Thailand News
Discover the most recent and relevant news from across Thailand on The Thaiger’s National News page. Covering a wide range of topics, including politics, business, crime, and lifestyle, our dedicated team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
Stay informed about the latest developments in Thai society, economy, and culture, as well as updates on travel, tourism, and expat life. With The Thaiger, you’ll never miss out on the essential news that matters to you.
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Sponsored Boost your business in Thailand: 5 powerful benefits of using BoostedByPeople
As a business owner in Thailand, you know how tough it is to stand out online. Ads get skipped, scrolled past, or flat-out ignored. People are more sceptical than ever about what they see on their feeds. And even when...
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Opposition calls for the Thai PM to stand down, Democrats re-iterate their support
Seizing the opportunity, Thailand’s opposition political parties are taking advantage of PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s current poor standing amidst a crisis of high Covid infections and botched vaccine roll out. Opposition parties jointly issued a statement demanding the PM’s resignation. Among a list of general failures, they also accused PM Prayut of “causing irreversible damage to the nation”. The opposition bloc, led…
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Locally-produced AstraZeneca vaccine will be available by June
AstraZeneca Thailand has released a statement to confirm that doses of its locally-produced vaccine will be available by June. Siam Bioscience has been given the sole rights to manufacture the vaccine within Thailand, with an AstraZeneca representative saying the manufacturing process has progressed significantly. The Bangkok Post reports that the Food and Drug Administration has worked with the government to…
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PM Prayut proposes private sector partnerships for vaccinations
In an effort to speed up Covid-19 vaccinations, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha plans to work closely with the private sector to vaccinate 50 million people by the end of the year. The Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Chamber of Commerce will work alongside the government to help import and distribute vaccines after Thailand is off to a particularly slow…
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National Vaccine Institute head says Thailand never turned down an offer from Pfizer
After reports claiming that the Thai government turned down an offer from Pfizer for 13 million vaccine doses, the director of the National Vaccine Institute is debunking the claims saying the reports are false and the country is still looking into acquiring doses from the company. Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is negotiating with several Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers to acquire more…
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Bangkok places biohazard bins throughout the city for used face masks
To help combat the spread of Covid-19 in Bangkok where cases have soared past 10,000 over the past month, more biohazard garbage bins are being placed throughout the city to dispose of used face masks and other waste that could be contaminated with the virus. Medical waste in Bangkok has increased to 20 tonnes per day since the start of…
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Covid UPDATE: 2,012 new infections, provincial updates
2,012 new Covid-19 infections and 15 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Disease Control this morning. Over the past month, more than 32,000 Covid-19 infections have been reported. There are currently 27,119 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. 695 patients are in critical condition with 199 of those patients on ventilators. Out of the 2,012…
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Miss Grand helps “inefficient” government find Covid-19 beds
Miss Grand International Thailand has jumped in to help find hospital beds, citing an inefficient government response to the newest Covid-19 outbreak. The beauty pageant has launched the “Covid Patients Must Be Treated” campaign, pledging to use their resources to connect Covid-19 infected patients with available hospital beds for treatment. Miss Grand International president Nawat Itsaragrisil was moved by the…
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Nuns arrested for allegedly scamming hundreds out of a total of 10 million baht
Police arrested 3 Buddhist nuns at a meditation centre in Thailand’s Isaan region for allegedly scamming more than 400 people, promising returns to those who invested in a fund for the poor. Victims say the nuns took off with a total of around 10 million baht. A nun at the centre claims those who made merit would receive returns, but…
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Thai Airways employee union push against forming a new airline
Plans to create a new national airline to replace the struggling Thai Airways are meeting oppositions from the employee union. The union insists that Thai Airways is a known brand worldwide and has contributed significantly to the economy of Thailand and deserves aid and rehabilitation. In the past, Thailand’s flagship international airline spent years as a state-owned property until the…
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Initial investigation finds woman’s death not related to receiving 2nd Sinovac dose
Officials say a 23 year old woman’s death, after recently receiving a second Sinovac jab, is not related to the Covid-19 vaccine. The findings are from an initial investigation into her death by the Ministry of Public Health. The woman received the second dose of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine in Samut Sakhon province at her workplace on April 21. 1…
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63 of 77 Thai provinces require public to wear face masks, curfews in 8 provinces
63 of 77 provinces in Thailand are now requiring the public to wear face masks while outside to help curb the spread of Covid-19. The rule has been extended from the previous 56 provinces, to now include those provinces of: NORTHEAST: Nakhon Ratchasima Bung Kan Nong Bua Lam Phu Roi Et CENTRAL PLAINS: Sing Buri Nakhon Sawan SOUTHERN: Chumphon The…
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Company of Covid-infected workers who broke “work from home” rules refuses to pay salaries
A company is refusing to pay 4 of its Covid-infected Thai workers who allegedly broke its work from home rules by venturing outside. The issue has alerted social media users who criticised the company after one of the workers said he was being denied payment after contracting the virus during the work from home period. But that man didn’t say…
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PM takes over Thailand’s vaccine roll out. Public Health Minister found under bus – OPINION
OPINION I went to register my name at a local private hospital in Phuket last Saturday for a place in the Covid vaccine queue. It was at the Bangkok Hospital Phuket. The first response from the reception area after the customary welcoming wai was “do you have insurance?” I said yes, but that was not relevant to why I was…
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Petition calling for Anutin’s resignation exceeds signature target, new target set
A petition hosted on Change.org, demanding the resignation of Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, has surpassed an initial target of 200,000 signatures. The target has now been increased to 300,000, with over 211,600 having signed at the time of writing. Anutin has been widely criticised for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, with signatories demanding the reins be handed over…
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Samples of locally-produced AstraZeneca jab pass the test
The Department of Medical Sciences has approved samples of the AstraZeneca vaccine which have been produced locally by Siam Bioscience. Supakit Sirilak from the DMS says 5 models of vaccine were submitted for approval. The 5 had been tested for consistency during production. The AstraZeneca jab is one of only 3 so far to be approved by Thailand’s Food and…
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In charge: PM given sole authority to manage everything pandemic-related
The Thai PM has been put in sole charge of handling the Covid-19 crisis, assuming all powers previously delegated to various ministers. Thai PBS World reports that yesterday, the Cabinet agreed to designate Prayut Chan-o-cha as the chief authority with responsibility for all decisions related to the pandemic. These include the issuance of all orders, permits, and approvals aimed at…
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3 people infected at Thai Government House while Thai PM fined over not wearing mask
3 people at Thailand’s Government House have been infected with Covid-19, prompting the facility to shut down for cleaning. The adviser to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha made the announcement that the building would be closed from April 29 to May 7, with all publications to be distributed online via Facebook and the LINE app. About 95% of officials who work at…
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Covid-19 patients in Bangkok sent to other provinces due to overcrowded hospitals
To help ease overcrowding at hospitals in Bangkok, where more than 10,000 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since April 1, some coronavirus patients are now being sent to the neighbouring provinces Samut Prakan and Samut Sakhon, just south of the capital, for treatment. Field hospitals are reopening in Samut Sakhon, the epicentre of the last wave of infections in…
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Face masks now required in 54 provinces in Thailand
So far, 54 of Thailand’s 77 provinces have imposed orders requiring the public to wear face masks while in public in an effort intended to slow the spread of Covid-19 which hit a record high this month. Violators face a fine of up to 20,000 baht. Since April 1, there have been 30,824 Covid-19 infections reported in Thailand, making up…
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Check-in counters at Bangkok airport now used for Covid-19 vaccine screening
Following the drastic slowdown of air travel due to the pandemic, empty check-in counters at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport are now being used to service those registering for a Covid-19 vaccine including frontline workers, Airports of Thailand employees, and staff at the airport. On the airport’s fourth floor for departures, 42 of the check-in desks are now run by local healthcare…
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Thailand sets grim record of highest daily Covid deaths since start of pandemic
Thailand is setting a rather grim record today as its death toll from Covid-19 has reached the highest daily amount since the pandemic started. 15 new deaths were reported today, setting a new daily record for the third time in 4 days. The deaths consisted of Thai nationals, with 9 men and 6 women, aged 24 to 88. Most of…
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Karen army takes over Burmese military base along Thai-Myanmar border
A military base in Myanmar near the Thai border was reportedly taken over by an ethnic army. Since the February 1 military coup in Myanmar, ousting the country’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, an estimated 750 protesters and civilians have been killed by security forces, leading to clashes with ethnic armies. Many ethnic armies support the anti-coup movement,…
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Foreign investors eye business in Thailand as hotels face closure during new outbreak
The new wave of Covid-19 infections this month has led to a drop in occupancy rates at Thailand hotels, some reporting drops of 5% to 30%, battering hoteliers that have already been struggling from a year of little to no foreign tourists. Some hotel operators have been forced to sell their businesses, according to the president of the Arjarnnar Asset…
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Restrictions tighten, but some say it’s not enough to control the outbreak in Thailand
With this month’s wave of Covid-19 infections hitting a record high in Thailand, the government is setting tight restrictions to help slow the spread and contain the virus, but some say it’s not enough. In Bangkok, the epicentre of this month’s infections, the government ordered the closure of numerous businesses and places until May 9 including schools, parks, gyms, and…
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Health Ministry to investigate death of woman following Sinovac jab
Health officials will carry out an autopsy on the body of a 23 year old woman who died days after receiving the Sinovac vaccine. Relatives of the deceased say she became ill after receiving the second dose of CoronaVac, the Covid-19 vaccine from Chinese manufacturer, Sinovac Biotech. The Bangkok Post reports that the unnamed woman, who worked as a salesperson…
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Officials threaten to prosecute clinics, labs that violate Covid control measures
At least 12 private Thai clinics and laboratories are being threatened with prosecution for failing to comply with Covid-19 control measures. The Department of Health Service Support says the facilities broke the law by failing to report infections and send patients to hospital. Department boss Thares Krassanairawiwong says a number of complaints have been received about the clinics and labs…
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Tuesday’s full moon will be a SUPER full moon
Tonight there will be a full moon. But not just ANY full moon, a SUPER full moon. Whoooaaa! Whilst Koh Pha Ngan’s monthly full moon party has been shelved for the meantime, we can still appreciate this monthly phenomenon (well, not quite monthly). The The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand says that the April astronomical phenomenon coincides with the…
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Covid-19 task force to resume central role in handling of crisis
The government is placing the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration back at the centre of its handling of the pandemic, after the CCSA delegated some authority to government ministries. Government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri says the Covid-19 task force will resume its central role as the government ramps up the national vaccine rollout. Officials aim to vaccinate around 30 million people…
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Thailand’s “problem foreigners” who don’t wear masks. Really?! | VIDEO
UPDATE: Even the Thai PM has been fined for not wearing a mask at a meeting at Government House yesterday. Phuket’s vice governor has stirred the pot by singling out, what he described as, “problem foreigners” who weren’t wearing their mask in public. Over the past week there has been renewed attention to the wearing of masks at all times…
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Thailand News Today | Foreigners busted for party, Smart Visa make-over | April 26
2,048 new Covid-19 cases and 8 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported by CCSA. The total death toll is now at 148 since the start of the outbreak in Thailand. There are now 25,767 active cases …. 20,461 in hospitals and the other 5,306 being treated in field hospitals. 563 people are in critical condition and 150 patients are on…
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