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 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
Thailand is a popular destination for expats due to its affordable lifestyle and excellent healthcare system. However, settling in a new country often brings health concerns. To ensure you’re covered for the most common medical needs, understanding what expat health...
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Covid-19 outbreak in Phuket elderly home
There’s been a Covid-19 outbreak in a Phuket elderly home, with a total of 45 people testing positive for the virus so far. Forty-two elderly residents and three guests have been infected, according to the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office Chief Dr Kusak Kukiattikoon. Dr Kusak said the office was informed of the outbreak on July 27. The Phuket Elder…
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Study reminds that Long Covid, not just death, a hazard of infection
Much of the debate over the continued importance of the Covid-19 pandemic focuses on the milder variants lowering the death rate even when infections are on the rise. But Long Covid – the long-term effects of an infection that can last for weeks or months or longer – is an often overlooked, but potentially major, problem now and in the…
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New studies show Covid-19 started in Wuhan market, not lab
Two new studies suggest rumours of a lab leak or unnatural starts to Covid-19 are likely wrong, as a Wuhan animal market appears to be the epicentre of the pandemic’s beginnings. The studies were published Tuesday in Science, an academic journal, and point to a natural transition from animals to humans as the start of Covid, not any sort of…
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Emergency Decree extended by cabinet until end of September
The Thai cabinet met yesterday to officially extend the State of Emergency in Thailand, announced earlier this month, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This will be the 19th extension it will prolong the Emergency Decree that was set to expire on July 31, going into effect on August 1 and continuing until September 30. The decree, which was first invoked by…
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Thailand reports increase in Covid-19 related deaths and serious cases
Thailand has reported a jump in Covid-19 related deaths, and serious cases, throughout the past week. The Public Health Ministry said this morning that there have been 2,390 more coronavirus in-patients and 29 new deaths in the past 24 hours. The numbers provided by Worldometers for today (July 24) are 2,390 new cases and 30 deaths. All the new infections…
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Japan keeps hitting new records in Covid-19 cases
Japan keeps hitting new records in its number of Covid-19 cases. Yesterday (Friday), there were over 190,000 cases in the island nation. On Thursday, there had been 186,246 cases. Last week, Japan hit a record of 110,600 cases. This news comes as Japan faces a seventh wave of Covid, caused by the BA.5 Omicron sub-variant. BA.5 makes up nearly 100%…
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Thailand’s DDC says boy with Covid-19 who died also had MIS-C
The DDC said today that a young child who died in central Thailand this week, who had Covid-19, also had Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. The DDC’s director-general, Dr Opart Karnkawinpong, said doctors at Pathum Thani Hospital tried their best to save the six year old boy. He said they couldn’t save him because he also had MIS-C, and was…
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Thai doctor tells Covid-infected men not to fear shrinking penis
A urological surgeon from Thailand insists there is no hard evidence to suggest a man’s penis will shrink if he gets Covid-19 despite claims to the contrary. Dr Nantawat Siritanan, from Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital, located in Khan Na Yao District, Bangkok, told men not to waste time worrying whether their manhood will shrivel if they catch the coronavirus. Nantawat was…
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Bangkok school brings back online learning after Covid-19 outbreak
A secondary school in Bangkok is bringing back online learning after a big Covid-19 outbreak. The Triam Udom Suksa Phattanakan School, which teaches grades 7-12, has had as many as 910 students test positive for the virus. The school, located in Bangkok’s central district of Suan Luang, plans to shut down to be cleaned on Friday, July 22. The online…
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Poll shows nearly 2/3rds of Thais are tired of wearing masks
A new poll shows that Thais are tired of wearing masks and prefer to skip the inconvenience in many instances. The poll was conducted online by the Department of Health Service Support to judge people’s feelings about the relaxed Covid-19 restrictions in Thailand now. A total of 7,507 people responded to the opinion poll that was conducted between June 17…
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Study: vaccines prevented nearly half a million deaths in Thailand
Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, 31,031 people have died in Thailand from the virus, but a research team suggest that it could have been much worse without vaccines. The team from Mahidol University suggested that, without a vaccination programme in place, Thailand would likely have seen another 490,000 deaths. The MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis compile…
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5-day holiday weekend brings predictable surge in Covid-19 infections
While it was entirely predictable, Thailand rejoiced at the chance to get away for a five-day weekend, ignoring warnings from medical professionals, and now the country is seeing a spike in new and serious Covid-19 infections. The Department of Disease Control released figures showing that the number of people infected with severe Covid cases that require ventilators is rising again.…
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Thai Health Ministry urges Bangkok to reduce activities to curb Covid spread
The Ministry of Public Health will meet with Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt today to discuss a new Covid-19 prevention plan and whether public gatherings should be reduced to curb the recent spike in coronavirus cases in the city. The Public Health Permanent Secretary, Kiattiphum Wongrajit, and Chadchart will meet this afternoon and discuss a strategy to prevent the spread of…
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Bangkok governor under pressure to limit crowds over rising Covid infections
Conversations are hotting up between Thailand’s public Health Ministry and the new Bangkok governor over rising numbers of Covid-19 cases, mostly fuelled by the recent BA.4 and BA.4 sub-variants of Omicron (a variant of SARS-Cov-2). The call comes at a time when the variant is causing a new surge of Covid infections in Europe, the UK and US, also Brazil,…
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Elderly woman near Bangkok dies of Covid-19 after request declined
An elderly woman near Bangkok has died of Covid-19 after a hospital allegedly declined her family’s request for an ambulance. The incident happened in Nonthaburi, a province bordering Bangkok. A foundation that tried to help the 82 year old woman said that she had several health other conditions as well. These included diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic kidney disease…
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Molnupiravir should not be bought online and used, FDA warns
Self-administering the Covid-19 drug Molnupiravir can be dangerous, according to a new warning by the Thai Food a Drug Administration. The FDA announced that people should not purchase Molnupiravir independently and should only take the drug that has been used to treat Covid symptoms after consultation with a doctor or other medical professional who can prescribe proper usage. The Secretary…
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Bangkok doctor warns of lung infections from new Covid-19 sub-variant
One Bangkok doctor is warning the public of lung infections associated with the new sub-variant of Covid-19. The doctor, Nithipat Jearakul, is the head of Siriraj Hospital’s Department of Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis. Nithipat says that the BA.5 subvariant of Omicron is as harmful to the lungs as the previous Delta variant. However, most people with lung infections are part…
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Thailand’s Public Health Ministry urges 10 day quarantine
Thailand’s public health authorities are pushing people to follow the 10-day quarantine period if they test positive for Covid-19. A spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, Dr Rungrueng Kitphati, said that if people have to leave their homes, such as for hospital trips, they must wear masks. Rungrueng added that outpatients should also stay in well-ventilated rooms, away from others,…
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Bangkok to open 500 more field hospitals after Covid-19 spike
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said more field hospitals and isolation centres would be reopened to curb the recent spike in Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 if it is necessary. The 56 year old told media today that the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 have increased recently since the relaxation of mask-wearing raising the number of Covid-19 infected patients in Bangkok.…
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CAAT allows food and drinks to be served on domestic flights in Thailand
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has given airlines the green light to serve food and drinks again on domestic flights in Thailand. Yesterday, the CAAT announced that director Sutthiphong Kongpool signed regulations to allow passengers on domestic flights in Thailand to be served food and drinks again, under strict Covid-19 prevention measures, effective immediately. The measures include that…
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Rise in holiday travel matches rise in severe Covid infections
The 5-day holiday weekend is driving up tourism numbers, but there also seems to be a rise in patients with severe Covid-19 infections that the Department of Disease Control says will likely increase from holiday travel. This warning came from the epidemiology director of the DDC, who laid out increases in severe coronavirus infections as well as those who require…
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BA.4 & BA.5 in Bangkok “will spread to the provinces” – Department of Medical Sciences
Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences has issued a report about the spread of BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants, saying that most of the detected cases have so far been in Bangkok but are expected to spread out the other 76 provinces. The director-general of the Department of Medical Sciences, Dr Supakit Sirilak, says that the two sub-variants – BA.4 and…
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Officials say Thailand’s Covid-19 cases to peak in September
Thai officials announced Friday that the number of Covid-19 cases in the country is expected to start rising next week. The CCSA said that in September, the number is expected to hit a peak. The CCSA added, however, that if people follow the Public Health Ministry’s suggestions to avoid crowded spaces and public gatherings, daily infections will start dropping from…
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“I strongly urge the Health Minister to reveal the actual number of new Covid cases” – Thai doctor
A Thai physician is calling out Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, claiming they are not publishing accurate data on the actual number of Covid-19 infections. He claims that there is a cover up of the real numbers currently being disclosed to the public. The Deputy Minister of Health Dr Sathit Pitutecha claims that the actual number of current infections is…
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Bangkok preparing to reopen community isolation centres
With Covid-19 infections on the rise again, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration may reopen community isolation centres in crowded areas of the capital city. The plan would open facilities in 50 districts to help protect vulnerable people like pregnant women, the elderly, and those with underlying diseases from those infected with coronavirus. Bangkok has seen a rise to over 2,000 infections…
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To wear or not to wear a face mask (in Thailand) – that is the question – OPINION
The Thai PM, chairing today’s CCSA meeting, has asked people in Thailand to keep wearing their masks. The words were carefully crafted. “…although there are no legal obligations for people to wear face masks, people are still very strongly advised to do so, especially when it is deemed necessary.” In other words, you don’t HAVE to. So nothing has changed…
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BREAKING: CCSA address face masks, emergency decree, and foreign arrivals
Today, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha met with the Covid-19 Situation Administration – the CCSA – to discuss Covid rules and restrictions in Thailand. Namely, the use of face masks, the extension of Thailand’s emergency decree, and foreign arrival figures. The CCSA started by saying that cases of Covid subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are on the rise in Thailand. Face…
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CCSA to discuss re-introduction of mask-wearing in public areas today
Thai PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha is meeting with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today at Government House. The prime minister is also the Chairperson for Thailand’s Covid taskforce that has overseen ongoing policy since April 2020 when the country enacted the emergency decree. The emergency decree remains in force. Today’s CCSA meeting is held as Thailand copes with a levelling-off…
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Thai health authorities insist latest Covid-19 wave is controllable
The Thai Department of Disease Control under the Ministry of Public Health insists that the latest Covid-19 wave in Thailand will be “small and controllable”, and should be called a “mini wave” not a new wave. The Rural Doctor Society Facebook page shared an urgent and secret document about a new wave of Covid to the public on Monday. The…
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Travelling to Thailand? Here are the latest vaccine guidelines.
So you’re vaccinated. But are you? Or perhaps you’re unvaccinated or under-vaccinated. What does all this mean for you if you’re travelling to Thailand? The following info was updated by the Thai Government and published on June 28, 2022. Here’s a list of approved Covid-19 vaccines in Thailand… 1. CoronaVac (Sinovac) – 2 doses needed / 2nd dose after 2-4…
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