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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Ranong province still Covid-19 free
Five people in the southern province of Ranong, just north of Phuket, have been placed under observation but initial tests show no signs of a positive infection. Dr Sathit Timkham explained five Ranong residence displayed symptoms similar to Covid-19 including fever, cough and sore throat have been placed in isolation and will continue to be monitored though initial fluid tests…
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Beware of virus transmission from family members: health officials
“They may need to sit on different sofas while watching TV together.” An alarming number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases transmitted between family members in the last week has prompted the Thai government to warn that social distancing is important even, perhaps especially, in the home. Many in Thailand are now adapting to living in close quarters for large chunks of…
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31 Thai returnees from Russia quarantined, 3 hospitalised with fever
34 Thai nationals who have been stranded at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport, due to travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 coronavirus, have now arrived home. They arrived at at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday by Aeroflot Airlines flight SU272 as a special repatriation flight arranged by the Thai government. Authorities at the airport’s international communicable disease control checkpoint found that 3…
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Currency will be a key driver in Phuket’s (eventual) tourism recovery?
OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com In the lead-up to the Covid-19 crisis one constant complaint by Thailand’s hotel sector has been the strength of the Thai Baht. Zeroing in specifically on the Mainland Chinese market, the rapid demise to the island was in part triggered by the tragic boat accident in mid-2018, along with a number of other country-wide negative…
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Viral video urges Indonesian Muslims to march on virus hotspots – VIDEO
A video clip, showing Indonesian Muslim pilgrims being urged to gather at Covid-19 hotspots is getting lots of attention. Some are concerned that the best intentions of the muslim leaders could lead to uncontrolled local outbreaks of Covid-19. In the clip, Muslim worshippers on a “Dawah” (missionary) pilgrimage are encouraged not to be afraid of the virus and to march…
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PM Prayut to attend online session of the ASEAN council to discuss regional Covid-19 impact
Yesterday the Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai announced that the ministers have agreed to work on 3 points that were proposed by a group working under the ASEAN Coordinating Council on Public Health emergencies. The guidelines are as follow… A Covid-19 ASEAN Response Fund which will be used to purchase medical equipment and support research on treatment and vaccines Providing…
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Germans arrested for removing coronavirus barrier in Chiang Mai
A number of German expats have been arrested in Chiang Mai for allegedly trying to remove a community Covid-19 coronavirus barrier. The expats claim the barrier was blocking access to their home. Locals, however disagreed, claiming the barrier was vital in stopping the spread of Covid-19 and filed a police report. The district headman claims the moving of their barrier…
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New Covid-19 cases fall to 45 in Thailand
45 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases were confirmed at this morning’s briefing by the the Ministry of Public Health and the Covid-19 Coronavirus Situation Response Centre, a slight drop from yesterday’s 5o and Thursday’s 54. Two more deaths were also reported. The total number of infections since the outbreak began now stands at 2,518. 35 patients have died. The cases span…
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Chiang Rai restricts travel in and out until April 30
Chiang Rai, Thailand’s northernmost province, has now been partially locked down, effective today until April 30, by order of its governor. Only four routes in or out will remain open. Vehicles and passengers will undergo strict screening at entrance and exit checkpoints. Those with a fever or who fail to wear facemasks will be not allowed to enter. Until April…
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US Embassy passes on message to Thailand from US Department of State
“Our countries have enjoyed a profound friendship for over 200 years. Our friendship and decades-long health partnership have given us the resilience to address this global health crisis caused by Covid-19.” The message from spokesperson Morgan Ortagus from the US Department of State. In the same statement issued yesterday, the US Embassy sent their good wishes to the people of…
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Phuket reports 2 new Covid-19 cases (Saturday)
Continuing a hopeful downward trend, the southern province of Phuket today reported only 2 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases, down from yesterday’s 9 and Thursday’s 21. Many if not most of cases originate from the island’s Patong subdistrict, which is now has restricted access, and especially its legendary Bangla Road red light area. The island province has taken stringent measures to…
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Crackdown on mask hoarders as police seek Facebook admin for defamation – VIDEO
UPDATE: The Technology Crime Suppression Division of Thailand is working with police to search for more suspects involved in a network connected to the March 31 arrest of Phanyot Paradonraphab, chief of the little known Paradonraphab political party. Phanyot allegedly imported 513,300 masks illegally under a company he opened called Thai Health International and managed to sell more than 640,000,…
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Covid-19 robots to the rescue
Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Engineering has launched a new service robot to help first responders in the battle against Covid-19. The “Pinto” robot are being used to deliver food and medical supplies so medical staff can maintain a safe distance and minimise the risk of exposure. https://www.facebook.com/thailandprd/videos/3131345010223570/ Twenty robots were deployed yesterday at Chulalongkorn, Siriraj, and Vachira Phuket hospitals with…
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Alcohol Ban in Phuket, from today (Saturday)
The Phuket Governor has issued an order number 1943/2563 which was signed yesterday on April 10. The new order bans alcohol sales in another preventative measure to combat the island’s Covid-19 infection rate. The order is in effect from today, Saturday, April 11, 2020, until further notice. Anyone who breaks the order will be liable to a fine of 100,000…
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Thai dengue fever infections rise to 8,147 in three provinces
Dengue fever, the painful, sometimes fatal mosquito borne illness also known as “bone break fever,” is making its annual resurgence as heavy rains in many regions of Thailand return with a resultant explosion in the mosquito population. The deputy director of the Department of Disease Control is warning people to beware, as over the past 3 months, 8,147 people in…
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Phuket residents instructed to stay home for at least 14 days
All residents living in the southern province of Phuket are being directed to stay in their homes for at least two weeks, starting next Monday, April 13. The provincial governor announced the measure last night to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus on the island, which now has the highest rate of infections in Thailand and is the second…
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Coronavirous cash handouts may not last full 6 months
The much touted 5000 baht handouts to “informal workers” affected by the Covid-19 coronavirus, originally announced for 3 months but later extended to 6, may not actually last that long, Thailand’s finance minister said yesterday. More than 20 million people have signed up for the grants, but only some 9 million of them are eligible, and the government has issued…
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Kanchanaburi poacher arrested, three others escape after ranger attacked
A poacher was arrested in the western Thailand’s Salak Phra Wildlife Sanctuary in Sri Sawat district of Kanchanaburi in possession of dead animals and wild honey. Three other accomplices eluded capture after allegedly stabbing a forest ranger during the escape. Niphon Chamnonsirisak, director of Forest Conservation Zone 4, said wildlife rangers discovered the four armed men inside Salak Phra Wildlife…
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Final stages before CP start punching out face masks in Thailand
The Charoen Pokphand Group also known as CP has announced that the plane that they chartered from China has arrived in Thailand carrying the new mask manufacturing machine and materials to complete the face mask assembling. CP’s senior chairman Dhanin Chearavanont, says that they’ve invested around 100 million baht to build the factory to produce surgical face masks for medical…
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Government calling on nurses to enlist for special Covid-19 taskforce
According to the Thailand Nursing Midwifery Council, it is predicted that Thailand will need at least 400 more experienced nurses to battle the growing number of Covid-19 patients in the kingdom. The president of the Council, Thassana Boonthong says, “nurses specialised in caring for patients in critical condition are in high demand as hospitals are allocating more beds for coronavirus…
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Facebook sues Bangkok man for ‘cloaking’ software
Facebook is suing a Bangkok resident for developing and marketing software that ‘cheats’ the social network’s advertising review process to enable users to post dangerous ads to other users. Facebook explained that Mr Basant Gajjar, an Indian-American software architect living in the Thai capital, developed a “cloaking” technique in software that hides the real content of advertisements, while showing the user…
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Phuket reports 9 new coronavirus cases (Friday)
Phuket, which has now closed all points of entry by land and sea, and today closed its airport, has reported 9 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases today (Friday). That’s less than half of yesterday’s 21 cases and even lower than Wednesday’s 14. The new cases bring the total on the southern island to 170 since the outbreak began in January. No…
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Newborns get extra protection with mini-face shields
Bangkok health care professionals have come up with protective face shields for newborns to prevent infection to the most precious among us. Parents understand the challenge of asking a toddler to wear a mask. (Just take a trip to Tesco while you still can and notice “the couple,” protected head to toe in what looks like a sponsorship deal from…
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14 Thai provinces apply travel restrictions for residents
14 provincial governors around the country have declared ‘travel restrictions’ in and out of their provinces. Under the emergency decree PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has given full authority to provincial governors to increase prevention measures. The ‘lockdowns’ are done to help contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. In some provinces, inter district and inter sub-district travel is also being restricted.…
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Mobile users can now register for 30 days of free data
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission yesterday gave details on how to register for 30 days of free mobile internet and a broadband speed upgrade. Registration begins today. The move supports the government’s policy of social distancing and encouraging people to work from home, while helping people cut utility bills during the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. But you need…
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Thai army puts off military purchases until coronavirus outbreak passes
The Royal Thai Army says Thailand “needs to heal” after the Coronavirus pandemic is over in the country so plans to delay purchases of military equipment in the 2020 defence budget. They say the change is in order to prioritise national recovery efforts in the wake of the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. A Defence Ministry spokesman says cuts to the 2020 budget…
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Policeman nabbed with 7,500 masks and for breaking national curfew in the north-east
Police were checking cars along the Phon Thong-Kuchinarai road in Roi Et, far north-east Thailand, when a dark grey Honda sedan approached. Stopping the car for a routine inspection they found that the driver was a fellow police officer, 33 year old Police Sergeant Pitak, along with a passenger. But when officials searched the car they found 3 boxes full of…
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Did an Issan woman get coronavirus for a second time?
A 38 year old woman from Thailand’s northeastern Chaiyaphum province in the Issan region appears to have contracted the Covid-19 coronavirus for a second time, after she was ‘cured’ of the virus in Bangkok in the middle of March. The woman, who in March had only recently returned from overseas, was found to be infected with the virus and was…
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Phuket will launch door-to-door coronavirus checks across the island
Even as it prepares to restrict travel between its 17 tambon (subdistricts), the southern island province of Phuket is set to become Thailand’s first to launch door-to-door checks of body temperature. The aim is to identify infected people early so they can seek treatment before their symptoms become severe, and potentially end up infecting other Phuketians with the Covid-19 coronavirus.…
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Move over WHO and CDC, Marvel and DC have joined the fight in Thailand
While it may seem that a plague swept across our world with a snap of the fingers as if Thanos and the infinity gauntlet indeed managed to set asunder half the worlds population, not though a dematerialised cloud of ash (sorry for the spoilers…but come one it’s been two years now) but rather a global pandemic that has shut down…
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