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 to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
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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Phuket Covid-19 update: 3 new cases, no deaths (Saturday)
Phuket, in Thailand’s South, reports 3 new Covid-19 infections today, a jump from zero yesterday, but still well within the low single digits. All 3 are in the Bang Tao area in the beachside community on the island’s west coast. The area has become the island’s hotbed of infections since the closure of the Patong sub-district and its infamous Bangla…
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Trump claims “evidence” that virus originated in Wuhan lab, WHO wants to join investigation
US President Donald Trump claimed yesterday in a nationally televised address that he “has seen evidence” the the Covid-19 coronavirus originated in a Wuhan epidmiology lab, an assertion roundly disputed by scientists and intelligence agencies, and which threatens to turn into a diplomatic disaster. He declined to share the evidence, claiming he is “not allowed.” The claim was almost immediately contradicted…
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Phuket exodus derailed by outgoing governor, traffic jams force rethink
Thousands of residents and inter-provincial workers, trapped in Phuket for the last month due to Covid-19 and the complete shutdown of the island, began leaving yesterday. With unfortunate results. The lockdown was soon reimposed after the road from Phuket to the Tha Chatchai checkpoint became jammed with with cars from tao early as 5am, stretching back several kilometres. In a…
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Thailand re-opens its doors tomorrow
Thailand springs back to life tomorrow (Sunday) with the alcohol sales ban being lifted and a raft of shops and services allowed to re-open, but under strict guidelines. Expect a lot of taking of temperatures, hand sanitisers at the entry of all shops, and the need to adhere to social distancing guidelines and the wearing of face masks. The list…
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Covid-19 update: 6 new cases, lowest in over a month; no new deaths (Friday)
A spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today announced just 6 new confirmed cases of Covid-19, the lowest in over a month, and no deaths in the previous 24 hours. The total number of cases since the beginning of the outbreak thus rose to 2,960. Deaths remain at 54 for the third consecutive day. CCSA Spokesman Dr Taweesilp…
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54 Covid-19 deaths compared to 26,000 road deaths
OPINION by Brian Hull, long-term expat From time-to-time The Thaiger adds some different perspectives from guest posts. Expat Brian Hull gave us permission to repost his social media rant about the road deaths in Thailand, comparing them with the death toll from the Covid-19 outbreak. Thailand, with a population of 67 million, has done a good job to date in…
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Helping Thailand’s starving elephants whilst the tourists are away
PHOTO: A recent delivery of food to two elephant owners, ‘Rawang’ and ‘Chuslip’, who both had their elephants, Kornkow and Meatoy, leased to an elephant park in Khao Lak. Now they are having to care for the elephants themselves, and they were relieved and grateful to receive the food supplies. The Southern Thailand Elephant Foundation is helping to supply vital food to…
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Immigration wants to move 26 Rohingya women detained in Songkhla
There are 26 Rohingya women in a cramped detention facility in the Deep South province of Songkhla, on the Malaysian border, and the the Immigration Bureau wants them removed for fear they’ll become infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus. The Rohingya are a stateless, mainly Muslim ethnic group from the Rakhine state in Myanmar. They have been persecuted for years and…
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Public mental health a government concern during Covid crisis
Following a spike in suicides and suicide attempts nationwide, thought to be largely due to the twin burdens of unemployment and isolation, the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has expressed concern about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of the public. Reuters reported yesterday that one woman, frustrated that she hadn’t received the 5,000 baht…
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Russian PM has Covid-19
Russia’s PM announced yesterday that he’s tested positive for Covid-19, making him the most senior official in the Russian government to become infected. PM Mikhail Mishustin informed President Vladimir Putin in a video call that he would self-isolate but would stay in touch on key policy issues. It wasn’t immediately clear when the two men last met. Since early in…
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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…
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Chon Buri centre for abused and trafficked children struggles amid Covid crisis
Thailand, like much of Southeast Asia, has long wrestled with human trafficking issues. According to the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2016, vulnerable “persons are trafficked into Thailand for forced labor or sexual exploitation and Thai nationals are trafficked abroad for the same reasons.” Among the most vulnerable are children. Pisorn Noja, director of the Centre for…
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Schools moving classes online as school year begins July 1
When Thailand officially closed all of its schools and universities in March due to the Covid-19 outbreak, no reopening date was announced. The summer holidays officially ended on April 21 and the third term was to begin the next day, but students across the nation remain stuck indoors due to the emergency Decree which is now extended until at least…
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Alcohol ban now national, extended until further notice
Alcohol sales are officially banned nationwide as of today, by order of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Permanent Secretary for the Interior Chatchai Promlert made the announcement yesterday. Previously, the decision to ban sales and transport of alcohol rested with provincial governors, all 76 of whom enacted the prohibition, which expired last night. The ban is now a national…
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Coronavirus damage to Thai economy estimated at 1 trillion baht
A trillion baht: that’s the estimated damage to Thailand’s national economy, from the COVID-19 pandemic, while business confidence for the first quarter has dropped to 47.2%, the lowest in nearly 2 years. This according to the report by the Centre for Economic and Business Forecasts of the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce. The centre did a survey of businesses…
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Mass exodus as 40,000 people departing Phuket
Since the announcement that people in Phuket could leave the island and return to their home provinces, people have been spilling out of the island since 5 am this morning (the daily curfew lifted at 4am) creating long traffic jams and queues at Tha Chatchai checkpoint. After registrations on Wednesday, over 40,000 people have signed up for the mass exodus…
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Booze ban extended as some businesses allowed to reopen
Although some businesses will be allowed to reopen in some locations as of Sunday, a government spokesman has today confirmed that the ban on alcohol sales will remain in place until further notice. While there is no national order banning alcohol sales, all 77 provinces have done so and have now been ordered by PM Prayut Chan-ocha to keep all…
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Antiviral Remdesevir has “significant effect” – VIDEO
The controversial antiviral drug Remdesevir got a boost today after Dr Anthony Fauci, the most trusted voice in the US when speaking of Covid-19, announced the drug has has a “clear-cut” effect in helping Covid-19 patients recover. “The data show that Remdesivir has a clear-cut, significant, positive effect in diminishing the time to recovery, proving that a drug can block…
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Thailand Covid-19 update: 7 new cases, no new deaths (Thursday)
The spokesman of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, announced this morning that Thailand had only 7 new cases of the Covid-19 nationwide in the previous 24 hours. 3 of the new cases were imported, meaning that they came from Thai nationals returning to the country from overseas. All were immediately quarantined. Only 4 cases came from…
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Sub-district restrictions remain intact for 5 locations in Phuket
Phuket’s outgoing Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana has confirmed that the island’s sub-district lockdowns will end tonight (or technically at 4am Friday morning because of the national curfews). But five ‘at risk’ locations on the island will remain closed off with checkpoints to curb any further re-ignition of the Covid-19 infections on the island. 3 more cases were announced for the island…
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Phuket Covid-19 update: 3 new cases, 3 more recovered (Thursday)
PHOTO: Phuket 101 The southern province of Phuket has reported 3 new Covid-19 infections, up from none yesterday, bringing the total on the island to 217 since the outbreak began. All 3 new cases are inthe Bang Tao subdistrict, which has become the latest hot zone since the closure of Patong and its famous Bangla Road red light district. Phuket…
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Tourism ministry floats long-stay travel packages
The Covid-19 outbreak has crushed Thailand’s tourism industry, already battered by a flat high season in the previous year, and with the national ban on international arrivals extended until at least May 30, and domestic travel still heavily restricted, the situation isn’t likely to improve soon. But the coronavirus crisis, like all things, will pass, and Thailand’s Tourism and Sports…
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32 domestic flight routes approved for May as Thais take to the air again
As Thailand starts to open doors and get people back to work again, the Department of Airports director general has announced the opening of 14 airports across Thailand. But the airline industry, basically grounded over the past month, has a long road ahead. From the start of May, only 32 domestic flight routes will be allowed to operate under the…
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6 million unemployed in tourism alone – a stark outlook for Thailand’s tourist industry
More accurate predictions are starting to emerge as the full impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand start to become clearer, and we still don’t have the shops open yet. Reports from the UN’s International Labour Organisation, in collaboration with the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, have already made stark predictions about the problems that lay ahead for…
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US Covid-19 cases pass 1 million as Germany starts wearing masks – VIDEO
Covid-19 cases in the US passed the 1 million mark in the past 24 hours, with US President Donald Trump claiming that the high number are “because of better testing”. The outbreak has left tens of millions unemployed in the US and nearly 60,000 dead, by far the highest number of confirmed fatalities – well over a quarter of the…
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Chiang Mai governor meets related sectors at Chaloem Phrakiat meeting room
Today at the Chaloem Phrakiat Meeting Room, in Chiang Mai, Charoenrit Sanguansat the governor of Chiang Mai, along with 3 deputy governors, 25 sheriffs (from all districts), heads of government, prosecutors, military officials, police and related sectors, came for a briefing on how Chiang Mai will move towards opening up the province in the upcoming weeks. Charonenrit says that even…
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Bangkok City Hall eyes reopening 8 types of venue
Bangkok’s City Hall (aka the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) has agreed to allow the reopening of 8 areas of activities but has not announced the date yet according to a spokesman. After its executive meeting, the BMA will issue relief some measures, since the current ones will expire tomorrow. 8 types of locations will reportedly be allowed to open: Restaurants: People…
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Don Mueang Airport prepares to reopen
Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport is preparing to open for more flights beginning this Friday, as 2 airlines have announced plans to resume limited domestic routes. The airport’s director Samphan Khutranont says Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air will resume some domestic service at Don Mueang on Friday, in addition to Nok Air, which has continued operating about 20 domestic…
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Covid-19 update (Wednesday) 9 new cases, 0 new deaths
Health officials at this morning’s national daily briefing announced 9 new Covid-19 cases today, bringing the total to 2,957. No new deaths were reported and the tally remains at 54 since the beginning of the outbreak in January. Of the national total, 2,665 people have recovered and been discharged from hospital, making the recovery rate just above 90%. Bangkok currently…
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Oxford says Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by September
There’s a worldwide race to develop a vaccine against the Covid-19 coronavirus, and Oxford University in the UK already claim to have a massive head start. Research teams generally have to start with small clinical trials of a few hundred volunteers to demonstrate safety. But scientists at the Oxford’s Jenner Institute have a jump start on a vaccine, having proved…
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