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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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World’s most travel-friendly passport list – 2021
The Henley Passport Index, which rates which passports are the most travel-friendly, has just released the list for 2021, with Japan once again at the top of the list. But the Index noted that this year’s international travel freedom comparison is mostly theoretical as the current Covid-19 situation continues to limit most international travel. With a Japanese passport, travellers can…
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Pro-democracy leader “Penguin” has bail application rejected – again
The Criminal Court in Bangkok has once again rejected a bail application from anti-government activist, Parit Chiwarak, aka, “Penguin”. The leader of the pro-democracy Ratsadon group had his application refused yesterday, on the basis that there was no reason to overturn previous decisions made by the Criminal and Appeals courts. The bail application had been lodged by Parit’s mother, Sureerat…
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Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia – surprise spikes in Covid infections
For Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, the Covid situation was ‘under control’. Everything was going fine and the countries were mulling re-opening borders to general travel. Well everything was going fine, until it wasn’t. In just 3 bewildering weeks, Thailand has gone from ‘let’s re-open Phuket’ to setting up thousands of field hospital beds. The daily infection totals over the past…
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1 person dead, thousands forced to flee as “super typhoon” strikes the Philippines
Super typhoon Surigae has hit close to coastal areas in the eastern provinces of the Philippines, with 1 person killed and tens of thousands forced to evacuate. It’s understood the deceased person is a 79 year old man, who was struck by a falling coconut tree and sustained a severe head injury. Over 109,000 people have been forced to flee…
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Thanathorn suggests 4 changes to government’s handling of pandemic
The former leader of a now-disbanded opposition party has suggested 4 ways the government could improve its handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand. Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, former leader of the Future Forward Party, and now chairman of the Progressive Movement, has posted his suggestions on the group’s Facebook page. According to a Bangkok Post report, the suggestions relate to the…
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Asymptomatic Covid patients may be allowed to self-isolate at home
Thailand’s Health Ministry says asymptomatic Covid-19 patients may be allowed to recover at home, in order to ensure hospital beds can be kept for seriously ill patients. The ministry says it’s preparing a “recover at home” plan, but insists it is not being implemented for the time being as there are currently enough beds available. Just over a week ago,…
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Thai airlines facing another setback
With more trouble on the horizon for Thailand’s airlines, they’re now pressuring the Government to step up the vaccination push. Adding to their recent woes, guidelines were released by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, where all domestic flights scheduled between 11 pm and 4 am are now suspended, in-flight services have been cancelled for now and, well, passenger bookings…
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Phuket requires Covid paperwork to enter from red zone provinces from Wednesday (April 21)
From this Wednesday Phuket joins other provinces after additional entry restrictions were announced today by the Phuket Governor. If you’re flying into Phuket you’ll need either a certificate of proof that you’ve had both doses of an approved Covid-19 vaccine, a Covid-19-free certificate, not older than 72 hours, or you’ll have to do a Rapid Covid Test at a cost of…
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Current list of restrictions for provinces around Thailand
The situation continues to be quite fluid. But if you need to travel at this time, here are the latest restrictions in the red and orange zone provinces. If you planning on travelling, you need to get acquainted with the latest restrictions in your destination province, and you should check if you need additional travel documents. The could change at…
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Thailand’s 3rd wave wreaks havoc on the Tourism Restart Plan – where are we now?
OPINION by Andrew J Wood Thailand Ministers ponder the next steps to re-start it’s massive tourism industry, initially set for July 1, 2021 in Phuket. The plan may need to be overhauled as Phuket struggles to immunise the whole island in the wake of the third wave of hotspots. Phuket, prior to the third wave had already secured more than…
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No room at the inn – Bangkok hospitals turning away people seeking Covid tests
Today’s drop in newly reported infections by the CCSA has dampened Thai’s desire for a Covid test in and around Bangkok. Now, many hospitals around the city are restricting the numbers of patients tested. And if you want to be tested, Thai or foreigner, you better be ready to pay for it. Thai Enquirer is reporting that at least 3…
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Thailand provincial figures for Monday’s Covid cases
The NBT has published an infographic including all the provincial data on new Covid infections over the past 24 hours in Thailand. Note that some of the data is released by the provinces one day but not reported by the CCSA as a national tally until the following day. Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Chon Buri, again, lead the way with…
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Covid UPDATE: 1,390 new infections, 3 new deaths
Thailand’s CCSA has reported a total of 1,390 new Covid infections today, tallied from Thailand’s 77 provinces in the past 24 hours. The tally is a welcome drop in new case reports after the last 5 days’ record levels of new infections. Yesterday there were 1,767 new infections reported by the CCSA. 3 more people have died of Covid-related illnesses, 14,851…
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Hospital in north-east suspends non-urgent treatment after patient dies of Covid-19
A hospital in the north-eastern province of Buriram has temporarily closed for non-urgent treatment after a patient died from complications arising from Covid-19. Prakhon Chai Hospital has announced the closure on its Facebook page, saying all non-urgent treatment is suspended for 2 days, to allow for deep cleaning and disinfecting of several wards. All medical staff who had contact with…
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Australia and New Zealand welcome the first passengers in the southern travel bubble
Whilst travel bubbles remain a bureaucratic nightmare for most SE Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand have opened their first green lanes since April last year, nearly 400 days. For the two countries it allows family and friends to re-unite. For New Zealand it opens the gates for its largest chunk of tourists. In 2019 some 1.5 million tourists visited New Zealand…
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Thai Health Ministry insists Chinese vaccine is effective, despite social media claims
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry insists the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac, is effective in protecting recipients against the virus. Dr. Supakit Sirilak from the Department of Medical Science was responding to a claim on social media from a man who says he took a rapid test after receiving the CoronaVac vaccine and it showed he’d developed no immunity…
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Bitcoin sheds nearly 15% of its ‘value’ in one day
After a meteoric, and probably unsustainable rise and rise over the past 12 months, Bitcoin has suffered a short and sharp mini-crash over the weekend, dropping nearly 15% of its value in less than an hour – a stark warning of the cryptocurrency’s unpredictable volatility. Bitcoin dropped in ‘value’ from about US$59,000 to US$51,000 before rebounding. Ethereum and Dogecoin also…
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Thai government urges people to work from home where possible
The government is calling on all employers whose staff can work from home to implement such measures immediately, as new Covid-19 infections hit another record high. Yesterday, the Kingdom reported 1,767 new infections and 2 additional deaths, taking the death toll to 101. There are 28 patients on ventilators. According to a Bangkok Post report, Taweesilp Visanuyothin from the Centre for…
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Teen crashes motorbike into parked car while looking at phone
A teen girl has crashed and ended up trapped under her motorbike early yesterday morning after using her mobile phone while driving. The accident occurred around 3:30am on Jomtien Second Road in South Pattaya. The 14 year old girl was driving home from what she described as a private engagement when she looked down to check her mobile phone. Distracted,…
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Man missing several days found dead in temple well
The search is over for a man missing for several days when his body was discovered yesterday at the bottom of a well this morning. Surachet Kaenchan, a 37 year old man, had been missing for 4 or 5 days. He was from the Moo 13 village of the Muang district of Nakhom Phanom, a district on the Laos border…
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UPDATED: 1.1 million baht of gold necklaces stolen in Hat Yai
UPDATE: A man is now in custody for the robbery of 1.1 million baht worth of gold necklaces in Hat Yai yesterday morning. Pvt Ukrit Thongsomsri, a 24 year old naval deserter from the Songkla naval bank was identified and taken into custody at a house in tambon Khuan Lang in Hat Yai. The man allegedly confessed and showed police…
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Owner of deadly pit bull threatens online commenters
Things went from bad to worse to even worse in the story The Thaiger has been following of the man attacked by his pit bull outside Pattaya last week. After being rescued from the attack, the man died the next day from neck bites and loss of blood. Now his widow is lashing out at the wave of online attacks…
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Covid UPDATE: 1,767 new infections for Sunday. Provincial totals.
1,767 new Covid infections were reported this morning, the highest ever daily report of new cases in Thailand. The spokesperson for the CCSA also reported that there were also 128 people in serious condition, with 28 people on ventilators. 608,521 people have now received at least their first dose of Covid vaccine. Bangkok continues to lead the way in the…
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Should International IB schools in Thailand be conducting on-site exams at this time?
A student has sent The Thaiger this email addressing their concerns about the continuation of exams in the current situation. The government have closed down all schools and any further teaching needs to be online. Except, it appears, for some international schools which seem intent on going ahead with on-site exams. What do you think about this person’s letter? The…
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Burmese prisoners granted amnesty on first day of Myanmar’s New Year
Over 23,000 Burmese prisoners and student political activists are enjoying freedom after being released yesterday in an amnesty on the first day of the country’s Lunar New Year celebrations. The state-owned MRTV reported that 23,407 prisoners were released under sections of a penal code. In the Yangon region alone, over 800 prisoners were released, while Mandalay saw around 2,800 released from…
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Myanmar junta leader to attend ASEAN summit, activists appalled
Myanmar’s junta or military leader, Min Aung Hlaing, is expected to attend an ASEAN summit in Jakarta where representatives of the bloc are expected to discuss Myanmar’s situation. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Tanee Sangrat, made the announcement. “I can confirm that the Brunei Chair has proposed the date April 24 with the venue at the Secretariat in Jakarta. Several leaders…
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Siam Bioscience says July due date of locally-produced AstraZeneca vaccine still feasible
Siam Bioscience Co. says the July due date for delivering its locally-produced Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccines is still feasible. The company is currently sending vaccine samples to laboratories in Europe and the US for quality inspections. If they are approved, then the samples will be sent to AstraZeneca for final inspections. After that, the vaccines will be registered with Thailand’s Food…
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New restrictions for domestic flights effective along with other nationwide restrictions today
Today, along with tightened restrictions across Thailand, the Civil Aviation Authority is setting new guidelines for domestic flights in an effort to curb the spread of the nation’s so-called 3rd wave of Covid-19. The changes, effective today, include limiting flights by airlines between 11pm to 4am. As most businesses in red zone provinces are required to close during those times,…
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Grim milestone: 3 million Covid-19 deaths worldwide
Today marks a grim milestone as the Covid-19 pandemic officially crosses 3 million deaths around the world, with outbreaks still surging in various parts of the world. Over a year into the pandemic, and we are currently seeing over 700,000 new infections and 12,000 deaths per day, with Brazil, India, and France facing growing crises. The 3 million figure reflects…
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Songkran’s 7 dangerous days: 2,365 road accidents, 277 deaths
We’ve finally reached the end of the Songkran holiday “7 dangerous days”, where over 2,300 road accidents resulted in 2,357 injuries and 277 deaths. Every year Thai officials brace for the surge in holiday travel that brings a surge in accidents as well, but the silver lining of Covid-19 is the reduction in accidents. This year saw a drop of…
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