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 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....
-
CCSA: 120 day reopening will proceed with conditions
If you believed that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s declaration that Thailand will reopen in 120 days no matter what was set in stone, you don’t know much about Thailand. While the plan is still on, The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration held a meeting yesterday where they watered down the exuberant international tourism restart announcement with conditions and exceptions for the…
-
Sandbox latest, CCSA says all regions reopening must reach 70% local vaccination
Discussions about re-opening Thailand have spread beyond Phuket with the latest decisions from the CCSA. Meanwhile, Phuket’s Sandbox re-opening date of July 1 looms. The main narrative out of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is the need for regions or provinces, slated for re-opening to vaccinated overseas travellers, to have vaccinated 70% of their resident population before they can…
-
Covid UPDATE Saturday: 3,667 new infections and 32 deaths
The trend of new Covid infection continues to steadily rise. Saturday’s totals are 32 new Covid-related deaths and 3,667 cases. 435 of today’s announced cases are from Thai prisons. Provincial totals will be available early afternoon on The Thaiger as usual. In other Covid-related news today… • The Department of Land Transport is resuming driving tests, issuing and renewing licences…
-
Thamanat elected to role of head ‘fixer’ in Palang Pracharat party
Thamanat Prompow, still the Thai deputy agricultural minister, now has a firm grasp of the reigns of the ruling Palang Pracharat Party, the leading coalition party of the Thai government. Thamanat’s stay in an Australian prison for 4 years of a 6 year sentence on heroin trafficking charges back in the 90s, has not swayed his fellow MPs in electing…
-
Government plans 10 million vaccines for July
As vaccinations are finally picking up around much of Thailand, some areas are reporting shortages of vaccines, but the government announced plans to administer 10 million vaccines in July and every month thereafter. A senior spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said that the vaccines will be distributed with a priority focus on Bangkok and making sure 70%…
-
1 million AstraZeneca doses arrive, Anutin says “more” on the way
1 million more AstraZeneca doses arrived in Thailand today. They were delivered to Thailand’s Public Health Ministry and are set to be distributed throughout the country today. Or tomorrow. Says the Anutin, the Public Health Minister. Anutin says the vaccines will be sent every week. This comes from an agreement the ministry has with the company. Anutin did not provide…
-
Colour-coded zoning revised, restrictions to ease nationwide
Disease control restrictions are easing nationwide and the colour-coded zoning was recently revised by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The new regulations will go into effect on Monday. Nationwide, all entertainment and nightlife venues including bars, pubs and nightclubs must remain closed. Face masks are still required to be worn in public. All zones have limits on the number…
-
Department of Land Transport will reopen, issue licenses
After suspending services on April 16th due to the third wave outbreak of Covid-19, the Department of Land Transport has announced they will reopen next week. The agency will restart renewing driving licenses in issuing new licenses, as well as giving driving tests. Services are set to resume all across the country at all DLT offices on June 21, according…
-
Worker falls off roof in Chon Buri, sustains multiple injuries
Last night, a worker suffered multiple injuries after falling off an incomplete factory roof. The tumble happened in Bang Lamung, a district in the Chon Buri province, central Thailand. At 8:30 pm emergency responders were alerted to the man’s fall at the construction site. The emergency responders and local media got to the site to find the injured worked, 31…
-
Unsatisifed with haircut, grandfather goes to police station for help
A grandfather got a haircut he deemed bad enough to go to the police station. The man’s identity was not given. What is known is the man got a haircut that he believed did not make him look “handsome”. He said his hair was cut to different lengths. Logically, the next step was to file a police report. Which is…
-
Thai DDC probe into Covid-19 vaccine recipient deaths to finish next week
Thai health officials are finishing up an investigation into deaths involving those who had received the Covid-19 vaccine. The Department of Disease Control is looking into 68 deaths and plans to report the cause of death of each case next week. So far, 13 of the cases are not directly related to the vaccine, according to the director of the…
-
Thammanat Prompaew said to be PPRP’s next secretary-general
MP Thammanat Prompaew, the controversial convicted drug smuggler turned politician, is favoured to become the next secretary-general of the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, sources say. A meeting of the party’s general assembly will take place in Khon Kaen province today where an announcement may be made. The embattled Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister is considered to be the likely successor…
-
Killer’s sentence reduced from 10 years to 3, plus community service
4 years ago, 56 year old Suthep Pochanasomboon, was convicted of killing 17 year old Nawaphol Poengpai after an argument about a parking space. Now, Suthep’s sentence has been commuted by the Supreme Court to 3 years. The shooting which led to Suthep’s temporary incarceration happened close to the Ang Silla market, which is in the Chon Buri Province. Suthep…
-
Friday Covid Update: 3,058 new cases and 22 deaths
3,058 new Covid-19 cases and 22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The recent and most severe wave of the virus, infecting 181,919 people since April 1, is now on a downward trend as the number of recoveries recorded each day continues to exceed the number of new cases. Today, the CCSA reported 4,094…
-
Krabi hotels pin hopes on Phuket sandbox success
Hotel operators in the southern province of Krabi will be watching Phuket’s imminent re-opening with great interest. The success of the Phuket “sandbox” will determine what happens in Thailand’s other tourism hotspots. According to the Bangkok Post, a successful re-opening for Phuket would mean Krabi and other destinations can look forward to re-opening their hotels and recruiting workers for the…
-
Tourism bodies concerned vaccination uncertainty will disrupt re-opening
Earlier this week, Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, pledged to re-open the country to international tourism within 120 days. But tourism operators aren’t breathing a sigh of relief just yet. Many have voiced concerns over the delays in the vaccine rollout, fearing that if Thailand doesn’t get its act together on vaccination, the re-opening could be affected. According to the Bangkok…
-
Expats in Phuket without a work permit can register for a Covid-19 vaccine
Expats living in Phuket, who do not have a work permit, can now register for a Covid-19 vaccine. Under the local vaccine registration website, www.phuket.win, there are now links for foreigners with work permits and foreigners without work permits to apply for a vaccine. Of course, with the ever-faulty websites run by the Thai government, we had to give it…
-
Outbreaks at factories rise, operators ordered to file Covid risk assessment
With Covid-19 clusters reported at numerous factories in Thailand infecting thousands, the Industry Ministry is ordering all factory operators to fill out a Covid-19 risk assessment form by the end of the month, warning that operators that do not cooperate may face punishment. Around 150 factories in more than 20 provinces have reported outbreaks infecting a total of more than…
-
Prayut going to Phuket, see if it’s Sandbox ready
Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, is set to travel to Phuket and determine its “readiness” to reopen for the proposed reopening on July 1. This news comes from a report in Thai media. The report says Prayut and other ministers will go to Phuket next Friday. When he gets to the island, Prayut and his cohorts will “inspect” the full…
-
Chulabhorn Royal Academy details Sinopharm vaccine insurance
Chulabhorn Royal Academy has announced key details of their insurance coverage included with Sinopharm vaccinations they provide as the business registration deadline approaches tomorrow. The new specifics for coverage include generous age restrictions, residence status, period of coverage, and payout totals for the insurance for those affected by the vaccine. In a post to their Facebook page yesterday, the academy…
-
Police arrest 2 men for allegedly trying to extort 2 million baht from a man
Police arrested 2 men, including a Thai soldier, who allegedly extorted a businessman, threatening to post obscene photos of him on social media if he didn’t give them 2 million baht. 31 year old Nawatkorn Pongassaphon and 31 year old Vorasart Lailang, a Thai army corporal, were arrested yesterday evening at a shopping centre in Nonthaburi, a suburb just outside…
-
Electricty outages in Phuket today
Electricity will briefly be shut off in the Heroines Monument area of Phuket today. The Provincial Electricity Authority will be installing high voltage cables. According to Thai media, the power outage will last from 9 am today to 4:30 pm. It will be near Thepkrasattri Rd and will extend from the Thalang office of the Provincial Electricity Authority to the…
-
EU Free Trade Agreement talks resume after 7-year coup hiatus
After a 7-year delay following Thailand’s military coup, talks have resumed to create a Free Trade Agreement between Thailand and the European Union. The Ministry of Commerce hosted a meeting this morning between Thailand’s Commerce Minister, also a Deputy Prime Minister, and the Ambassador of the European Union to Thailand. The two met to have conversations about a variety of…
-
Thursday Covid Update: 3,129 new cases; provincial totals
Thailand’s latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 is on a downward curve with 33,853 active cases reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Although the daily tally of new cases remains high, with 3,129 infections confirmed today, new recoveries recorded each day continue to exceed the number of new cases. Today, the CCSA logged 4,561 new recoveries. 30…
-
Rain giving phallus cracks under the elements
The giant phallus that was erected on a road in accordance with an ancient rain making ceremony in Chachoengsao, a province in central Thailand, East of Bangkok is deteriorating due to sun and rain. The phallus is now showing deep, veiny cracks from the base of the structure, snaking up to the glans of the penis. The local villagers had…
-
Students in Thailand’s Isaan region go back to school on an elephant
Schools across the country reopened this week after closures due to Covid-19. Some students in the Isaan province Surin decided to go to school in a much different and unconventional way… on an elephant. Three boys, dressed in their school uniforms and carrying their backpacks, rode on top of an elephant together to the Banyawuek School in the province’s Chumphon…
-
Covid vaccine advertisements by private hospitals to be tightly regulated
Advertisements for Covid-19 vaccines by private hospitals will be tightly regulated to prevent exaggeration or any statements that may mislead the public. The Public Health Ministry has set regulations for private hospitals offering to order Covid-19 vaccines for customers including guidelines on promoting injection services as well as rules to ensure quality and safety. Department of Health Service Support director-general…
-
Thursday Covid Update: 3,129 new cases and 30 deaths
CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story reported an incorrect number for the confirmed cases at correctional facilities. The correct number is 457 infections. 3,129 new Covid-19 cases and 30 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since April 1, the most severe wave of Covid-19 infections in Thailand, the CCSA has reported 178,861 cases.…
-
“We’ll do better on vaccines, there’s loads more on the way” – Anutin
Thailand’s Public Health Minister has pledged to do better on vaccine rollout, saying many more doses are coming soon. Anutin Charnvirakul says 600,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine arrived yesterday, with another 1 million arriving tomorrow. The Bangkok Post reports that yesterday, Anutin visited the vaccination centre at Bang Sue Grand Station in the capital, where he met with some…
-
Health Department warns: Avoid Covid-19, don’t have sex
Thailand has had a long string of frustrating recommendations for lowering the risk of Covid-19 transmission from curfews to masks to hand sanitiser and social distancing. But a new recommendation from the Health Department may have crossed a line. Avoid Covid-19: Don’t have sex. The Health Department’s Director of the Office of Reproductive Health made a statement today that is…
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.