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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Over 500 Thais returning this weekend
More than 230 Thai nationals have returned or will return to Thailand today. Yesterday’s 234 returnees include include 55 from Kazakhstan, 50 from the Netherlands, and 129 from United Arab Emirates. Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says 290 more Thai nationals, 45 from Spain, 175 from Singapore, and about 70 from Russia, will return today.…
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Rush for fit-to-travel documents for people leaving Phuket
Authorities announced yesterday that those who want to leave Phuket by road must register online no later than Friday, May 8, to obtain fit-to-travel certificates. While the southern province of Phuket remains closed to entry, authorities have begun allowing people to leave. Tens of thousands, both tourists and Thais from other provinces, have been trapped on the island since it…
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Ride with the lockdown patrol – Pattaya’s volunteer police
On Saturday, April 25, 2020, ??? was granted a full accesss ride-along with the Pattaya Volunteer Police Services to document the Lockdown in Pattaya City due to Covid-19 Pandemic. https://www.facebook.com/ExtremeCityEntertainment/videos/247397636644057/ This breif micro-vlog of vignettes was made to show what the volunteers do to assist the city and protect its residents on its nightly patrols after the 10:00pm curfew. What stands…
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Phuket’s Bang Tao tambon erupts over continued restrictions
Angry villagers gathered in The Bang Tao subdistrict of the southern province of Phuket today to protest continued travel restrictions on their tambon and demand the right to travel more freely, like much of the rest of Phuket. The Muslim-majority beachside community of Bang Tao has become the island’s hotzone for Covid-19 infections since the closure of the Patong municipality…
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PM seeks compensation packages for tourism operators
PM Prayut Chan-cha, today posted a picture of himself in a meeting with the Thai Tourism Business Association on his official Facebook page, with the following message… “The other day, I had a meeting with small and medium sized business associations to listen to the situation they are in and asked them to give suggestions to me directly. In addition…
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New plans for managing Thailand’s 2020 public debt
The Thai Cabinet has approved new plans for managing the fiscal 2020 public debt that was previously proposed by the Ministry of Finance. Deputy Government spokesperson Traisulee Traisaranakul announced that… “according to the new plans, the amount of ‘new’ debt has been adjusted up to 1.497 trillion baht from 894.005 billion baht.” “The plan for the management of ‘existing’ debt has…
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Covid-19 update: 6 new cases nationwide, deaths toll remains at 54 (Saturday)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today has confirmed just 6 new Covid-19 cases over a 24 hour period, for the second consecutive day. That’s the lowest in over a month, and again no deaths, leaving the total death toll at 54 people. It’s the sixth consecutive day of single-digit numbers. Half of today’s new cases are in the southern…
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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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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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National alcohol ban to be lifted from Sunday, May 3
In a surprise turn-around, after extending the national alcohol ban from yesterday for another month, the CSSA have announced that they are revoking the national ban on alcohol sales from this Sunday. But the provisions say that the alcohol can only be bought and must be taken away for consumption at home. You may not consume alcohol at restaurants. There…
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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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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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Passenger numbers at Don Mueang airport plummet over long weekend
The number of passengers passing through Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport over the coming long weekend is expected to be just a fraction of the usual figures as a result of the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 outbreak and aircraft travel restrictions. Khaosod English reports that airport officials say they expect to see no more than 4,000 passengers a day, a…
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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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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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Thai money changers now asking for government help
In a shocking reversal of fortune, money changers in Thailand, crushed by the the twin impacts of Covid-19 and the nationwide inbound flight ban, are asking for government assistance. The catastrophic drop in tourist numbers, (76.4% in March, and expected to be near 100% for April) has forced the The Thai Association of Foreign Exchange to ask the government 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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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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Pattaya mayor pledges assistance for city’s nightlife venues
A report today claims that Pattaya’s Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem and City Hall are promising to help the city’s entertainment venues that have been shuttered as part of the restrictions in place to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The pledge comes as Chonburi province moves into the “white zone” (seen as low-risk) after a period in the high-risk “red…
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