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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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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Thai physician raises concerns over Omicron mutations as cases rise
One of Thailand’s top respiratory experts is urging the nation to be on guard for Omicron subvariants of the Covid-19 virus after the World Health Organization (WHO) raised concerns about mutations of the disease. The WHO last week raised concerns about the public health implications of the rise of some Omicron variants, specifically XBB and its sublineages (indicated as XBB*),…
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Thailand ends emergency Covid vaccine procurement
The winding down of the Covid-19 pandemic has hit a new milestone as the emergency use procurement of vaccines has now ended. The Ministry of Public Health announced that it has officially cancelled its plans to obtain more vaccines against the coronavirus. The end of the programme was officially published in the Royal Gazette on Thursday and was put into…
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Shanghai Disneyland visitors locked inside over Covid case
As the war on Covid-19 rages on in China, some Shanghai residents are being told to stay home after a Disneyland outbreak spurred the resort’s lockdown. Those who had visited the city’s Disney Resort were essentially barred from leaving until a Covid test cleared them of the virus. The event is just another example of China’s strict zero-Covid policy, forcing…
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Thailand’s face mask rules to be scrapped soon
In two or three weeks, those in Thailand will no longer have to worry about wearing a face mask in most places. According to The Bangkok Post, the Ministry of Public Health will soon cancel such mask-wearing regulations and accompanying fines for breaking such rules. The National Communicable Disease Committee has reportedly already completed a draft announcement that reflects the…
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Resistant and contagious BQ.1 sub-variant hits Thailand
As new strains of Covid are beginning to crop up in Thailand, the first infection of the highly resistant and contagious BQ.1 sub-variant has now been found in the kingdom. Ramathibodi Hospital’s Centre for Medical Genomics confirmed the presence of the sub-variant of the Omicron strain, which mutated from the BA.5 sub-variant. In a post on Facebook, the centre cited…
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Accurate Covid-19 information may have been blocked by former US president Trump’s aides
Former US President Donald Trump is facing an investigation over his former aides blocking the release of accurate Covid-19 information. According to the Straits Times, senior staff members at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claimed that the former president’s aides bullied staff and tried to rewrite their reports to align them with the former president’s downplaying…
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Xi tells world to stop interfering in China’s internal affairs
President Xi Jinping sprung no surprises in his opening speech at China’s 20th Party Congress in Beijing yesterday. The Chinese leader emphasized his commitment to the mainland’s zero-Covid-19 policy, safeguarding national security, attracting talent, and a pledge toward the one country, two systems principle of socialism with Chinese characteristics in Hong Kong, Macau, and the eventual reunification of Taiwan. In…
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Thailand finds 3 new subvariants, 4th in Hong Kong from Thai travellers
Three new Covid-19 subvariants have been found within Thailand’s borders according to Thai scientists. The global scientific community believes that the subvariants in the group found in the kingdom will become the dominant strains of Covid within the next few months. A separate strain, XBB, was found in three passengers from Thailand in Hong Kong, despite the variant not being…
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Slaughtered Thai grandfather celebrated in street sign
A thoroughfare in San Francisco was renamed last weekend in commemoration of the 84-year-old Thai grandfather who was killed in a brutal attack last year that spurred the Asian-American community into action against increased physical and verbal assaults during the pandemic. According to usnews.com a short lane in Sonora, close to the University of San Francisco was renamed “Vicha Ratanapakdee…
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Schools no longer need to close for Covid outbreaks
With Covid-19 being downgraded to a communicable disease of concern, schools and universities will no longer require closures for outbreaks. Minister of Education Trinuch Thienthong spoke at a press conference yesterday and said that new control measures won’t include definite closures, should an outbreak of the coronavirus afflict a school. With many students often packed into a tight area, schools…
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Bang Sue’s Central Vaccination Centre officially closed
Bang Sue Grand Station served as a hub for Covid-19 vaccines but now it has officially closed as the Central Vaccination Centre. The centre was opened last May to provide Bangkok residents with a place to receive their initial vaccines and follow-up boosters. But on September 30, the final needle was jabbed into a patient’s arm, the last vaccine at…
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Face masks still required on public transport, in cinemas
Thailand recently celebrated lifting all remaining Covid-19 restrictions and fully reopening its borders to international travellers. But, while tourists can enter without proof of vaccination or negative tests, face masks are still mandatory on public transportation throughout the country. A deputy director of the Department of Health has explained that some Covid safety and prevention measures remain in place. In…
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Thailand watching BQ.1.1 variant as Covid rules ease
As Thailand prepares to eliminate the last of the Covid-19 protections for the country, a new highly contagious variant of Omicron has been put on the country’s watch list. The BQ.1.1 variant was first confirmed in the UK last month and has so far only infected a meagre 78 people, but those cases have been spread throughout 10 different countries…
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Thailand’s ‘state of emergency’ finally draws to a close
Thailand’s Emergency Decree will finally come to an end on October 1 after being extended 19 times since the beginning of the pandemic. As a result, Thailand’s Covid-19 task force – the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) – will be dissolved. The decision to end the state of emergency has been in the pipeline for some time and was…
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Meeting today could decide whether to end Emergency Decree
A meeting today could decide whether to end Thailand’s long-standing Emergency Decree. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is meeting today in which the Covid-19 operations centre is expected to propose the revocation of the decree from October 1. Secretary-general of the National Security Council and head of the operations centre said yesterday that members have agreed that there has…
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Covid-19 restrictions to be lifted from October 1
Visitors to Thailand will soon be free of showing a Covid-19 vaccination or test certificate as of October 1. The changes were announced by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul after a meeting with the National Communicable Disease Committee today. In that meeting, it was also deemed to be unnecessary for people with mild or no symptoms of the virus to…
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WHO urges world to end Covid pandemic
The World Health Organisation is urging the world to end the Covid-19 pandemic as newly reported cases decline. The organisation’s chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says the number of new cases dropped to its lowest level since March 2020. “We have never been in a better position to end the pandemic. We are not there yet, but the end is in…
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Favipiravir: DMS says Thai Covid study contradicts US study
A top respiratory specialist in Thailand spoke out on Friday about a study in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal last month saying that not only does the antiviral medication Favipiravir not seem to help fight Covid-19, but it can lead to patients getting gout. Now the Department of Medical Sciences is defending the use of Favipiravir in Thailand to treat…
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Thai health service stops Covid vaccine reaction pay outs
Only gold card scheme members and universal healthcare members can claim reimbursement for any reaction to coronavirus jabs, says the National Health Security Office (NHSO). Deputy Secretary General Atthaporn Limpanyalert announced the NHSO has reviewed the situation regarding Covid-19 and concluded that because the problem is easing it will no longer compensate those suffering from side effects of the vaccine…
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Favipiravir found ineffective against Covid-19 & causes gout
The bad news for Favipiravir is that a new study found it to be ineffective in the treatment of Covid-19 infections. And more bad news, it can also cause gout. The study was released in the Clinical Infectious Diseases Journal on August 6, and Thai respiratory specialist Dr Manoon Leechawengongs of Vichaiyut Hospital posted on Facebook Friday that Thailand needs…
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Are face masks still required on domestic flights in Thailand?
The world is moving on from the Covid-19 pandemic, but face masks are still popular in Thailand. You might see people on domestic flights in Thailand wearing masks, but are they mandatory? The Thai government made face masks “voluntary” back in June but still recommends wearing them in crowded spaces. The news was published in the Royal Gazette and said……
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Thai government to downgrade Covid-19 disease status from October 1
Thailand’s government is expected to downgrade the Covid-19 disease status from October 1. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul made the announcement, saying that the disease will be classified as “communicable under surveillance.” Until now, the Covid-19 disease was classified as a “dangerous communicable disease,” but Anutin says the current situation has been deemed suitable for regrading. In February 2020, the…
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Thailand importing 2nd gen vaccines, producing 3 domestically
Next month should see the start of procurement of the second generation of Covid-19 vaccines, as the Ministry of Public Health plans to import them to Thailand. The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) will convene to discuss the plan sometime in October, according to the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Disease Control. Up for debate is how many vaccines are…
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China approves world’s first inhaled Covid-19 vaccine
For those deathly afraid of needles, China is the first country in the world to approve the CanSino Biologics Inc Covid-19 vaccine, the first of its kind that is inhaled instead of jabbed. The vaccine manufacturer announced yesterday that it had won approval from the drug regulators of China to use the inhalant that they recently created as a booster…
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Moderna suing Pfizer for using their tech in Covid vaccines
After Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine brought in US$22 billion so far this year compared to Moderna’s US$10.4 billion, Moderna is suing Pfizer, claiming they copied technology in developing their vaccines. Moderna, a decade-old company that had been pioneering mRNA technology long before Covid-19, had said at the start of the pandemic that they wouldn’t enforce related patents to help the world…
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Thai authorities approve Pfizer for children under 5
Thai authorities have approved Pfizer’s Comirnaty Covid-19 vaccines for children between six months old to under five years old. The secretary-general of the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval yesterday. For children in this age range, the dose will be adjusted to 10 micrograms per dose. For children 5-11 years old, the dose is 30mcg. Eight weeks…
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Spokesman warns end of CCSA, Decree not guaranteed
Mark Twain is often (mis)quoted as saying, “Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” And the same, it seems, may be said of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) as a government spokesperson said yesterday that, despite an announcement Friday, the lifting of the Emergency Decree and dissolution of the CCSA will be closely evaluated and is not…
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CCSA to dissolve with end of Emergency Decree October 1
After over two and a half years, it’s finally time to say goodbye to our old friend, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in Emergency Situations which has been in effect since March 24, 2020, and created the CCSA to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, will not be extended…
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Thailand’s CCSA talk tourist stats, visas on arrival & home isolation
Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Administration Situation (CCSA) met with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha today, August 19, to talk about coronavirus-related topics and foreign arrivals. The CCSA said Thailand is transiting into the “post-pandemic stage.” The CCSA said Thailand’s Covid situation is improving and its classification is changing from a “serious communicable disease” to a “communicable disease under surveillance.” Home Isolation…
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Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla diagnosed with an unfortunate infection
If you’ve ever heard the advice “never get a haircut from a bald barber” you know that even something completely natural can tarnish the image of a brand in people’s minds. So, much like being judged for being an overweight fitness instructor, it’s a bit awkward for Albert Bourla that people now know he’s been infected by Covid-19, considering he…
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