Bangkok News
Bangkok news, politics, business, crime, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s capital. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Bangkok news source.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Monarchy supporters claim protesters weaponising Covid-19
Pro-monarchy groups have requested military protection against a protest planned for Saturday, going so far as to claim protest organisers are weaponising Covid-19. The Centre of the People for the Protection of Monarchy submitted a petition today requesting military intervention from Army Chief General Narongpan Jittkaewtae in protecting the monarchy against protesters. The Free Youth movement is planning a large…
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Bangkok closure order extended until August 31
Numerous businesses and venues in Bangkok will be closed at least until the end of the month. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration extended its closure order on non-essential businesses, places and venues until August 31. The closure order is in addition to the disease control measures set by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Under the Emergency Decree, provincial governments can…
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Vaccine updates for expats; hospital extends hours to accelerate vaccinations
In an effort to accelerate the rollout of vaccines and prevent overcrowding at inculcation centres, MedPark Hospital in Bangkok is opening up vaccination appointments after business hours until August 9 as part of its “Going the Extra Mile, Extra Hours” campaign. The extended hours are from 6pm to 10pm. MedPark Hospital is participating in the ThailandIntervac project by the Ministry…
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Ban on mass gatherings published in Royal Gazette ahead of anti-government protests this weekend
A new order has been published in the Royal Gazette banning all mass gatherings, including rallies, protests, and assemblies. The order was published last night, ahead of planned anti-government demonstrations in Bangkok this weekend. The order is being implemented under the Emergency Decree, which has now been extended 13 times since its introduction in March 2020. According to a Pattaya…
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Bangkok Train Market official says they will reopen
The Thaiger recently wrote that Bangkok’s Train Market/Ratchada Night Market was possibly closing for good. However, now, a member of the management team for the market says the closure is only temporary and that it will reopen as soon as conditions allow it to do so. “We had to close because of the situation right now, and we will announce…
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August vaccination plan: 80% of Bangkok residents; open to general public, expats
Thailand has opened its mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign to the general public who are at least 18 years old, including foreign residents. Priority is still given to those who are 60 and above, and those who have one of the specified underlying conditions that puts them at risk of severe infection if they were to contract Covid-19. By the end…
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Man arrested for allegedly robbing 7-Eleven stores in Bangkok to pay off gambling debt
A man was arrested for allegedly robbing 7-Eleven stores in Bangkok because he needed to pay off the debts from the money he had lost from gambling. He apparently painted his face to hide his identity and used a pocket knife to threaten the cashiers. The 30 year old man, identified as Sugipri, allegedly robbed two of the 7-Eleven convenience…
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Protestors fill Bangkok streets to protest Prayut, many protest leaders present
Yesterday, a multitude of pro-democracy protesters sat in their cars and motorbikes gathered at Bangkok’s Democracy Monument demanding Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha resign. The “car mob” was full of pro-democracy leaders and anti-establishment groups, like Nattawut Saikua, former secretary general of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship/Red Shirt movement. As well as other protest leaders, such as Ratsadon leaders…
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Covid UPDATE: 18,912 infections, provincial totals
Today the Public Health department has announced 18,912 new infections and 178 Covid-related deaths for the past 24 hours around Thailand. There were 810 cases from Thai prisons. Today’s totals are a new record for daily cases since the start of the pandemic. Here are today’s provincial totals for the past 24 hours… • 10,678 patients were released from medical…
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Bangkok volunteer group “Sai Mai Will Survive” overwhelmed with calls
Covid infected people in Bangkok’s Sai Mai district are reportedly desperate for help. A volunteer group, “Sai Mai Will Survive”, which assists the area, is being inundated with calls for assistance. The group gets around 100 calls a day asking for assistance. Sai Mai Will Survive was established during the first wave of Covid in Thailand. At that time, the…
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CCSA considers extending restrictions in “dark red” zones for another 14 days
With Covid-19 cases hitting record highs, despite the strict disease control measures in place, the Thai government is considering extending the current order in the 13 “dark red” provinces, including Bangkok, for another two weeks. Yesterday, Thailand had hit record highs of both daily Covid cases and fatalities with 17,669 new cases and 165 coronavirus-related deaths. The order imposing nightly…
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Bangkok Bang Sue scam under investigation, 7 volunteers and counting to be questioned
7 Bangkok Bang Sue Grand Station volunteers are currently under investigation for a suspected scam. However, Amnat Traipot, the commander of the railway police said today that even more people are suspected of being involved with the scam. The Bang Sue scam was reported to the police yesterday by officials from the Department of Medical Services. Reportedly, the volunteers would…
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Sleeper trains in Bangkok to become isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients
Sleeper trains in Bangkok are being converted into isolation facilities for Covid-19 patients who are waiting for a hospital bed to become available. With the surge of Covid-19 cases, today hitting a record high of 17,669 new cases, hospitals in Bangkok, the epicentre of infections, have run low on beds to treat patients infected with the coronavirus. At Bang Sue…
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Tuesday Covid Update: 14,150 new cases; provincial totals
CAPTION: Bang Sue railway station yesterday, the main vaccination centre in Bangkok. The photographer said that it was “chaos”. PHOTO: Facebook/Akbar Senior Motani 14,150 new Covid-19 cases were reported today by the CCSA this morning, raising the total since the start of the pandemic last year to 526,828. The latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 infections, first recorded in…
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Bang Sue walk-in vaccinations for elderly expats to end Saturday
Walk-in vaccination services for elderly expats at Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grand Station is ending on Saturday. The government is preparing to roll out the next phase in its Covid-19 immunisation plan. Starting Sunday, August 1, registration in Bangkok will open up to those 18 and older, but there will be no walk-in services. Until Saturday, foreign residents who are 75…
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Peaceful pro-democracy protests in Bangkok by Taloo-Fah
Peaceful protesters gathered in Bangkok earlier today for pro-democracy demonstrations and a Buddhist Lent ceremony as well. The protests were organised by the pro-democracy group Taloo-Fah and their leader Jatupat “Pai Dao Din” Boonpattararaksa hosted the peaceful event. The Taloo-Fah organised smaller groups around Bangkok in areas like Ratchaprasong intersection and Pathumwan, where they held a candle-making ceremony, a tradition…
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“Withhold Intubation” for certain older Thammasat Hospital patients
Thammasat University Hospital, overwhelmed with Covid-19 infections, has decided to implement a fatal “Withhold Intubation Rule” for patients over 75 years old with severe conditions like incurable cancer and AIDS. The hospital is experiencing an extreme shortage of ventilators and together critical life-saving equipment, and was forced to make the tough decision that will inevitably lead to unnecessary deaths. The…
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Bang Sue vaccination centre open for expats 60+, under must wait
Bangkok’s Central Vaccination Centre at Bang Sue Grand Station is open to expats 60 years old and up for their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a spokesperson for the CCSA reiterated today, adding that some younger foreigners had been showing up to the centre seeking a Covid-19 vaccine. Photos of the vaccination centre show the area packed with people…
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Online registration site up for interprovincial travel permission
Those travelling between provinces, especially from “dark red” zones under maximum control, are advised to fill out a registration form online for permission to travel. A QR code will then be scanned by relevant authorities at checkpoints. Click HERE for a registration form in English. Many interprovincial transportation services in “dark red” zones, including Bangkok and surrounding provinces, are suspended until…
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BMA plans to open 53 “community isolation centres”
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has announced their intentions to open 53 “community isolation centres”…early next month. The centres will be for people who Covid and are waiting to be admitted to a hospital, says governor Aswin Kwanmuang, today. It is reported that City Hall is hoping to open 23 centres “right away”. There will be 3,390 beds for people who…
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Parks, hair salons and other additional closures in Bangkok until August 2
More venues and businesses in Bangkok are ordered to close for the next couple of weeks to curb the spread of Covid-19. Parks, sports fields and courts, museums, hair salons, barbershops, and tattoo studios must close until August 2. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ordered the closures following a recommendation from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The order, in addition…
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2 people infected with Covid-19 rally in Bangkok to demand medical care
A small group of people, including 2 who claimed they were infected with Covid-19, held a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok yesterday evening, calling for the Thai government to provide proper medical treatment for coronavirus patients. 25 police officers dressed in personal protective equipment, or PPE suits, were called to monitor the rally. Just 7 people attended the…
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3 bodies found in Bangkok streets, 2 positive for Covid-19, result pending for third
Netizens have slammed Bangkok police, claiming that the bodies of 3 men who died separately on the streets of the capital were left uncollected for hours. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has called for understanding, insisting that the claims on social media are untrue. According to a Bangkok Post report, spokesman Piya Tawichai says 2 of the 3 bodies have tested…
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Firefighter in this month’s factory fire dies suddenly of Covid-19
One of the brave firefighters who battled the recent factory fire in Samut Prakan July 5 was diagnosed today with Covid-19, just hours before he died from the virus. Naruphon Wongyaem was among the teams that responded to the explosion at the Ming Dih Chemical Co factory just south of Bangkok in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district. After putting out…
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CCSA recommends closure of 10 more places and venues in “dark red” zones
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is recommending the closure of 10 more places and venues in “dark red” zones as additional measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. Provincial authorities in each of the 13 “dark red” zones, including Bangkok, can decide whether to follow the CCSA’s recommendation. The measures in “dark red” zones currently in place include a…
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Locked in a construction worker camp in Bangkok – Thailand’s hidden Covid tragedy | VIDEO
Friso Poldervaart and Greg Lange, founders of the Bangkok Community Help Foundation, spoke to The Thaiger this week about the critical problems emerging in some of the worker and construction camps. Some 80,000 people – mostly Burmese, Cambodian and Thai workers – have been isolated in these shanty towns, basically imprisoned. They are guarded by Thai police and army. Some…
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Police open murder investigation after worker’s body found underneath home
Police have opened a murder investigation after the remains of a 42 year old building contractor were found under a home he was doing construction on. The man’s face was severely injured and his skull cracked open, police say. The body had been stripped down to the underwear and wrapped in a curtain. The body was decaying and officers suspect…
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Motorbike taxis allegedly hiking up fares at Bangkok’s Bang Sue station
Yesterday, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the police, Damrongsak Kittipraphat, said motorcycle gangs have been offering people who are attempting to use Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grandstation’s parking lot rides at exorbitant prices. Damrongsak says the duplicitous drivers claimed the parking lot is full and then offered people rides at inflated rates. The commander says they have made multiple arrests pertaining to the…
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Calls mount to boycott Foodpanda following plans to fire rider/protester
Foodpanda is being excoriated today following the food delivery service’s announcement that it was going to fire an employee for attending a pro-democracy protest. Users and restaurants of the service say they will boycott the service. The boycott (or pandacott) come after the service said it planned to fire a rider who was photographed at a protest. The company says…
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Tear gas, rubber bullets deployed against anti-government protesters in Bangkok
Police in Bangkok resorted to using tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse anti-government protesters yesterday, after hundreds of people rallied in the capital. A report in the UK’s Guardian newspaper recounts how activists used cars and motorbikes to avoid spreading Covid-19. Yesterday’s protesters had 3 demands: the resignation of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, a reduction in the military and monarchy’s…
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