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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China’s Covid numbers hit record high
The number of Covid-19 cases in China has hit a record high, major news outlets reported today. Yesterday, the country recorded 31,527 cases while Beijing recorded its fourth Covid-related death since last weekend. China’s previous Covid peak had been around 28,000 cases when Shanghai was locked down. Virus cases are being recorded in 31 provinces. Officials have tried to avoid…
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Hotel loan program extended through June 2023
Hotels trying to recover from closing down for the Covid-19 pandemic are getting a little extra financial help. The Thai Cabinet has decided to extend low-interest soft loans until June 2023. The loans were created to help hotels address property repairs after many opted to close when customers dried up because the borders closed amid the pandemic. The announcement was…
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Thai tour group in Hong Kong disappointed after being stuck dining in hotel room
A 50-member Thai tour group to Hong Kong had a not-so-great experience after being forced to dine in hotel rooms due to current Covid-19 restrictions. The group was supposed to tour the city for four days and three nights as part of a new wave of tourists being welcomed. But, Hong Kong’s Covid measures have proved to be disappointing as…
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Thai FDA to go after misleading ads for nasal spray supposedly preventing Covid
Thailand’s FDA is going after misleading ads that make it appear that a nasal spray can prevent or heal Covid-19. The FDA is currently gathering evidence to take legal action. The FDA’s deputy secretary-general said today that Besuto Qlears nasal spray has an instruction for people to use it when they develop cold or flu-like symptoms. The deputy secretary-general said…
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Covid-19 vaccines for 18 million vulnerable people
The National Vaccine Committee is to provide Covid-19 vaccines to 18 million vulnerable people next year, including medical staff and health volunteers. The government has provided 143 million vaccine shots in the past two years, saving an estimated 500,000 lives. COVID-19 infections appear to be on the rise again, especially among those who are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated, while…
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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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India issues licenses for nasal Covid-19 vaccine
With Covid-19 under control to some extent, preventing transmission is the aim of next-generation vaccines. Many believe those vaccines will be delivered through a nasal inhaler. The mode of delivery could stop transmission by creating immunity where the virus enters the body. India already has a nasal vaccine, though its effectiveness is unknown, and it was designed in the US.…
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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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Covid vaccine for children 6 months to 4 years old
Children between the ages of six months and four years old can now get a Covid-19 vaccine. The Ministry of Public Health launched a new campaign to vaccinate young children using the Pfizer vaccine at a significantly lower dosage. The same vaccine has been used in the United States for young children in the same age range. The Thai Khu…
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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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Nasal spray to prevent Covid hits stores October 1
Hibiocy announced the release of their anti-Covid nasal spray, set to hit the shelves on October 1. The spray is a homegrown invention, developed in Thailand by medical researchers at the faculty of medicine at Chulalongkorn University. The design blocks Covid from entering the body through the nose. The company producing it is a subsidiary of Rojukiss International, and its…
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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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Thailand lifts ban on foreigners with Covid from visiting
Got Covid? Thailand is now saying feel free to come after a new provision has unbarred those with the virus from entering the Kingdom. The Cabinet moved forward with the decision to allow foreign visitors with the virus to enter Thailand while removing the virus from a list of forbidden diseases in foreign visitors. Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek says…
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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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Bangkok woman stabs husband to death after a few days isolating in the same room
A woman stabbed her husband to death this morning in Bangkok. The couple were both infected with Covid-19, living in a house of five, and had been isolating in the same room for a few days. Officers from Udom Suk Police Station received a report at 6.57am today that a woman had killed her husband at their home in the…
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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 locks down 21 million people in Chengdu
The city of Chengdu in China, home to over 21 million people, will go into lockdown at 6pm today to control another Covid-19 outbreak. The country’s President Xi Jinping has committed to a ‘Covid Zero’ approach, despite the detrimental economic effects of lockdowns. Residents of the capital of Sichuan province must stay home at all times, except for mandatory Covid…
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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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