Bangkok News
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Thai police to focus on busting house parties and other social gatherings
Police are now focusing on busting house parties and other social gatherings in an effort to combat the spread of Covid-19. With large parties and nightclub hopping setting off a new wave of the coronavirus, with the epicentre in nightlife district in Bangkok’s Thong Lor area, the Royal Thai Police are now ordered to delay its crackdown drunk driving to…
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Group rallies outside US Embassy in Bangkok, calls for America to stop interfering in Thai politics
In the midst of a pro-democracy movement in Thailand, some claim the United States government is influencing Thai politics and even fueling the divide between political parties, particularly those who support the Thai monarchy and the younger activists who are pushing for democracy and monarchy reform. Yesterday, a group rallied outside the US Embassy in Bangkok calling on the American…
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74 Covid patients who refused to go to field hospitals may face prosecution
Thailand’s Health Ministry says it may prosecute a number of Covid-19 patients who refused to be treated at field hospitals. It’s understood the 74 patients, most of whom are from so-called “hi so” families in Bangkok, told officials that a stay in a field hospital would be “inconvenient”. Instead, deputy public health minister Sathit Pitutecha says the patients decided to…
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More restrictions announced for Nonthaburi, Surat Thani and Ayutthaya
• Nonthaburi, directly to Bangkok’s north and west along the Chao Phraya River, has now had additional restrictions added to the provincial measures imposed over the weekend. The new measures are effective from today and will apply until further notice. Amulet trading venues and all public swimming pools, including including the community areas in housing estates and condo, must remain closed.…
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Website, self-quarantine for post-Songkran Bangkok travellers
Bangkok is taking proactive steps to deal with the likely surge of Covid-19 cases after the Songkran holiday, asking those returning to Bangkok to submit their timelines online and self-quarantine 14 days. Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang is urging all people entering Bangkok to visit a website where they can perform a self-evaluation to assess their Covid-19 risk. The website, bkkcovid19.bangkok.go.th,…
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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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Bangkok is now a red zone. Government gives people today to get back from Songkran break.
…. before the next round of restrictions come into force at midnight tonight. Bangkok and 17 other Thai provinces (there are 77 in total) are now declared maximum control areas. These “red zones” are the feature of the Thai Government’s new restrictions to get a grip on its rising Covid infection numbers since the start of April. The restrictions will last for…
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At-risk Social Security members can get free Covid tests from tomorrow in Bangkok
At-risk members of Thailand’s Social Security scheme can get free Covid-19 tests in Bangkok starting tomorrow. The Ministry of Labour will provide the tests, covering members under Sections 33, 39, and 40 of the Social Security Act. The programme will be held at the Bangkok Youth Centre (Thai-Japan) in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district. The ministry expects to test up to…
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Bangkok sees 7.87 million vehicles over Songkran holiday
Covid-19 and its third wave be damned, close to 8 million vehicles travelled in and out of Bangkok so far during this year’s Songkran festival holiday period. Thailand’s Ministry of Transport released figures yesterday on the yearly holiday and revealed that more than 7.87 million cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes hit the roads and travelled into and out of Bangkok…
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Covid UPDATE: Wednesday’s new infections rise to 1,335 people, 36 people in “serious condition”
Thailand’s CCSA has announced 1,335 new infections today, after a slight dip in the 10 day surge yesterday. 1,326 of those new infections are local, not imported, and mostly from Bangkok. Today’s tally takes the national total to 35,910 since January 2020 when the first case outside China was detected in Thailand on January 13. The new infections have mostly…
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Bangkok police tracking down owners of Thong Lor clubs where virus resurfaced
Police in Bangkok are on the hunt for the owners of 2 nightclubs considered ground zero for a third wave of Covid-19 currently spreading around the country. The Krystal Club and Emerald Thonglor 13, in the capital’s fashionable Thonglor district, are currently closed, with the managers of both sentenced to 2 months’ imprisonment. However, officials are now attempting to track…
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2 police officers transferred over Covid cluster linked to Bangkok nightlife
2 senior police officers in Bangkok’s fashionable Thonglor district have been transferred pending an investigation into a Covid-19 cluster linked to pubs and clubs in the area. According to Thai PBS World, the superintendent of Thonglor police station, Duangchote Suwancharas, and the inspector for suppression affairs, Thanakorn Ngamyen, were re-assigned to the operations centre of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s 5th…
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Investigations of Covid-19 infected elite rule-breakers demanded
Investigations are being demanded by a corruption watchdog into Thai politicians infected with Covid-19 after allegedly attending venues in the Thong Lor entertainment venues in Bangkok that have now emerged as the ground zero for the Coronavirus third wave in the Kingdom. The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand are being asked to investigate the latest Covid-19 outbreak, noting in a Facebook…
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Tourism officials slash Songkran travel expectations by half
The TAT, ever the optimists regarding anything tourism related, even domestic tourism, predict that the Bangkok clusters that have emerged in the week before the Songkran break could reduce traffic and spending by up to half. Today the CCSA is reporting 789 new infections and one additional death. 522 were local infections, mostly walk-ins to Bangkok hospitals, 259 were discovered through…
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Attendance on the wane for Thai democracy protests
While protesters against the Thai government are continuing as they have for endless months, attendance is lessening in the face of crackdowns, coups and Covid-19. The throngs of 10,000 plus protesters, mostly energetic youth, that waved The Hunger Games 3 finger salute and demanded change in Thailand last summer have thinned to a few thousand or less these days. The…
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VIP clubs may be spreading Covid-19 from rich to poor
A third Covid-19 wave surging through Thailand is spreading through entertainment centres, including high-end VIP clubs rumoured to be popular with elite government officials. 559 Covid-19 infections and 1 death were reported today and the outbreak, which began in bars and clubs in the Thong Lor area of Bangkok among other nightlife hotspots, is surging, reaching 20 provinces throughout Thailand.…
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MP claims 2 Cabinet ministers visited Covid-cluster venue in Thong Lor
With a third of the Thai Cabinet in isolation after coming in close contact with Covid-19, a MP claims 2 Cabinet ministers went to a nightlife venue in Bangkok’s Thong Lor where a cluster of Covid-19 infections have been reported. The chair of the House committee on legal affairs, justice and human rights, Sira Jenjaka, says he has photo evidence…
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Around 7,000 people in Bangkok have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19
Only 7,121 residents in Bangkok have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 since the Thai government rolled out its immunisation campaign in late-February, according to a report from Nation Thailand. Bangkok has more than 10 million residents. To reach herd immunity against Covid-19, 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated. More than 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been…
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12 hospitals in Bangkok stop Covid-19 testing due to limited beds for infected patients
So far, around 12 hospitals in Bangkok have stopped Covid-19 testing, due to either a shortage of supplies or not enough beds to admit patients if they test positive for the virus. While media reports say the hospitals have stopped testing due to a lack of supplies, a spokesperson for the CCSA the reason many private hospitals in Thailand are…
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UPDATE: Thai PM orders closure of bars and clubs in 41 provinces
UPDATE: The order to close bars and nightlife venues in 41 provinces will go into effect at midnight, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced this afternoon. Under emergency measures, the local governments in the other 36 provinces have the power to set restrictions and close venues if needed to control the Covid-19 situation. Original story… The order to close…
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No social distancing as hundreds queue for free Covid testing in Bangkok
Bangkok residents who queued for hours for Covid-19 testing yesterday have expressed concern that the event in the Thonglor area could end up being a super-spreader. Coconuts reports that over 1,000 people crowded into the area in front of the Barbarbar pub at Arena 10. The free testing comes as officials confirm over 500 infections linked to nightlife in the…
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Covid-19 outbreak in Bangkok could take months to control, health official says
It could take more than 2 months to control the recent Covid-19 outbreak in Bangkok which is concentrated around bars and nightclubs in Thong Lor. Health officials suspect the faster-spreading UK variant of the virus has spread at the bars and entertainment venues in Bangkok. The outbreak has reached around 20 provinces. While it may take 1 to 2 months…
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10 field hospitals being set up as Bangkok hospitals expected to run out of beds
The Thai military is to set up 10 field hospitals in Bangkok, amid fears that medical facilities in the capital are running out of beds. Between them, the field hospitals are expected to provide an additional 3,000 beds. As infections continue to rise in Bangkok, a number of hospitals have confirmed they are no longer offering Covid-19 tests, amid speculation…
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Songkran fully cancelled in Bangkok amid Covid-19 outbreaks
All Songkran festival activities throughout every district of the Bangkok province have been officially cancelled to prevent more outbreaks of Covid-19. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration announced this difficult decision today in light of a rise in Coronavirus infection clusters around the country. Many of these outbreaks have been directly linked to entertainment venues, nightclubs and bars, including in Bangkok’s Thong…
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UPDATE: 405 new Covid-19 cases, CCSA considers closing nightlife venues across Thailand
In what a spokesperson calls a “whopping number” of Covid-19 infections in the past few months, 405 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Many of the infections are linked to nightlife venues primarily in Bangkok among a young adult population in their 20s and 30s, according to deputy spokesperson for the Ministry…
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Thai Health Minister pictured without mask, sitting next to infected Transport Minister
Do as I say, not as I do… Thailand’s Public Health Minister has been caught without a face mask while sitting next to a Cabinet minister who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Anutin Charnvirakul, previously considered an enthusiastic proponent of mask-wearing, sat next to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob while attending a merit-making event on Tuesday. Saksayam tested positive for Covid-19…
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Bangkok prepares to open field hospital as officials warn of a rapid rise in infections
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is considering opening a field hospital in preparation for a rapid rise in Covid-19 infections that could overwhelm medical facilities in the capital. Thai PBS World reports that the PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has instructed the BMA and the Ministry of Interior to arrange space in which a field hospital could be set up. The PM says…
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UK variant arrives in Thailand, top virologist warns against unnecessary Songkran travel
“Whatever will be, will be. The reason is, it’s a matter that involves a huge number of people. The government will have to try to cope with that later.” – Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. A prominent Thai virologist has confirmed that the so-called UK Covid-19 variant, aka B117, is behind the latest cluster of infections detected at Bangkok nightlife venues,…
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Top doctors say Thong Lor cluster might be the UK Covid-19 variant
The UK variant of Covid-19 might be the strain of the virus that broke out at nightclubs and bars in Bangkok’s Thong Lor area, according to 2 top doctors in Thailand. The B117 variant is said to be faster-spreading – about 1.7 times more contagious than the original strain. Doctors suspect the mutated strain led to the outbreak at the…
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Covid-19 update: Spike in cases linked to nightlife in Bangkok and Phuket
Bar and club hopping has led to numerous clusters of Covid-19 infections and a spike in the number of daily infections in Thailand. 334 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Most of the cases are in Bangkok. The steep rise in new infections comes just days before the mass migration of…
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