Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
-
Sponsored 9 most common health issues covered by insurance for expats in Thailand
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...
-
Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 75 deaths; new infections in all 77 provinces
A record high of 75 Covid-related deaths was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 2,462. An uptick of 7,058 new Covid-19 infections was recorded today with new cases in all of Thailand’s 77 provinces. The latest and most severe wave of the virus continues to rise due to the spread…
-
Laos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand
Covid-19 cases in Laos has spiked, reportedly due to migrant workers returning home from Thailand, bringing the virus with them. In Thailand’s latest wave of infections over the past several months, many of the workers had lost their jobs while others returned to their home country to flee from lockdown restrictions at construction camps and factories, primarily in Bangkok. Covid-19…
-
Pathum Thani governor donates 3 months’ salary to help residents during pandemic
The governor of Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, is donating 3 months of his salary to support the community as Covid-19 cases rise. An announcement was recently made on a Facebook page run by the provincial government saying governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum donated his salary to help Pathum Thani residents. A Covid-19 hotline has been set up to help those…
-
CCSA to consider travel restrictions, other disease control measures
Travel restrictions are likely to be imposed over the next few days. The Public Health Ministry is proposing stricter measures, including limits on interprovincial travel, to control the spread of the Covid-19 following the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is set to meet tomorrow morning and discuss disease control measures. Along with limits…
-
Pair arrested in Pattaya for allegedly running “romance scam”
More people have been arrested for involvement in an alleged “romance scam”. This time the suspects were busted in the Pattaya area. The man, Robinson Ibuka Ade, from Nigeria, and Thidarat Biraban, a Thai national, were arrested recently on charges of joining to commit fraud and importing forged data into a computer system. Police seized 148,00 baht and $2,000 US…
-
Machinist in Nonthaburi arrested for allegedly making, selling guns
Today, a factory machinist in Nonthaburi, a province north of Bangkok, was arrested for allegedly, illegally making, modifying, and selling guns out of a worker’s dormitory. Prajak Phoonphian, a 39 year old factory machinist was arrested early this morning after CSD police, acting on a warrant searched his dormitory at a lathe plant in the Pak Kret district in Nonthaburi.…
-
Pattaya school for the blind struggling, requests public’s help
Some students are learning online at their homes but they don’t have the basic tools they need to learn A Pattaya school for the blind is reportedly struggling under the Covid pandemic as tourists and visitors that usually assisted the school in their charity and other efforts are now scarce. The school says they need mobile phones and computers to…
-
UPDATE: PM calls for urgent meeting, expected to discuss “lockdown” measures
UPDATE: The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting set for 10am tomorrow will address the “worsening situation” in Thailand, according to spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the daily CCSA meeting in English. Natapanu says the media has been “predicting the results” of the meeting, but he assures the public that there will not be…
-
Man believes prostitute pickpocketed him in Pattaya
Last night, a German man lodged a complaint with police about his suspicion that a prostitute pickpocketed him. 68 year old Thomas Hatesaul alerted police at 11:30 pm that he was robbed on Soi 13/1 Pattaya Beach Road in Nongprue. He told police that he was walking by himself, to relax when he was approached by a woman. Thomas says…
-
“Mastermind” arrested for posing as doctor, “selling” vaccines
A man, and what some media reports are calling a “mastermind”, has been arrested for allegedly selling (or not selling) vaccines through a Line App. The man was apprehended yesterday in the central Thai province of Saraburi. Police arrested 26 year old Weerasak Suksamdang near the TPI Polene building. They charged Weerasak with fraud and computer crimes. The suspect denied…
-
Pattaya looks into September reopening despite uptick in Covid-19 infections
Despite the uptick in Covid-19 infections, Pattaya is planned to reopen to foreign arrivals, possibly in September, under a scheme similar to Phuket and the trio of islands off Surat Thani, where tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 can enter without undergoing a 14-day quarantine. Yesterday, Pattaya City Mayor Sonthaya Khunplume met with the deputy mayors and those in the…
-
Over 200,000 sign petition calling for mRNA vaccines
Over 200,000 people, including prominent Thai doctors and medical practitioners, have signed a petition demanding the government purchase more effective vaccines and administer them for free. A petition from the Mor Mai Thon (Doctors Won’t Tolerate It) group has been signed by 215,409 medical practitioners, calling on the government to purchase mRNA vaccines. The Bangkok Post reports that the campaign was run…
-
Lockdown not out of the question: CCSA
Will they, won’t they – it’s the question on everyone’s lips as Bangkok residents wait to hear if officials will lock down the capital in a bid to curb the spread of the virus. Natthapol Nakpanich from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has not ruled it out, saying the CCSA is prepared to consider all options as new cases…
-
Whispered but not proposed – could a lockdown be coming?
This week Thailand’s complicated relationship with Covid-19 finds the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration open to considering a lockdown. The CCSA indicated they would consider possible proposals from the Ministry of Public Health to stop the spread of Covid-19, up to and including a lockdown. National Security Council Secretary-General Natthapon Nakpanich clarified today that there are no official proposals currently,…
-
Phuket governor orders investigation into complaints of taxi drivers overcharging
Taxi fares charged from the Phuket International Airport are now being investigated by provincial authorities. The Phuket governor ordered the probe after criticism over a Facebook post asking if the 900 baht fare from the airport, quoted by a hotel in Patong, seemed too expensive. Taxi prices in Phuket are notoriously high compared to other provinces. On the social media…
-
Vaccine Update: With limited doses, Thai government focuses on “at-risk” groups
With limited doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, along with the rapid spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant, the Thai government’s mass immunisation campaign will first focus on using those doses to inculcate “at-risk” groups, starting with those in Bangkok, the epicentre of the latest wave. This month’s order of AstraZeneca vaccine doses was cut in half from 10 million to…
-
Wednesday Covid-19 Update: 6,519 new cases; provincial totals
6,519 new Covid-19 cases and 54 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 301,172 total cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus has accounted for 272,309 of those infections. Thailand now has 67,614 active Covid-19 cases. Of the patients being…
-
Bangkok doctor in critical condition after being stabbed by patient, blood donations needed
A doctor at a Bangkok hospital is in critical condition after she was stabbed in the chest by a psychiatric patient. B positive blood donations are urgently needed to treat the Chulalongkorn Hospital doctor. Donations can be made directly at the hospital or through the Thai Red Cross Society. Police say a 24 year old psychiatric patient a the hospital…
-
Phuket “Sandbox” traveller infected with Covid-19, tour group now in quarantine
A man who arrived in Thailand under the Phuket “Sandbox” reopening scheme has tested positive for Covid-19. The man is the first so-called “Sandboxer” to test positive for the virus since the island’s reopening last week under the scheme which allows travellers from overseas, who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, to enter the island province without undergoing quarantine. A Covid-19…
-
Phuket Tourist Police announce taxi fares, ask travellers to report rip-offs
Following criticism and confusion over the notoriously high taxi prices in Phuket, particularly relating to those arriving in Thailand under the “Sandbox” reopening scheme, the Phuket Tourist Police have announced the maximum taxi fares from the Phuket International Airport to popular destinations on the island province. For a ride in a 4-seater taxi from the airport, the driver can charge…
-
Calls for factories to be moved out of residential areas after blaze at plastics plant
The Federation of Thai Industries is calling on the government to move factories away from residential neighbourhoods, following the devastating blaze in Samut Prakan, outside Bangkok. According to a Bangkok Post report, FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree suggests factory owners could be given incentives to relocate, such as a reduction in corporate income tax and land tax. “Factory relocation requires support…
-
More than 80,000 people affected by chemical factory fire in Samut Prakan
The massive fire at the chemical factory on the outskirts of Bangkok, billowing toxic gas into the air, affected around 80,000 people. An explosion at the Ming Dih Chemical polystyrene factory in Samut Prakan, just outside the capital, led to a chemical fire that took more than 25 hours to put out. Those in Bangkok could see the smoke. A…
-
Cabinet approves Pfizer purchase, plus another 10.9 million Sinovac doses
The Thai Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the purchase of 20 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, along with another 10.9 million doses of Sinovac. According to a Bangkok Post report, the PM’s spokesman Anucha Burapachasri says the budget for the Sinovac purchase would come from the executive decree loan and would not exceed 6.1 billion baht. The…
-
Growing calls for healthcare workers to get Pfizer booster
A leaked document, which details the minutes of a meeting in which officials discussed how they would allocate the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, has caused uproar and led to calls for healthcare workers to be prioritised. The Bangkok Post reports that the meeting took place on June 30 and discussed the administration of 2 batches of the Pfizer vaccine. The first…
-
Let The Thaiger take care of your property insurance needs
Part of owning any type of property is the need to secure it with insurance. At The Thaiger, we are standing by to help you make sure your property and valuables are covered in the case of any damages. With property insurance, you can feel a sense of relief as an owner or renter, that the place you call home…
-
Entry registration under “Samui Plus” reopening planned to open this week
The registration for entering Thailand under the slated “Samui Plus” reopening scheme is planned to open this week. Similar to the Phuket “Sandbox,” the programme will allow foreign tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 to travel to the trio of islands in the Gulf of Thailand off the Surat Thani coast. Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan, and Koh Tao are…
-
Embassy of Switzerland in Thailand helps Swiss expats get vaccinated
The Embassy of Switzerland in Bangkok announced that it has secured AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine appointments for 180 Swiss citizens living in Thailand who are at least 55 years old, or who have underlying health conditions. The embassy says Swiss expats living in other provinces in Thailand can also register for a vaccine, but they must travel to Bangkok and be…
-
LATEST: Engineers believe Samut Prakan fire caused by chemical leak
In a press conference today, the Council of Engineers of Thailand said that a chemical leak is probably the cause of Samut Prakan plastic factory fire that was just put out today after blazing for over 25 hours. A chemic engineering professor, Anchaleeporn Waritswat Lothongkum says the leak could be of the styrene monomer or pentane. The COE says that…
-
Government shifts focus in vaccine rollout after rise of elderly Covid patient deaths
With the rise of Covid-related deaths involving elderly patients, the Thai government has revised its plan for the next stages of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign to focus first on those in Bangkok who are at a high risk of severe infection if they contract the coronavirus. Those who are at least 60 years old or who have certain underlying…
-
Tuesday Covid Update: 5,420 new cases; provincial totals
Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 5,420 new cases and 57 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 294,653 and the Covid death toll to 2,333. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 265,790 of the total confirmed…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.