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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Sponsored How one hospital visit in Thailand could cost more than your whole trip
Thailand is a favourite spot for travellers who want to enjoy more while spending less. From cheap street food to low-cost hotels and fun attractions, it’s easy to stretch your budget here. But there’s one thing many people don’t think...
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BIG arrest on price gouging of Covid-19 safety gear and fake test kits
2 Chinese men identified as Chen Lei and Wein Pinpin have been arrested inside a home in Pra Khanong district, Bangkok, after officials received a tip-off that fake Covid-19 test kits were being smuggled into the country. 45,000 fake Covid-19 test kits, 350,000 medical masks, and 1,200 infrared thermometers were seized. The evidence was valued at 33,750,000 baht. These items…
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Koh Lanta restricts entry after 4 confirmed cases of Covid-19
The beautiful Koh Lanta in Krabi province is to be shut down after 4 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infection were found on the island. Today in an emergency meeting with the top executives of Krabi province, alongside 8 district sheriffs, Krabi’s governor Kitibadee Prawit, says “further measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 are being added as the 4 infected…
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Pattaya issues three month prison sentence to curfew violators
Three Thai men were caught in Pattaya yesterday evening violating the Emergency Decree curfew and sentenced to three months in prison. Pattaya City Police posted on their Thai social media channels and reminded its Thai and English audience not to go out between 10 pm and 4 am without a valid reason or face the consequences. After a rise in curfew…
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Bangkok deploys mobile testing units
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is providing testing at home for people who may have caught the coronavirus disease. City governor Aswin Kwanmuang said yesterday that the BMA, along with the Mor Lab Panda Facebook page, are sending mobile teams to conduct Covid-19 testing to the homes of people who complete an online questionnaire and are at risk. People who test…
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UPDATE: Visa amnesty signed by PM
UPDATE: PM Prayut Chan-o-cha today signed an executive order granting visa amnesty to foreigners left stranded in Thailand by the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The order, released by the Ministry of Interior, grants “special permission for some classes of aliens to stay in the Kingdom.” It was signed by Prayuth and head of the Ministry of Interior, Anupong Paochinda. ORIGINAL STORY:…
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International visitor numbers down 35% January-March, exceeding worst predictions
International visitor numbers to Thailand from January to March dropped by 8.5 million, or 35.3% year-on- year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. You can be sure the specific numbers for March would have been a lot worse. The biggest decline, unsurprisingly, was in Chinese visitor numbers, which dropped by 59.4% compared to 2019, to around 2.4 million.…
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Former Deputy PM stresses need for more testing, emulating South Korean model
“Test, test, test was the former Deputy PM’s message, especially now that the country has the labs to do so.” Dr Surapong Seubwonglee, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand posted on Facebook urging the government to investigate the number of people tested for the Covid-19 coronavirus in Thailand and appeal for wider testing. He gave several reasons why testing…
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Pattaya commences ‘restricted access’ from April 9 onwards
Today, Chon Buri’s governor Pakkhathorn Thianchai has approved the Pattaya City’s proposal to restrict access to the town at 2pm from tomorrow (April 9) for 21 days. It is not a new curfew, but a limitation on people travelling in and out of the city region. Pattaya City will commence a 24 hour lock down of the city’s borders where…
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Over half returning from Indonesia tested positive with Covid-19
42 of the 76 Thais who returned from Indonesia on Monday have now ended up as Covid-19 patients. Members of the Thai Islamic community travelling to Indonesia to preform “Dawah ” an Islamic missionary tradition, amidst a rise of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia, have returned with over half testing positive. After health care workers examined the returnees, 22 have been sent…
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Chiang Mai bans booze to battle coronavirus
There’s likely to be a rush on for booze over the next few days in Chiang Mai. The northern province is banning alcohol sales for 10 days, from April 10 – 20 in its local battle with the Covid-19 coronavirus. Provincial governor Charoenrit Sanguansat issued the order yesterday. He says the Chiang Mai Communicable Disease Committee has already issued emergency…
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Health ministry begs children to ‘save parents’ and avoid Songkran visits
Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year festival, is typically a week long celebration including a mass exodus to the provinces as dutiful children visit their homes bringing best wishes to their elders. This year’s celebrations have been postponed indefinitely to prevent that exodus, for fear of spreading the Covid-19 coronavirus to the provinces and among the elderly. Now the the Department…
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Phuket reports 14 new coronavirus cases, total now 140
Phuket has reported 14 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases today (Wednesday). The island is on virtual lockdown, especially Patong, home of the Bangla Road red light area, the flashpoint of most of the island’s infections. The new number bring the island’s infections to 140. Phuket has closed off all land and sea routes and barred entry to all but essential goods vehicles,…
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Boris Johnson ‘stable’ but on oxygen support as he battles coronavirus
Britain’s PM Boris Johnson spent his second night in an intensive care unit receiving supplemental oxygen, as Britain reels under the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic that’s confined its exuberant leader to a bed reserved for the sickest patients. Johnson is the first world leader to fall sick with the virus. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is carrying out the PM’s…
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Government doubles cash stimulus period for informal workers
The Thai government is doubling the period of monthly cash handouts for “informal workers,” from 3 months to 6. Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana made the announcement after yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting. The government initially only planned to provide cash to 3 million people for 3 months. The new stimulus marks a huge investment by the Thai government to keep the…
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Link between Covid-19 infections and ‘smell blindness’
The Royal College of Otolaryngologists, Head and Neck Surgeons of Thailand is alerting doctors to pay special attention to signs of anosmia (loss of smell or ‘smell blindness’) with Covid-19 patients and people who are being tested for Covid-19. Anosmia was found to be more common in patients with mild symptoms of Covid-19. The chairperson of the royal college, Professor…
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More than 600 prosecuted for violating emergency decree
The national state of emergency declared on March 26 and the resultant curfews are no laughing matter, and violators are being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. More than 600 people nationwide have been prosecuted for defying the emergency decree invoked to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. A spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General says…
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Boxing fans preparing to donate blood plasma to help others with their recovery
Today, boxing fans who has fully recovered from the Covid-19 virus has announced that they are planning to donate their blood plasma to help doctor and medical officials study on ways to help others. With the donation fans are hoping that it could help with the recovery of other patients and hopefully, find a cure for the pandemic. A ring…
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A Bangkok hospital offers free drive-through Covid-19 tests for taxi drivers
Few industries see more contact with potentially infected people than transportation services. That is why a new drive through testing system has been developed in the nation’s capital. Princ Hospital Suvarnabhumi on Bangna-Trat Road has launched free drive-through Covid-19 tests for taxi drivers who live or work in Bang Na, Bang Kaew, Bang Phli, Suvarnabhumi Airport or Samut Prakan province,…
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Curfew violations on the rise
Despite the Emergency Decree of a nationwide curfew enforced by police checkpoints, armed soldiers, hefty fines and threats of jail time, people are still found to be violating the orders by going out. This from Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. “Not only are people ignoring the curfew, but the numbers of those caught violating…
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Thai government schools push reopening to July 1
The cabinet announced today that government schools will be permitted to reopen from July 1 instead of May 16, which was in the original school calendar. A government spokesman says the cabinet acknowledged that the first semester of the 2020 academic year will have to be adjusted and schools will be permitted to start the semester on July 1, a…
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HRH Princess Sirindhorn sets up fund to aid Thai hospitals and health care providers
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has assigned the Chaipattana Foundation (a non-government organisation) to set up funds and raise money to help hospitals and health care providers as an aid to battle against the Covid-19 virus. The fund is to support the requirement of medical equipment and supplies for hospitals and health care providers who are currently treating…
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Covid Cat Craze Challenge aka. Flying Pussy Competition
What do we get when we add panic buying of toilet rolls, worldwide sports on hiatus, and lots of free time during the Covid-19 global pandemic quarantine measures? Cat videos of course! Not just cats, but cats v Toilet rolls. Cats jumping increasingly stacked toilet paper has gone viral, and no, not the kind that will make you ill for…
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CP will start production of medical masks in Thailand
4 weeks ago the Charoen Pokphand Group announced plans to build a factory specifically to start the production of medical masks for medical personnel and Thai citizens. CP has now bought an automatic medical mask machine from China with the ability to produce 50,000 medical masks per day. In the past 3 weeks, the CP group has been constructing the…
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Proper use and disposal of sanitary masks
With new regulations in Phuket for the compulsory use of sanitary face masks, it is important to know how to properly use and dispose of sanitary masks. The World Health Organisation has created some instructional videos and provided recommendations to keep the mask the most effective possible while at the same time ensuring it’s proper maintenance and disposal. While the…
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New coronavirus cases in Thailand fall to 38, 1 more death
“The lower number of daily new cases and the slower increase in accumulated patients apparently resulted from the nationwide curfew starting on April 3.” In another dramatic drop, Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported only 38 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours, and one additional death in its daily press briefing today (Tuesday). The cumulative death…
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Phuket adds Kathu and Chalong sub-districts to ‘lockdown’ list
Chalong and Kathu districts are now being added to Phuket’s “lock down” list by the Phuket Governor. The notices, like the others for Rawai, Karon and Patong, say all non-essential vehicles are banned entry or exit into these two areas, including public transport. “People are asked to say in their homes, and public health teams will be deployed to check…
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How to make a CDC-recommended face mask (without a sewing machine) – VIDEO
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in the US announced they were recommending citizens wear masks in public as a way to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. “We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals who are ‘coronavirus asymptomatic’ (not showing symptoms), and that even those who eventually develop symptoms, can transmit the virus to others.…
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Phuket’s new cases (Tuesday), all originating from Bangla Road area
Numbers are out for new cases in Phuket over the past 24 hours. Case 124: 23 year old Russian women Case 125: 26 year old Kazakhstan women Case 126: 28 year old Russian women All 3 new cases in Phuket had a history of visiting or staying in the Bangla Road entertainment zone for up to a month, and having…
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CAUTION: Sterilising machines unsafe for humans
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration deputy secretary-general Supattra Boonserm has revealed that The World Health Oraganisation is encouraging people not to use any Covid-19 “sterilising machine services”, including UV and spray tunnels, as these are harmful to the skin and exposure to the radiation or chemicals may even cause cancer. “Most of the antiseptic used in the spray tunnels are…
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Indonesian cases spike, 24 doctors have now died
The Indonesian archipelago has announced its highest daily increase in Covid-19 coronavirus cases. There has also been a concerning rise in the deaths of doctors and health workers at the frontline of the national fight against the disease. Statistics have doubled in the last week. The 218 new coronavirus cases took the number overall in Indonesia to 2,491. The 209 confirmed…
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