Covid-19 News
Stay informed with the latest Covid-19 news at The Thaiger, your go-to source for pandemic updates. Keep up-to-date on global developments, vaccine rollouts, and safety measures. Our comprehensive coverage includes essential information on travel restrictions, case numbers, and government policies.
Whether you’re seeking guidance or simply staying aware, The Thaiger’s Covid-19 news page is your essential resource for navigating these unprecedented times. Engage with our expertly curated content, designed to keep you informed and prepared as the world continues to adapt to the ongoing pandemic. Stay safe and stay connected with The Thaiger.
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Sponsored Leap into English mastery with Green Valley's LEAP Programme
For many years, St. Andrews International School, Green Valley’s students who did not speak English as their first language have typically participated in English as an Additional Language (EAL) programmes to build proficiency. However, the school has recently introduced a...
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China’s Sinopharm vaccine up for approval in Thailand
China is seeking approval for its Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine to be used in Thailand. Documents have been submitted and Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration secretary general Paisal Dunkhum says the vaccine will be reviewed for its quality, safety, and efficacy. He says he expects a decision on whether to approve the vaccine for use to be made within the next…
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Thai industry body says government may miss vaccination target due to supply issues
The Thai government is being warned that ongoing issues with Covid-19 vaccine supply may cause it to miss its target of obtaining 10 million doses in June. The Federation of Thai Industries says the supply problems will impact the country’s vaccination rollout and is calling on the government to accelerate the process by allowing private companies to import doses from…
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Health Minister insists AstraZeneca vaccines will be delivered on time
The required doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine will be ready for the government’s June 7 rollout. So says Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, in response to concerns over supply issues. A number of hospitals have already suspended use of the vaccine, due to low or no supplies. According to a Bangkok Post report, Anutin met with representatives from AstraZeneca…
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Monk talks man down from a telephone tower in Sattahip
Last night, a monk came to the aid of a man who was preparing to jump off a telephone tower in Sattahip, the elbow of land between Pattaya and Rayong. Sattahip police were dispatched to the telephone tower after they were notified of the man’s situation at 9:30pm. Once at the scene, police and local media found a 54 year…
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Tourism not expected to bounce back until 2026 – Thai government
Grim news for tourist-dependent areas such as Phuket as the government has cautioned it could be another half decade before the tourist industry is fully revitalised. 2 years ago, prior to the pandemic, tourism comprised around 21% of Thailand’s GDP, taking in 1.8 trillion baht in revenue. However, the National Economic and Social Development Council predicts Thailand won’t see similar…
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Covid UPDATE Tuesday: 3,226 new infections, 26 deaths
Thailand’s public health ministry has reported 26 new Covid-related deaths and 3,226 new infections for today. 882 of the new infections were from prisons. • The Thai government has rescheduled the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccines “16 weeks after the first dose”. This is instead of the previously announced 10 weeks. But they’re insisting the delay to the second vaccine…
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Former Finance Minister petitions to revoke approval of government’s 700 billion baht loan
A former politician, who served as Finance Minister from 2011 to 2012, is petitioning the Supreme Administrative Court to revoke approval for the government’s 700 billion baht loan. Cabinet recently approved an executive decree that allows the government to borrow the funds, in order to restore Thailand’s decimated economy and combat the Covid-19 crisis. Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala says he doesn’t object…
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Government adjusts timing of second dose as hospitals run low on AstraZeneca
The Thai government says the second dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine can be administered 16 weeks after the first, instead of the standard 10 weeks. Officials insist the delay won’t have any negative impact, as reports circulate that hospitals are running out of AstraZeneca doses. Both Chulabhorn and Vachira hospitals have confirmed they are suspending inoculation with AstraZeneca indefinitely…
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Trained dogs highly accurate at identifying Covid-19 infections, study shows
Dogs could replace temperature and infrared scanners at Covid-19 screening points. A new study shows that dogs can be trained to identify the coronavirus, even when people are asymptomatic. The dogs are more than 90% accurate, the study says. Socks and face masks from 200 people who tested positive for Covid-19 were collected by researchers from the London School of…
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Rawai residents who register for a vaccine have a chance to win gold, cash
Rawai residents who register for a Covid-19 vaccine have a chance to win gold. In an incentive to get people vaccinated, Phuket’s Rawai municipality is starting a lucky draw with 10 gold necklaces as well as cash prizes up for grabs. Many governments and businesses in Thailand and overseas have started incentives to entice people to get vaccinated. A town…
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Monday Covid-19 Update: 2,713 new cases and 30 deaths, provincial totals
2,713 new Covid-19 cases and 30 coronavirus related deaths were reported today in Thailand, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic to 135,439 and the death toll to 806. The are now 45,307 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. Out of the new cases reported today, 206 infections were at correctional facilities. Thousands of inmates at around…
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Private hospitals to order 5 million Moderna vaccine doses for paying customers
Private hospitals in Thailand say they are ordering 5 million Moderna vaccine doses for paying clients who may want a different vaccine brand. Thailand’s Private Hospital Association, which includes more than 200 private hospitals across the country, is reviewing orders for the vaccine from its members and will order the vaccines through the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation. Officials say private hospitals…
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Villages in southern Thailand closed off due to cases of South African variant
Health officials in the southern province of Narathiwat have sealed off 9 villages after 3 confirmed cases of the Covid-19 variant first detected in South Africa. Opas Karnkawinpong from the Disease Control Department says the villages in the Tak Bai district have been closed off to prevent the virus spreading further in the province. The district sits across the Kolok…
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Suan Dusit Poll: most people will get gov’t Covid-19 vaccine
A new Suan Dusit Poll this week reveals that a majority of people in Thailand are willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 by whatever shot is available from the government. The poll, conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, surveyed 2,644 people online throughout Thailand between May 17 and May 20 about their opinions on the government’s push to vaccinate people…
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Sunday UPDATE: 3,382 new infections and 17 deaths, provincial totals
This morning the public health ministry has announced 3,382 new cases of Covid-19 and 17 new deaths across Thailand. The daily numbers, again, are oddly statistically consistent with the daily toll around 1,900 – 2,500 for the past month (with few variations). Although the daily totals, even without the prison numbers, are slowly creeping up, mostly as a result of…
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Doctor urges Pfizer, Moderna vaccine to fight B.1.351 variant
Reacting to the news that the B.1.351 variant of Covid-19 (commonly nicknamed the South African variant) has now been found in Thailand, a senior doctor at the Siriraj Centre of Research Excellence Management has called upon the government to obtain Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccine as quickly as possible. In a Facebook post yesterday, the doctor suggested that…
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Friso and Gregg have been working in Bangkok’s Klong Toey slums for a year
If you would like to help, please send a message at either of these Facebook pages. Bangkok Community Help is a registered Foundation. https://www.facebook.com/BkkCommunityHelp https://www.facebook.com/dinnerfromthesky There are some amazing people helping out their local Thai communities to get through this Covid mess in Thailand; foreigners rolling up their sleeves to help communities hard hit by the Thai government’s restrictions and…
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Covid Sunday UPDATE: 3,382 new infections and 17 deaths
This morning the public health ministry has announced 3,382 new cases of Covid-19 and 17 new deaths across Thailand. The daily numbers, again, are oddly statistically consistent with the daily toll around 1,900 – 2,500 for the past month (with few variations). Although the daily totals, even without the prison numbers, are slowly creeping up, mostly as a result of…
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Covid-19 outbreak in Phetchaburi factory of 682 employees
682 employees in a Cal-Comp Electronics factory in Phetchaburi have been infected with Covid-19, forcing a 14-day closure. The company has 3,300 employees and results are still pending for 2,000 more employees Covid-19 tested in the outbreak. The factory owners intend to take care of all their employees during this voluntary shutdown. The cluster has widespread repercussions, as the provincial…
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1000+ Covid-19 infections and Indian variant in work camp
A construction site camp in the Laksi district of Bangkok that had found a Covid-19 outbreak recently has spiralled out of control with over 1,000 Covid-19 infections including the dreaded Indian variant. 66% of the camp workers tested positive for Covid-19, with 36 of the 80 samples analyzed revealing the Indian variant, a strain much more contagious than the original.…
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DDC justifies plan to get 2 extra doses per AstraZeneca vial
The Department of Disease Control in Thailand has come under fire for plans to stretch vials of AstraZeneca to get more Covid-19 vaccines out of each vial. While the official recommendation is to produce 10 vaccines out of each AstraZeneca vial, the DDC argues that there’s enough material inside to produce up to 12 shots. The government has been receiving…
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Covid UPDATE: 3,052 new cases, 24 Covid-related deaths, provincial totals
This morning the public health ministry added another 3,052 infections and 24 new Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours. Out of today’s new cases, 605 came from the country’s prisons where major clusters have emerged. The daily totals, even without the prison numbers, show a slow upward trend in new cases, the vast majority around Bangkok in high-density housing…
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Phuket pushes for proactive vaccination to reach 70% goal
A push is underway to get people registered for mass vaccination in Phuket in an effort to still reach the 70% threshold to reopen to international tourists on July 1. In a meeting on the Phuket Tourism Sandbox plan at the provincial hall on Thursday, a new proactive scheme was hatched to get people registered and vaccinated. Phuket has set…
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Details released on how foreigners can sign up for vaccine
According to new details from the ministry of Public Health, Thailand will begin vaccine registrations for foreigners and expats on June 7. With growing outbreaks and Covid-19 spreading through workers and the general population, the government is setting their agenda and targets based on Covid-19 risk, regardless of nationalities. The government had officially set vaccination rollout as a top priority…
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15 workers in Bangkok test positive for Covid variant first found in India
Workers at a construction camp in Bangkok tested positive for the Covid-19 variant first detected in India. The only other cases reported in Thailand involving the B.1.617 strain were a mother and her 4 year old son who both tested positive for the virus while in quarantine after travelling from Pakistan. Many of the workers at the camp in the…
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Labour Ministry to provide 9.2 million workers with vaccine
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin announced that under Section 33 of the Social Security Act, over 9 million employees will receive a Covid-19 vaccine and don’t need to register on the Mor Prom Line account. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha posted on Facebook Wednesday that these 9.2 million workers would receive priority vaccines as at-risk essential workers. Insured employees that have to work…
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850 disabled people at Father Ray Foundation receive vaccines
Covid-19 vaccines were administered to 850 disabled people and staff members of a popular, long-running charity foundation in Pattaya. Members of the Father Ray Foundation were able to receive the jabs in-house at the Redemptorist Technological College for People with Disabilities the charity has run since 1984. The foundation expressed overwhelming thanks to the medical workers from the Banglamung Hospital…
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CCSA proposes extending Thailand’s State of Emergency for another 2 months
Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is proposing an extension of the nationwide Emergency Decree for another 2 months. At a meeting today, the CCSA and Public Health Ministry noted that it may take until the end of July to bring the latest Covid wave under control. The last declaration of a State of Emergency has been in place since…
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Miscommunication over rules sees Thai man angrily footing bill for Covid test in Phuket
After a Thai man’s angry video went viral over allegedly having to pay for a Covid-19 test in order to enter Phuket, the provincial Vice Governor has responded. Piyapong Choowong admitted that the rule for those entering Phuket had recently changed, nixing the requirement of those arriving to undergo a Covid rapid antigen test. The man says he paid 450…
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Vaccine registration for foreigners in Thailand to open June 7
Foreigners living in Thailand will be able to register for a Covid-19 vaccine starting June 7, the first day of the country’s mass vaccination campaign. Foreigners can register for a vaccine on-site at hospitals. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Natapanu Nopakun recommends that expats register for a vaccine at a hospital that has their health records on file. Expats need…
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