: Government says 11 “high-risk” people have tested negative
The government’s Covid-19 task force says 11 “high risk” people, who had contact with an Egyptian soldier who was found to be infected with the virus, have tested negative. This includes staff at the hotel where the man stayed, as well as drivers who transported him and his colleagues around Rayong. A total of 1,603 people have now been cleared…
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Nearly all Rayong schools close “as a precaution” amid Covid-19 scare
274 schools in Rayong have closed, following revelations that some teachers visited venues that had also been visited by an Egyptian soldier, and members of his air crew. One of the soldiers was found to be infected with the Covid-19 virus after he had left the country and flown back to Egypt. The Thai Education Ministry says classes will now take…
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PM and Health Minister give “moral support” visit to Rayong amid Covid scare
As the city of Rayong in eastern Thailand battles with the fallout of a visiting Egyptian soldier testing positive for Covid-19 , the PM and his Public Health Minister descended on the city in a show of moral support. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, accompanied by Anutin Charnvirakul, as well as the deputy chief of the Royal Thai Army and Dr. Suwanchai…
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PM asks reporters to “ease off” on new Covid-19 stories
With the nation rattled by news of 2 new Covid-19 infections among “VIPs” who were exempted from testing when they arrived in the country – one an Egyptian soldier, the other the 9 year old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat – PM Prayut Chan-o-cha asked reporters today to make their reports on the new cases “less scary”. He said the…
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9 returning Thais rushed to hospital with high fevers after arriving at BKK
The deputy director of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport says 9 Thai nationals, returning from Jordan and South Korea, have been diagnosed with “high fevers” and rushed to hospital. The first 8 were part of a group of 120 who touched down on a Royal Jordanian flight yesterday afternoon. “Preliminary screenings found that 8 passengers had high fevers and were rushed to…
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Foreign embassies stop issuing visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. An announcement published last week by the US embassy said American citizens residing in Thailand will have to decide whether to stay or leave, as it will no longer provide extension of…
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Rayong governor transferred, hundreds tested, amid Egyptian soldier Covid mess
Locals in the eastern province of Rayong, are lining up to be tested for the Covid-19 virus, following the news that a visiting Egyptian airman tested positive after being exempted from quarantine. The PM has already apologised for the mess and promised a review into the rules that meant none of the visiting aircrew had to fulfil the mandatory quarantine…
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Flight restrictions clarified amid new Covid-19 fears
Due to the recent imported cases of Covid-19 , which included a 9 year old girl from Sudan and an Egyptian soldier who breached quarantine to go shopping in Rayong province, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clarifying the entry process for several groups of foreigners. Thailand is currently not accepting general tourists or travellers and is unlikely to in…
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PM apologises, promises review of “VIP” loopholes amid foreign Covid cases
Following an Egyptian soldier and Sudanese child both testing positive for the Covid-19 virus in Thailand, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has apologised and promised a review of the rules that exempted both foreigners from quarantine. An Egyptian aircrewman tested positive after visiting Rayong, in the east of the country, while the 9 year old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat has tested…
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Thai government blames Egyptian embassy for Covid-19 positive air crew mess
The Thai government is blaming the Egyptian embassy for lobbying for the 31 military personnel visiting Rayong province to avoid the 14 day mandatory quarantine. Some 1,889 members of the Rayong community, who visited the same malls in Rayong City (named as the Laem Thong Department Store) at the same time as the Egyptian crew member, are now facing a…
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More details emerge about the movements of the Sudanese family
This is an official explanation of the circumstances of the Sudanese 9 year old who has tested positive for Covid-19 and was residing in central Bangkok in Sukhumvit. There have been some other publications providing additional information about alleged movements of the family during the time before the girl was admitted to hospital, but The Thaiger is unable to verify…
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400 people in Rayong being traced, schools closed down, Government apologises
“We apologise for what happened. We will take it as a lesson.” At a packed media conference this morning the CCSA has announced that an Egyptian pilot, testing positive for Covid-19, along with “9 colleagues” visited at least 2 shopping malls in the Rayong province. Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin says the infected airmen, along with 9 others members of the crew,…
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“Let us stay – Why can’t Thai Immigration extend our visas?”
OPINION The current visa amnesty, and what will happen to foreigners after its conclusion (at this stage on July 31), is a constant source of confusion and stress for many foreigners. Some were truly stranded in the Kingdom when the borders were closed and flights become limited for a return to their home countries. Others decided to stay in the…
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Covid task force to hold press conference as Egyptian soldier tests positive
As a visiting Egyptian soldier tests positive for the Covid-19 virus, the blame game is well underway, with the Thai army, local hotels, and airport personnel all ducking for cover. The 43 year old unnamed Egyptian air crew tested positive while staying in Rayong, on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. In response, the government says the Centre…
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Egyptian air crew were permitted to visit venues in Rayong
The Egyptian soldier, who has been found to have tested positive for Covid-19, was part of an air crew who had special dispensation from the Emergency Decree provisions regarding the coronavirus. The crew, spending one night in Rayong on their way back to Egypt from China, were permitted to leave their quarantine facility and wander around venues in Rayong. The…
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Egyptian soldier tests positive for Covid-19 in Thailand
“The CCSA is asking anyone who thinks they may have had physical contact with an Egyptian soldier, should come forward for testing.” Thailand’s Covid-19 taskforce is on alert today, stepping up tracing in the eastern part of the country, after am air crew from an Egyptian military airplane tested positive for the virus. When the Centre of Covid-19 Administration reported 3…
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US man dies from Covid-19 after attending ‘coronavirus party’
“They don’t look really sick. But when you check their oxygen levels and their lab tests, they’re really sicker than they appear.” A 30 year old American has died from the coronavirus after attending a “Covid-19” party in the state of Texas that was hosted by an infected person. Jane Appleby, chief medical officer at the Methodist Hospital in San…
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Thai man dies of heart failure while in state quarantine
A 56 year old Thai national has died of a heart attack after being taken to a hospital from a state quarantine facility in the eastern province of Chon Buri. The man was carrying out the mandatory 14 day quarantine requirement having recently returned from India. He is the second Thai national to die of heart failure while in state…
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Entertainment industry calls for 2am closing times
A leading representative of Thailand’s entertainment and nightlife industry is urging the Department of Disease Control to allow the country’s entertainment venues to close at 2 am instead of the current closing time of midnight. The meeting was held yesterday at the Chatuchak Newspaper building and called “Brainstorming to help save the economy and revive tourism.” Thanawat Srisuk, the industry…
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30 year old Texan dies after attending a “Covid party”
A 30 year old man has died from Covid-19 after attending, what are termed as, a “Covid-19 party”. The ‘party’ was hosted by an infected person. Doctors are wanting to urge people to appreciate the underlining risks to younger people. The dead man was from Texas. Medical officials who attended to the man say he thought the virus was a…
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Poll shows most Thais still oppose foreign arrivals
A recent survey carried out by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll, shows that a majority of Thais still oppose opening the country to foreigners, even if they’re not infected with Covid-19, saying the global coronavirus situation is still very serious. The poll was conducted on July 6-8 on 1,251 people aged 18 and over, of various…
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Travel bubbles may be postponed “indefinitely”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand now says the proposed “travel bubble” scheme, which could have allowed limited numbers of tourist arrivals from designated “low risk” countries, may have to be “postponed indefinitely”, after its 3 target partners – China, Japan and South Korea – experienced new outbreaks of Covid-19. On Tuesday, the CAAT’s director-general told reporters he expected Thailand…
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