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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    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....

  • Phuket to host Cabinet meeting to review proposals for reviving local economy

    Phuket to host Cabinet meeting to review proposals for reviving local economy

    Government officials are to hold a Cabinet meeting in Phuket on November 2 and 3, when they will meet with local authorities and business owners to hear their suggestions on re-igniting the province’s decimated economy. Phuket has been hit particularly hard by the country’s borders being shut since late March, with the absence of international tourists dealing a hammer blow…

  • 10 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, only 1 reported symptoms

    10 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, only 1 reported symptoms

    10 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine from those travelling from 6 different countries, tallying up Thailand’s total number of reported cases to 3,665, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The cases were found in people arriving to Thailand from Myanmar, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Italy, Lebanon and the Netherlands. Only 1 patient reported symptoms. A 33 year…

  • Residents in border areas accuse officials of lax control over Burmese drivers

    Residents in border areas accuse officials of lax control over Burmese drivers

    Residents in the Mae Sot district of Tak province, bordering Myanmar, have criticised what they see as lax checking of Burmese truck drivers arriving from the Covid-hit neighbour next door. Concerned residents are calling for the Friendship Bridge to be temporarily closed in light of a surge in virus cases in Myanmar. The bridge, which spans the Moei River, connects…

  • 9 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, all asymptomatic

    9 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, all asymptomatic

    9 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine in the past 24 hours. All were reported as asymptomatic and from those travelling back from India, Japan, South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now reports a total of 3,652 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 59 deaths. 3,457 people have recovered and 136…

  • 2 Covid vaccine trials halted in phase 3 over safety concerns

    2 Covid vaccine trials halted in phase 3 over safety concerns

    After Johnson & Johnson paused phase 3 of its Covid vaccine trials due to safety concerns, a second pharmaceutical company has followed suit. Eli Lilly has halted phase 3 trials of a lab-produced antibody treatment, 24 hours after the Johnson & Johnson decision. The Bangkok Post reports that an unspecified incident led Eli Lilly to call a temporary halt to…

  • Covid-19 exposure doesn’t mean immunity, reinfections could be worse, study finds

    Covid-19 exposure doesn’t mean immunity, reinfections could be worse, study finds

    Exposure to Covid-19 may not make a person immune to future infections, and actually a second infection of the coronavirus could be more severe than the first, according to a recent study published by The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. After catching a virus like the chicken pox, or after getting a vaccine, the body produces antibodies to fight against the…

  • Domestic tourism survey indicates long road to recovery

    Domestic tourism survey indicates long road to recovery

    “Entrepreneurs in the tourism industry need to adjust their strategy to suit consumer behaviour in the new normal era.” A government survey looking at the travel habits of domestic tourists indicates an uphill struggle for the tourism industry’s recovery. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, from the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office says around a quarter of those surveyed travelled during weekends…

  • Health officials considering more relaxed quarantine for short-term visitors

    Health officials considering more relaxed quarantine for short-term visitors

    The director-general of the Health Service Support Department says Thai officials are discussing a “more flexible form of quarantine” that would allow short-term tourists the freedom to travel within designated zones in provinces that are ready to re-open. Thares Krassanairawiwong says the tourists would be permitted to travel on specially designated routes, aka. “green lanes”, during their 14 day quarantine,…

  • Border schools close for cleaning, thousands test for Covid-19 after Burmese truck drivers test positive

    Border schools close for cleaning, thousands test for Covid-19 after Burmese truck drivers test positive

    Nearly a dozen schools in Tak’s Mae Sot district closed today to be disinfected and around 4,000 people in the community are expected to be tested for Covid-19 after 3 Burmese cargo truck drivers tested positive for the virus after crossing through a border checkpoint. Those in communities deemed at high-risk have been told not to leave their home, unless…

  • 5 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, including a 2 year old girl

    5 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, including a 2 year old girl

    5 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine from Thais returning home after being in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand’s total number of reported cases now at 3,641. 2 people travelling from the United Kingdom tested positive for Covid-19. A 52 year old Thai, who had…

  • 74 Thais in quarantine after Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid-19

    74 Thais in quarantine after Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid-19

    74 Thais are now in quarantine after coming in close contact with 2 Burmese truck drivers, who had since tested positive for Covid-19, in Thailand’s northwestern Tak province. According to an unnamed, female doctor’s Facebook post yesterday, all 74 Thais were given PCR tests and told to enter home quarantine for at least 14 days, and are being monitored by Thai…

  • 2 new cases, Covid-19 update (Sunday)

    2 new cases, Covid-19 update (Sunday)

    Thailand’s CCSA has reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 today, with a Thai soldier returning from South Sudan included in the daily report of new cases. The total of Covid-19 positive cases in Thailand sits at 3,636 with reported deaths remaining unchanged at 59. The 36 year old Thai soldier tested positive on his 4th test on Friday after returning…

  • China’s economy expected to grow 1.6% in 2020 – World Bank

    China’s economy expected to grow 1.6% in 2020 – World Bank

    Much the world is currently seeing continuing surges of new Covid-19 cases, some countries are well into their 2nd wave. Meanwhile China is quietly getting it’s industrial engine and economy going again as new cases. In fact China’s number of ‘active cases’ has been dropping since April, and now is fewer than 200 total cases across the country. Along with…

  • Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid in Tak province

    Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid in Tak province

    A Burmese truck driver has tested positive for Covid-19 in Thailand’s northwestern province of Tak. The driver and his assistant arrived yesterday at a market in the Thai province’s Mae Sot district, to purchase goods to deliver to clients in the Myawaddi Township, just over the border in Myanmar. The Myawaddi governor says the driver was taken to a hospital…

  • 6 new cases of Covid-19 in Thailand, only 1 displaying symptoms

    6 new cases of Covid-19 in Thailand, only 1 displaying symptoms

    Thailand has announced 6 new cases of Covid-19 today, with only one person showing symptoms, according to the CCSA. 2 Thais and 4 foreigners make up the positive diagnoses, raising the total number of cases confirmed in the kingdom to 3,634. The 1st case was a 57 year old Japanese employee from his home country who arrived on September 26…

  • Is it time for Thailand to restart its tourist industry? – SURVEY

    Is it time for Thailand to restart its tourist industry? – SURVEY

    It’s been 10 months since the first murmurings of a novel coronavirus emerged in China. Since then there’s been an unprecedented effort to control or contain the disease by governments around the world – some more successful in their efforts than others. Covid-19 has also had more words written about it, more conspiracy theories and more debate than any other…

  • Economic think tank says shopping stimulus will only help in the short-term

    Economic think tank says shopping stimulus will only help in the short-term

    The research division of Kasikorn Bank says while the government’s planned shopping stimulus has its advantages, the benefits will only be short-term. The Kasikorn Research Centre points out that the scheme, which it’s hoped will run from October 23 to December 31, will only provide a temporary boost to the economy. The stimulus measure, which is being put to the…

  • Medical chief in favour of re-opening borders, calls zero cases target unrealistic

    Medical chief in favour of re-opening borders, calls zero cases target unrealistic

    A senior Thai medical professional has confirmed he’s in favour of Thailand re-opening its borders, saying attempting to maintain zero cases of Covid-19 is “unrealistic”. Somsak Akksilp, from the Department of Medical Services, insists the country is adequately prepared in the event of a resurgence of the virus and, with no date set for vaccine availability, the country must move…

  • 7 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, most asymptomatic

    7 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, most asymptomatic

    7 new Covid-19 cases have been detected in quarantine from those people entering Thailand via Suvarnabhumi Airport, plus 1 patient who appears to have contracted the virus for a second time. The cases come from Hungry, India, Kuwait, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates and the US, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now has a total…

  • Thailand’s Health Ministry wants to reduce tourist quarantine to 10 days

    Thailand’s Health Ministry wants to reduce tourist quarantine to 10 days

    Thailand’s Health Ministry is seeking to reduce the mandatory quarantine period for foreign tourists, currently mandated at 14 days, to 10 days. The reduction would be assessed after one month and, if successful, quarantine could be further reduced to 7 days. However, this reduction would only apply to those arriving from countries considered “safe” from Covid-19. Those arriving from high-risk…

  • “There is hope” Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by the end of the year, WHO director

    “There is hope” Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by the end of the year, WHO director

    A Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by end of this year and distributed by next year. While the cost and availability of the vaccine remains uncertain, the World Health Organisation director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is calling on world leaders to make sure any vaccine is equally distributed to the public once it is available. WHO’s COVAX global vaccine facility is…

  • 10 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, all reported as asymptomatic

    10 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, all reported as asymptomatic

    Thailand health officials reported 10 new Cvoid-19 cases detected mandatory state quarantine for those entering the country, adding up the total number of reported cases to 3,600. All cases were reported as asymptomatic at the time the results were confirmed. The cases came from Hong Kong, the United States, Kuwait and Russia, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration.…

  • Thai government considers easing restrictions for foreign business travellers

    Thai government considers easing restrictions for foreign business travellers

    The Thai government is considering further easing entry restrictions for foreign travellers coming to conduct business in the Kingdom. Currently, around 11,000 businesspeople and work permit holders have been granted entry by the Centre for Covid-19 Administration Situation since they started allowing some foreigners back into the country after July. All arrivals have to submit to a mandatory 14 day…

  • Thailand to set aside 3 billion baht for first doses of Covid-19 vaccine

    Thailand to set aside 3 billion baht for first doses of Covid-19 vaccine

    Thailand’s National Vaccine Committee is to request nearly 3 billion baht in order to procure enough doses of a Covid-19 vaccine for half its population, beginning with frontline healthcare workers. The committee, chaired by Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, wants to set aside 2.93 billion baht to be able to purchase adequate supplies of the vaccine from overseas. The aim is…

  • Ex-prisoner stabs 3 people when asked to put on a mask at Bangkok shopping mall

    Ex-prisoner stabs 3 people when asked to put on a mask at Bangkok shopping mall

    An ex-prisoner is back in custody after stabbing 3 people at a Bangkok shopping mall when he was asked to put on a face mask. A report in Nation Thailand says the 33 year old man has been incarcerated at Chiang Mai prison 3 times for robbery offences. It’s understood that when a security guard at The Mall, in the…

  • Officials threaten Ranong pier with closure over Covid violations

    Officials threaten Ranong pier with closure over Covid violations

    A pier in the southern province of Ranong is being threatened with closure after allowing the crew from a Myanmar fishing trawler to disembark and come ashore. This violates restrictions currently in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Myanmar is currently experiencing a surge in virus cases, going from 400 cases on August 20 to 17,794 cases today. The…

  • 2 new cases of Covid-19, both Thai returnees from UK and South Africa

    2 new cases of Covid-19, both Thai returnees from UK and South Africa

    Thailand has confirmed 2 new cases today of asymptomatic Covid-19, both Thai returnees from the UK and South Africa. One 27 year old Thai student had tested positive on Friday after arriving from the UK last Monday. She was transferred to a quarantine facility in Samut Prakarn Hospital after receiving the positive results. The other case was also a 19…

  • More Thai airports to be prepared for the arrival of medical tourists

    More Thai airports to be prepared for the arrival of medical tourists

    “Currently 1,123 foreigners in specially-prepared hospital quarantine facilities.” A committee of the Department of Health Service Support, working to bring in international medical tourists at this time and develop Thailand into an international medical hub, has given initial approval to for the opening of 4 more airports, outside of Bangkok, for the arrival of medical tourists. The director general of…

  • Skål International Bangkok’s helps to repatriate a mother and her teacher son

    Skål International Bangkok’s helps to repatriate a mother and her teacher son

    by Andrew Wood A mother’s plight to rescue her 23 year old son, John de Villiers, who was stranded in Asia and his mother’s wish to return him safely home to South Africa, led to a fantastic story that has to be told. The amazing story involved using key contacts available via Skål International’s global reach, embassies across 3 continents,…

  • 8 new cases of Covid reported today, all asymptomatic and in quarantine

    8 new cases of Covid reported today, all asymptomatic and in quarantine

    Thailand officials have reported 8 new Covid-19 cases from 5 different countries today, with all cases being asymptomatic and in discovered whilst the recently arrived passengers were in quarantine. The new cases were from Russia, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, the US, and India. The 35 year old Indian man was on the same flight as 8 previously confirmed cases and…