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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  • 175 new cases of Covid-19, 167 local- Covid Update

    Thailand is reporting 175 new cases of Covid-19 today with 167 of those cases being locally-transmitted. Of those local infections, 120 were found via pro-active testing and 47 were found through tests at medical facilities. The pro-active testing cases were mostly found in Samut Sakhon (95 cases) where the 2nd wave of the virus initially broke out. Such cases were…

  • Covid-19 task force to consider easing Samut Sakhon restrictions from next week

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is to discuss the easing of restrictions in the central province of Samut Sakhon next week, as new cases continue to fall. Health officials recently introduced a “seal and bubble” strategy to contain the spread of the virus at the epicentre of its resurgence late last year. Yesterday, the province reported 129 new cases,…

  • Despite lack of vaccine clarity, TAT still aiming for Q3 revival of foreign tourism

    Despite there being no definitive date for when everyone in Thailand might be vaccinated against Covid-19, officials say they’re still planning for the return of foreign tourists later this year. Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the plan to welcome international travellers in the third quarter of 2021 is still on track. The optimistic Yuthasak says foreign…

  • Health Ministry says 2 million vaccine doses to be administered by April

    Thailand’s Health Ministry says it hopes to have vaccinated over 960,000 people across 10 provinces come April. The Bangkok Post reports that Sopon Mekthon from the government’s Covid-19 vaccine task force says the initial rollout will target high-risk groups, such as those over the age of 60, those with underlying conditions, as well as frontline healthcare workers and disease control…

  • The leaders in the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine

    With the coronavirus claiming more than 2.3 million lives, the biggest challenge across the world is developing and distributing a Covid-19 vaccine. Major pharmaceutical companies are now in a race to develop and distribute safe and effective vaccines. The leaders of the Covid-19 vaccine race… JOHNSON & JOHNSON US Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has now applied with the US…

  • Human trials of Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine to begin next month

    Thailand’s Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, says the first stage of human trials of a locally-produced vaccine will get underway next month. The jab is a joint collaboration between the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and the Faculty of Tropical Medicine of Mahidol University. It’s understood the vaccine has performed satisfactorily in animal testing, showing an ability to stimulate immunity. Pannee Pitisutthitgan from…

  • Phuket’s tourism representatives petition PM over ban on local vaccine purchase

    Representatives from various tourism associations on the southern island of Phuket have reacted with dismay to a government ban on local administrations and the private sector purchasing Covid-19 vaccines. In January, the Public Health Minister stated that the government was not opposed to local authorities purchasing their own vaccine supplies, provided the jabs had been approved by the Food and…

  • CCSA Update: 157 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death

    157 new Covid-19 cases and 1 new death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 4,909 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 23,903 Covid-19 infections and 80 coronavirus-related deaths. Out of the 157 new cases, 106 cases were detected in active…

  • Bars, nightlife, re-open in Rayong after 9 days with no new cases of Covid-19

    The governor of the eastern Thai province of Rayong has given the go-ahead for bars and other entertainment venues to re-open after they were closed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The province has now gone 9 days without a new case of the virus. On February 1, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration changed Rayong’s status from red to…

  • Health Minister hits back at accusations of vaccine “failure”

    Thailand’s Public Health Minister has refuted accusations that the government has failed to procure Covid-19 vaccines in a timely manner, demanding that the media stop confusing the public. A somewhat vexed Anutin Charnvirakul says Thailand cannot be compared with other countries as the Kingdom now has a deal to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine locally. This will make it easier to…

  • CCSA Update: 189 new Covid-19 cases

    189 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 5,301 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 23,746 coronavirus infections and 79 coronavirus-related deaths. 123 of the new infections were linked to high risk areas including 109 in Samut…

  • World Tourism hotspots re-opening – success or failure? | VIDEO

    The world of tourism has been turned upside down, not just in Thailand but around the world. Globally, it’s certainly the hardest hit industry from the coronavirus pandemic, shutting down hotels, tour companies, grounding aeroplanes and putting millions out of work. Before we look at the latest situation, and predictions for Thailand, let’s take a quick tour of some of…

  • Bangkok and Phuket in top 15 list of places people most want to visit when travel re-opens

    The Thai capital, Bangkok, and the southern island of Phuket have come in at number 8 and number 14 respectively, in TripAdvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Awards 2021. The awards list the most popular worldwide destinations prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and the places people most want to return to once travel opens up again. According to a press release from the…

  • Officials brainstorm ideas to revive Phuket tourism

    Government officials and business representatives on the resort island of Phuket have been busy brainstorming various proposals to revive tourism, with many calling for quarantine requirements to be waived for vaccinated foreigners. The Bangkok Post reports that Bhummikitti Raktaengam from the Phuket Tourism Association says foreign tourists who can prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 should be allowed to enter…

  • Health officials say 50% of Thais will receive Covid-19 vaccine this year

    The chief of the Department of Disease Control, part of the Ministry of Public Health, says plans are underway to vaccinate 30 million Thais by the end of 2021. Opas Karnkawinpong says thousands of public and community hospitals across the country will be involved in the national vaccine rollout, with vaccines distributed from central storage sites at the Department of…

  • China ready to export vaccine to Thailand, delivery will be “as soon as possible”

    The Acting Chinese Ambassador to Thailand has confirmed that vaccine manufacturer Sinovac Biotech is ready to export its Covid-19 jab to Thailand. Yang Xin was on a courtesy call with Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, when he confirmed the vaccine has been approved for export to the Kingdom. The exact date when Thailand can expect to receive the vaccine has not…

  • South Africa stalls AstraZeneca vaccine campaign after trial found “minimal protection” against new strain

    South Africa’s rollout of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine has been put on pause following reports that it only provides “minimal protection” for the new strain of the virus first detected in South Africa. The country will continue plans to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The AstraZeneca vaccine, developed in partnership with Oxford University, only provides limited…

  • Thai health officials brush off “vaccine passport” idea for travellers

    Thai health officials aren’t onboard with the idea of a “vaccine passport” which would potentially allow travellers who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter Thailand without undergoing quarantine. Health officials in Thailand say there isn’t enough evidence to prove that the vaccine is totally effective in preventing transmission of the virus. While the vaccines are considered to be effective…

  • Health officials worry about potential spread of Covid-19 during Chinese New Year

    With families across Thailand likely to get together to celebrate the Chinese New Year this weekend, health officials are concerned the gatherings could potentially spread Covid-19. In Bangkok, Friday’s festivities celebrating the year of the ox in Yaowarat, known as Chinatown, have been cancelled by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration due to Covid-19 concerns. Health officials are urging the public to…

  • Craft beer association proposes rules for re-opening Bangkok bars

    The Craft Beer Association has proposed new rules in the hope that Bangkok’s bars might be allowed to re-open after a month-long closure aimed at curbing the spread of Covid-19. The rules include limiting drinks to 2 per customer, limiting sitting time to 90 minutes, and banning dancing and toasts. The association says it has come up with the rules…

  • Tourism Minister to request 5 million vaccine doses for tourism sector

    The Tourism Minister is planning to meet with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to request 5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine for workers across 7 tourist cities. Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn is also pushing for a vaccine passport scheme that would allow international tourists to return in the third quarter of the year. The 5 million vaccine doses would cover 2.5 million tourism…

  • Clinical trials confirm AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective

    The following is a news release from biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Thailand secured 61 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca, developed in partnership with Oxford University. With European Union’s newly-imposed restrictions on Covid-19 vaccine exports, AstraZeneca will now send a batch of 150,000 doses of its vaccine to Thailand from a factory in Asia, rather than from Italy…

  • CCSA Update: 586 new Covid-19 cases, 95% in Samut Sakhon, Bangkok reports slight uptick

    586 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Around 95% of new cases were detected in Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of the new wave of infections. Thailand now has 7,234 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the CCSA has reported a total of 22,644 infections and 79 coronavirus-related deaths. While…

  • Party Covid-Cluster: Celebrity says alcohol was “secretly” brought to rooftop bar, breaking Bangkok’s booze ban

    Alcohol was “secretly” brought to DJ Techin Ploypetch’s birthday party in Bangkok, the celebrity says. The January 9 party became a notorious Covid-19 cluster when the DJ and at least 25 other people tested positive for Covid-19 after attending the party. The celebrity, also known as DJ Matoom, has been criticised by many Thais for acting like he is “above…

  • Thailand to receive additional AstraZeneca jabs from Asia factory, amid EU export row

    AstraZeneca says it will send 150,000 doses of its Covid-19 vaccine to Thailand from a plant in Asia, as a result of an EU ruling that restricts exports of the vaccine to countries outside the bloc. The doses had been due to come from Italy. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says officials have received a letter from the pharmaceutical giant that…

  • Officials introduce stricter “seal and bubble” measures for Samut Sakhon factory workers

    Health officials in the central province of Samut Sakhon, epicentre of the Covid-19 resurgence, say they will introduce tougher restrictions on factory workers in a bid to suppress the spread of the virus. The “seal and bubble” measures are being introduced after the discovery of nearly 8,000 cases during proactive testing at 7 factories in the province in recent weeks.…

  • CCSA Update: 809 new Covid-19 cases

    809 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 7,181 active coronavirus cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported at total of 22,058 cases and 79 coronavirus-related deaths. The overall coronavirus situation in Thailand is improving, according to deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of…

  • AstraZeneca vaccine to arrive this month, despite EU export restrictions – Public Health Ministry

    While there’s no exact date on the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines, the Public Health Ministry is assuring the public that the first order of the AstraZeneca vaccine will arrive this month, despite the European Union’s restrictions on Covid-19 vaccine exports. The National Vaccine Institute is working on getting the first shipment this month, according to the ministry’s permanent secretary. Thailand…

  • Most Thai provinces have been Covid-free for 7 days – CCSA

    The government’s Covid-19 task force says 46 Thai provinces have had no new case of Covid-19 for 7 days. Taweesilp Visanuyothin from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says another 14 provinces have not recorded any infections at all in the latest outbreak. However, both the central province of Maha Sarakham, and the northern province of Tak, have recorded a…

  • Industry representatives call on government to prioritise vaccination, include tourism workers in first rollout

    The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking is urging the government to make the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines a national agenda and to prioritise those working in the tourism industry. According to a Bangkok Post report, the JSCCIB says tourism workers need to be vaccinated to keep them safe while interacting with travellers. It has also suggested that…