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.

  • Thailand confirms 35 new coronavirus cases, total surpasses 200

    Thailand confirms 35 new coronavirus cases, total surpasses 200

    Thirty-five new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus have been confirmed in Thailand today, a new daily record, taking the total to 212 since the virus struck in January. Thirty-five of the new cases are linked to a Bangkok boxing stadium and entertainment venues. The director-general of the Department of Disease Control said today that this was the highest number of…

  • UPDATE: Thailand closes schools, entertainment venues, Phuket shuts entertainment venues

    UPDATE: Thailand closes schools, entertainment venues, Phuket shuts entertainment venues

    UPDATE: Phuket’s Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana last night gave the order to close all entertainment venues in Phuket for 14 days, effective today. All sports venues, cinemas and massages shops are to remain closed for 14 days. Phakaphong explained that the Phuket Communicable Disease Committee’s decision to close all entertainment venues followed yesterday’s Cabinet resolution. The same closure of all entertainment…

  • BOT injects 35 billion baht into Thai financial market

    BOT injects 35 billion baht into Thai financial market

    35 billion baht is being injected into the local Thai financial markets in the wake of the impact from Covid-19 crisis. The Bank of Thailand say they are closely monitoring the local financial market and recognised “liquidity is tight in bond and US dollar exchange markets.” BoT assistant governor Vachira Arromdee announced yesterday… “The BoT last week injected both short…

  • Top 10 things you should know about Covid-19 coronavirus

    Top 10 things you should know about Covid-19 coronavirus

    We are all in unchartered territory as the Covid-19 coronavirus starts to impact just about all aspects of our lives. The virus is here and is likely to spread further, making more people sick, some very sick and continue to kill others. Currently the death rate, after more than 2 months of statistics, is around 4%. But epidemiologists say that…

  • Pattaya to close “all entertainment venues”

    Pattaya to close “all entertainment venues”

    Sources in Patttaya have confirmed tonight that the provincial government of Chon Buri, including the Bang Lamung district, has ordered that, from tomorrow, all entertainment venues must close until the last day of the month. The Pattaya News spoke with the Banglamung Police Chief this evening and confirmed the information. He says it’s a proactive measure to reduce the potential…

  • Bars, clubs and cinemas closed, but only in Bangkok and only for 14 days

    Bars, clubs and cinemas closed, but only in Bangkok and only for 14 days

    Such is the speed of the news cycle at the moment, we can hardly keep up with the updates and changes in the ongoing reactions by the Thai government to the Covid-19 story. This morning the Thai PM was ‘thinking’ about closing down bars and entertainment venues, now it’s actually happened, but only in and around Bangkok. The Cabinet has…

  • Malaysia closes its borders

    Malaysia closes its borders

    The government of Malaysia announced yesterday it is shutting its borders to travellers, restricting domestic movement, closing schools and universities and ordering most businesses closed after the number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases climbed yesterday to the highest in Southeast Asia. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin made a nationally televised speech announcing the measures, which will be in force beginning tomorrow until…

  • Mandatory sim and app used to track down movement

    Mandatory sim and app used to track down movement

    A free sim card valued at 49 baht is being provided by The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) to every foreigner as well as Thais who had have travelled from countries that have have been designated as ‘high risk’ of Covid-19 infections. These countries include China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Italy, and Macau (as of the time of publishing).…

  • Chaing Mai venue owners don’t agree with shutdown plans

    Chaing Mai venue owners don’t agree with shutdown plans

    On March 15, Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakil says he will ask the Covid-19 outbreak management committee to close all entertainment venues nationwide. Other measures include declaring additional disease areas and banning activities involving mass gatherings to prevent cluster infections involving people drinking together in pubs. The measure has been submitted to the national Covid-19 prevention committee…

  • Buriram provincial government initiates Thailand’s first partial lockdown

    Buriram provincial government initiates Thailand’s first partial lockdown

    Buriram province, in east of Bangkok, bordering with Cambodia and home of the Thai leg of the MotoGP, is the first of the country’s 76 provinces to take a pro-active stance against the Covid-19 coronavirus. The provincial government has imposed a partial lockdown to restrict the spread of the disease. The Buriram Governor Tatchakorn Hatthathayakul says, even though there has…

  • 33 new cases: Thailand’s biggest single day jump

    33 new cases: Thailand’s biggest single day jump

    Thirty-three new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus cases were confirmed in Thailand today, the nation’s biggest single day increase, bringing the total number of infections to 147 since the virus struck in January. Of the total, 36 have recovered, 108 remain in hospital and one death has been reported from complications arising from the disease. Seventeen of the new cases…

  • 33 new cases announced for Thailand, total rises to 147

    33 new cases announced for Thailand, total rises to 147

    Yesterday’s announcement of 32 new cases of Covid-19 coronavirus, the most on any single day in Thailand, has been surpassed today with the announcement of 33 new cases for Monday. The total number of infections in Thailand is now 147 people. 36 patients have recovered, 108 are still in hospital and one person has died. Seventeen of the new cases…

  • Pattaya venues “willing to close” if ordered

    Pattaya venues “willing to close” if ordered

    “If the government ordered us to close entertainment venues, we are willing to cooperate.” Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-Cha said yesterday that, for the time being at least, he is not ordering a shutdown of the country’s massive nightlife industry. But one of Thailand’s main tourist hotspots is bracing for the worst: the Pattaya Entertainment Operators Association conceded yesterday they are…

  • Hundreds linked to boxing stadium positive Covid-19 test

    Hundreds linked to boxing stadium positive Covid-19 test

    TV celebrity and boxing camp manager Matthew Deane, who tested positive for Covid-19 on March 6, was together with many others who were at the Lumpini boxing stadium in Ramintra Bangkok, north east of the city centre. The mayor of the Chachoengsao provincial administration organisation (PAO), Kitti Paopiamsap posted in his Facebook last night at 8.50pm saying that a laboratory…

  • Top virologist urges cancellations, “proactive approach”

    Top virologist urges cancellations, “proactive approach”

    Thailand’s government should cancel all mass activities, social activities and events that draw crowds, and provide easy public access to Covid-19 coronavirus testing, according to the chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at Chulalongkorn University. Well known virologist Dr. Yong Poovorawan made the proposal on his Facebook page today. Yong says Thailand has been “rehearsing for how…

  • 60 quarantined as Army Welfare chief tests positive

    60 quarantined as Army Welfare chief tests positive

    The director-general of the Army Welfare Department has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus and is being treated in hospital. Sixty people who had close contact with him have been quarantined in their homes, including some of the army’s top brass. An army spokeman made the announcement today. “Sixty people risked infection and home quarantine was ordered for them. They…

  • Stormy skies for Boeing as Coronavirus compounds dire situation

    Stormy skies for Boeing as Coronavirus compounds dire situation

    As the world’s Covid-19 cases continue to rise, aircraft manufacture Boeing is watching its stocks slide. From around US$384 a share back in September last year to as low as US$154.84 last week. It’s since bounced back to US$170.20, but a long, long way from its peak. Most of the losses kicked in from mid-February when the extent of the…

  • Be informed, be aware. Prevention and precautions in a Covid-19 world.

    Be informed, be aware. Prevention and precautions in a Covid-19 world.

    As of this morning the number of cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus has reached 169,552. The number of deaths related to the virus is now 6,516, representing a death rate of around 3.8%, up from 3.4% two weeks ago, and up from the earlier days when it hovered around 2%. But the number of people that have fully recovered has…

  • “We’re not going to run out” – Thai Retailer Association

    “We’re not going to run out” – Thai Retailer Association

    Retailers are insisting that supplies of new stock have been unaffected as local residents, afraid of a Cornonavirus-prompted lockdown, rush to retailers to restock on essential goods – drinking water, rice, canned food, semi-instant noodles, sugar and toilet paper have been found to be in short supply in various department stores, supermarkets and retail stores, as people start hoarding supplies.…

  • Thammasat University cancels classes for a week, Thai universities urged to ‘go online’

    Thammasat University cancels classes for a week, Thai universities urged to ‘go online’

    Thammasat University has cancelled all classes for at least one week, saying in a statement that they plan to resume classes again next week (below). The statement from the university mentioned the Covid-19 world pandemic and said it would co-operate to protect its students. “All classes at Tha Prachan and Rangsit will be cancelled during March 16 –22, 2020. Classes…

  • PM: Nightlife stays open for business

    PM: Nightlife stays open for business

    Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-cha announced he has rejected, for the time being, the suggestion from Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to temporarily close the country’s massive nightlife industry. Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday the suggestion was one of several measures he and the Ministry of Public Health would bring up with the PM tomorrow. But as social media exploded, fiercely…

  • Huge jump as Thailand confirms 32 new coronavirus cases

    Huge jump as Thailand confirms 32 new coronavirus cases

    Thailand today confirmed 32 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The announcement was made at an afternoon press conference with the Department of Disease Control, and confirmed by The Ministry of Public Health. The list of new infections is varied, and includes nine from a boxing gym, three more who had contact with a cluster that had a party with…

  • 83 students returning from Italy quarantined

    83 students returning from Italy quarantined

    83 Thai students arriving on a Thai Airways flight from Italy were taken from U-Tapao International Airport to Sattahip naval base in Chon Buri this morning for Covid-19 coronavirus screening. Six students had fevers and were separated and taken to nearby hospitals for tests and a 14 day mandatory quarantine. The other 77 were taken to guesthouses within the naval…

  • Coronavirus UPDATE: Fortress Australia, Europe new ‘epicentre’

    Coronavirus UPDATE: Fortress Australia, Europe new ‘epicentre’

    As of lunchtime today, there are 156,766 cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the world. There have been 5,839 deaths and 75,937 patients who have now recovered. Italy now has more active cases than China, and new Chinese cases have drastically reduced over the past two weeks. The countries with more than 1,000 confirmed cases below… INFOGRAPHIC: worldometers.info In other…

  • Government tries, fails to clarify visa-on-arrival confusion

    Government tries, fails to clarify visa-on-arrival confusion

    After days of rumours, assertions and flip-flops, Thailand’s Foreign Ministry in a press briefing yesterday provided some much-needed clarity regarding visa-on-arrival (VOA) status for 18 countries and visa exemption for three countries with high infection rates of the Covid-19 coronavirus: they are cancelled. Cherdkiat Atthakor, director-general and spokesman of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department says the cancellations are in place…

  • US and China compete to control the narrative on the origins of Covid-19

    US and China compete to control the narrative on the origins of Covid-19

    With the two year trade war between the economic super-powers still being sorted out, the Chinese and US governments have entered into a tit-for-tat exchange of blame for the origins of the Covid-19 virus this week. Conspiracy theories have been fired back and forth between officials in the two countries. Washington has described the coronavirus outbreak as the “Wuhan Virus”.…

  • Manila goes on lockdown

    Manila goes on lockdown

    “It’s a lockdown It’s just a matter of protecting and defending you from Covid-19. That’s about it.” Some 12 million people in the Philippine capital of Manila are now in near total lockdown after a Thursday order from the nation’s president Rodrigo Duterte banning domestic travel and an announcement earlier today of a nighttime curfew in the capital. The president…

  • Health minister to “suggest” closing bars, nightclubs

    Health minister to “suggest” closing bars, nightclubs

    Thailand’s gaffe-prone public health minister and deputy PM Anutin Charnvirakul is back at it, telling a press conference this afternoon that the Public Health Ministry will “suggest additional precautions” to the government and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday, including the temporary closure of bars and entertainment venues, including nightclubs, concerts, live music venues and other venues where people congregate.…

  • Body of Chinese man lies untouched for hours over coronavirus fears

    Body of Chinese man lies untouched for hours over coronavirus fears

    A Chinese man who fell to his death from a Bangok hotel room yesterday was left lying untouched for more than six hours, as responders feared contracting the Covid-19 coronavirus from the body. Police, who were notified at about 12;30pm, say the 39 year old Chinese national was staying in a room on the sixth floor of the hotel, which…

  • Seven new confirmed coronavirus cases in Thailand include popular actor

    Seven new confirmed coronavirus cases in Thailand include popular actor

    The Public Health Ministry confirmed 7 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus today, raising the number of infections in Thailand to 82 since the virus struck in January. Of those, 35 have recovered and been sent home, while 46 remain under medical care. One man died from complications arising from the illness. Sukhum Karnchanapimai, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said that…