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 Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Former WTO director cautions against re-opening Thailand too quickly
The former director general of the World Trade Organisation has issued a caution against Thailand throwing open its borders too early. Supachai Panitchpakdi says Covid-19 is still very much a threat, pointing to other countries that appear trapped in a cycle of easing restrictions, followed by renewed lockdowns. His comments come as England emerges from a national lockdown, only for…
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16 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine
16 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand is raised to 3,942 with 3,788 recoveries and 60 deaths. 94 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. 9 Thai nationals travelling from Turkey tested positive for Covid-19. They arrived to Thailand on November…
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Thai virologist says vaccinating 40 million Thais next year will be a challenge
A prominent Thai virologist has admitted that vaccinating 60% of the population against Covid-19 next year will not be easy. Dr Yong Pooworavan says this is because 40 million people receiving 2 doses each means the country needs access to 80 million doses. Yesterday, it was confirmed that Thailand hopes to begin production and administration of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccine…
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Thailand eyes first half of 2021 for production of AstraZeneca vaccine
Thailand hopes to begin production and administration of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine during the first 6 months of 2021. As part of a technology-transfer agreement signed by the Thai government, Siam Bioscience will be provided with the information for vaccine production. It then hopes to register the vaccine with Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration within the next 6 months. The pharmaceutical…
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Pandemic has washed away Pattaya’s “soapy” massage parlours
While the Covid pandemic has hit Thailand’s businesses hard, it has also washed away its not-so-legal soapy massage parlours after tourism has dried up its clientele. Such places, known as glorified brothels, have left many masseuses out of work as boards have barricaded the once booming establishments. Soapy Massage (àap-òp-nûat, อาบอบนวด, literally bath, steam, massage)… These are the bigger massage parlours where…
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5 month old Indian baby among 2 new imported cases of Covid
Today, Thailand’s CCSA reports 2 new imported cases of Covid, 1 of which is a 5 month old Indian baby girl, bringing the total number of cases to 3,922 with 0 new deaths. The Centre for Covid Situation Administration reported that the girl arrived on November 11 on the same flight as 2 previously confirmed cases. The baby tested positive…
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UPDATE: Coming to Thailand? Check your insurance and ASQ fine print.
A concerned reader sent us this information, based on his experiences in the ASQ when he arrived in Thailand. We publish them with good faith but would urge everyone to check their insurance situation, whether they’re currently in ASQ or might be in the near future, to check your individual circumstances. AXA has also responded to the comment, we provide…
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2 Thai Covid-19 vaccines to proceed to human testing
Out of Thailand’s 7 potential Covid-19 vaccines, 2 have successfully completed the animal testing stage and will proceed to human testing. Dr Nakorn Premsri from the National Vaccine Institute says the 2 vaccines are the mRNA vaccine from the Chula Vaccine Research Centre and BioNet-Asia’s DNA vaccine. The Chula VRC candidate vaccine is expected to begin human trials in April…
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New Thailand Plus app for tourists will help officials track their whereabouts
A new app, named Thailand Plus, for tourists has been created to help officials track their whereabouts more precisely once they have arrived in Thailand. The app was developed by Sompote Arhunai, the CEO of the Energy Absolute Company, which also developed the “Mor Chana” application. Sompote says the app will send information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and…
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7 new imported cases of Covid in Thailand today, 0 new deaths
Today, the government is reporting 7 new imported cases of Covid, bringing the total to 3,920 in Thailand with no new deaths. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says all 6 cases were asymptomatic Thai returnees, with the other being a man from Syria. The Thai cases include a woman who returned from Germany on November 7, and tested positive…
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US may receive first Covid vaccine doses by mid-December
The head of the US government’s covid vaccine effort is saying that the first vaccine doses may be shipped by mid-December. Moncef Slaoui, the head of a federal vaccine development program, made the comments just 2 days after Pfizer and BioNTech applied for emergency vaccine use approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, after their versions of the vaccines…
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US approves emergency Covid antibody therapy, G20 nations push for vaccine availability
US drug regulators have approved an emergency Covid antibody therapy as cases surpass 12 million, keeping the country as the highest in the world for the level of new Covid cases. Meanwhile, G20 nations are pushing for vaccine availability as more areas in the world are experiencing closures due to spikes in the amount of virus cases. The antibody therapy…
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10 new cases of Covid today in Thailand, all in quarantine
Thailand has 10 new cases of Covid-19 reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA). The infections were from those arriving from 8 different countries, with all being in quarantine. The new cases bring the total to 3,902 with the death toll remaining at 60. Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Belgium, the Netherlands, US and India were the…
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Trump’s son, Donald Jr, tests positive for Covid-19
The eldest son of US president, Donald Trump, has tested positive for Covid-19, an anonymous White House spokesperson has confirmed. 42 year old Donald Trump Jr. is understood to be asymptomatic and currently self-isolating, following the diagnosis earlier this week. His girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle, tested positive back in July. In October, President Trump tested positive for Covid-19, as did his…
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The Thai tourism new normal, learning to live with the pandemic
OPINION by Julian Spindler Thailand’s world-class tourism industry, one of the twin drivers of our economy, is in a deep, coronavirus-induced coma, close to death. No life support is currently available. Pandemic paranoia has gripped the nation, freezing our bio-security risk management in full containment mode, meaning zero tolerance for local Covid-19 transmission. The socio-economic, and some might add political, impacts…
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South Australia lockdown to end early, after man lied about how he contracted virus
A strict 6-day lockdown for South Australia will end early, as officials reveal an infected pizza parlour worker lied about how he contracted the virus. South Australia Premier, Steven Marshall, says a chef employed at a pizza business that was found to have a cluster of infections, misled officials. The worker told contact-tracers that he was a customer of the…
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South Australia heads into major lockdown to control Covid cluster
The Australian state of Victoria, with its capital Melbourne, locked down for nearly 3 months, eventually cutting new cases down to zero. Now the next-door state of South Australia, with its capital Adelaide, has begun one of the world’s toughest lockdowns. Even outdoor exercise, dog-walking and basic errands are banned. The state of 1.7 million will now aim to contain…
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Domestic violence on the rise amid falling incomes and rising alcohol consumption
The Thai Health Promotion Foundation says the Covid-19 pandemic may be causing a spike in domestic violence, as incomes fall, debt rises, and more people turn to alcohol. The foundation claims incidents of domestic abuse have risen by 66% since March, when Covid restrictions were introduced. The Bangkok Post reports that the biggest rise is in the south of the…
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Thai PM extends Emergency Decree to January next year
The government will extend a nationwide emergency decree until at least January 15 next year. The PM has cited the need to prevent a resurgence in coronavirus infections during the peak New Year’s travel period. The impasse with protesters was not brought up as a reason to extend the current Emergency Decree. The CCSA chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has…
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Thai government earmarks 6 billion baht for 26 million doses of AstraZeneca Covid vaccine
The Thai Cabinet is to put aside over 6 billion baht to procure 26 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca, in conjunction with researchers at Oxford University in the UK. Nation Thailand reports that the National Vaccine Institute will be given 2.38 billion baht to reproduce the vaccine, in an effort to reduce the cost from…
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Thailand’s Covid-19 task force to debate quarantine reduction proposal tomorrow, again
After deciding in last week’s meeting to continue on with the mandatory 14 day quarantine, the issue of a reduction from 14 days to 10, is back on the table. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration will meet tomorrow to discuss a proposal, again, to reduce mandatory quarantine from 14 days to 10, for arrivals from low-risk countries. But, again,…
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Tourism officials fear local Covid cases may dampen enthusiasm of domestic travellers
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has expressed concern that the emergence of local Covid-19 infections may negatively affect travel during the November 19-22 holiday period. TAT governor, Yuthasak Supasorn, says there’s a risk that local infections, such as the Krabi resident who tested positive recently, may be dampening enthusiasm among domestic tourists. Local tourism officials are desperate to reboot Thailand’s…
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More positive news in Covid fight as second vaccine found to be nearly 95% effective
Health officials around the world are sounding more cautious notes of optimism, with news that US company Moderna has found its Covid-19 candidate vaccine to be 94.5% effective in clinical trials. Following results last week that a vaccine developed by US firm Pfizer, in conjunction with its German partner BioNTech, had an effectiveness rate of 90%, both developments would appear…
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In the middle of the Covid pandemic “now is the winter of our discontent”
In the northern hemisphere anyway, winter is on the way, a dangerous time for authorities trying to mitigate the sudden surge of new cases and deaths from Covid-19 in parts of Europe, the UK and the US. With a vaccine timeline still ‘flexible’, the only cushioning to a further spread of the pandemic is more social distancing, face-masks, attention to…
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8 new imported cases – Thai Covid update
The CSSA in Thailand has reported 8 new imported cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total amount of coronavirus infections since the pandemic began to 3,874. No additional deaths have been reported. 4 Thai nationals, 3 Indians, and 1 Egyptian made up the new imported cases, all identified whilst in quarantine. One Thai returnee from Belgium…
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Officials criticised over Covid border screening measures
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is being criticised over its border screening measures after an Indian man, who stayed in Thailand for 3 months, tested positive for Covid-19 in Krabi province while remaining asymptomatic. Walairat Chaifoo, director of the Epidemiology Bureau, has defended the screening measures by saying the Department of Disease Control has initiated mass tests for those “at-risk” at…
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Reduction in mandatory quarantine back on the table again
After initially saying a plan to reduce the mandatory quarantine period was being shelved due to public concerns, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has announced it’s back on. A proposal to reduce quarantine for foreign arrivals from 14 days to 10 is being submitted to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration next week. A report in the Bangkok Post says Anutin…
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9 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, 2 reinfections
9 new Covid-18 cases were detected in quarantine, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. All the cases are asymptomatic and 2 cases are apparent reinfections. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 3,861 with 3,697 recoveries with 60 deaths. 104 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. 3 people travelling from Switzerland tested…
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5 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, 2 reported symptoms
5 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine with 2 reporting symptoms of a fever, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 3,852 with 3,693 recoveries and 60 deaths. 99 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. A 30 year old Thai student travelling from Sweden tested…
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Thai immigration officials confirm several yachts have applied for STV entry
Immigration officials say a number of Special Tourist Visa applications have been received from yachts hoping to enter Thailand. It’s understood most of the yachts, thought to be around 10 in total, are from Malaysia and Singapore, and seeking to dock in Phuket or Pattaya. Archayon Kraithong, deputy commission of the Immigration Bureau, says everyone on board the yachts will…
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