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.
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THG head stock purchases before questionable Pfizer news
Thailand and Pfizer have had a tricky relationship with frequent announcements and then retractions about whether the vaccine will be approved and imported into the country. The latest was Thonburi Healthcare Group Dr Boon Vanasin announcing they had negotiated 20 million Pfizer vaccines to be brought into Thailand, only to be followed a few hours later by Pfizer-BioNTech responding that…
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Covid UPDATE: 10,082 new infections, provincial numbers
This morning the public health department has announced 10,082 new infections & 141 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours across Thailand. The two figures are a record number of cases for the Kingdom and sweep the numbers over the psychological barriers of 10,000 cases and 100 sad deaths. Yesterday there were 3,367 in ICU and 847 on ventilators. 127…
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Home Covid-19 test kits approved, but not for travel
With Covid-19 on the rise, screening kit shortages have left people waiting for RT-PCR tests from professional testing sites and medical facilities. Now Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration approved 4 Covid-19 antigen test kits that can be purchased over-the-counter for home use to test for the virus. The 4 approved self-testing kits will allow people concerned that they may have…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 10,082 new infections, news briefs
This morning the public health department has announced 10,082 new infections & 141 Covid-related deaths over the past 24 hours across Thailand. The two figures are a record number of cases for the Kingdom and sweep the numbers over the psychological barriers of 10,000 cases and 100 sad deaths. Suffice to say the October ‘reopening’ of Thailand is now looking…
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Pro-democracy leaders indicted over last year’s protest at Bangkok’s Victory Monument
14 pro-democracy protesters have been indicted for charges relating to a protest at Bangkok’s Victory Monument last year when emergency orders were in place. In a series of youth-led rallies, activists demanded the government and monarchy reform, making statements considered unprecedented and taboo in Thai society. The 14 protesters were charged with inciting the public, gathering to cause unrest and…
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7 more provinces classified by the CCSA as “dark red” zones under maximum control
7 more provinces are classified as “dark red” provinces under maximum control, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today. Tight restrictions in dark red zones were imposed on Monday restricting interprovincial travel, limiting gatherings to no more than 5 people and ordering residents to stay at home from 9pm to 4am. Despite the new restrictions this week, the Covid-19…
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Police arrest 21 in Thong Lor party: drugs, alcohol, and birthday cake found
Thong Lor has again made the news for people partying. Recently, police raided a hotel room in Thong Lor, Bangkok. They arrested 21 suspects for allegedly taking drugs and breaking the emergency decree that forbids groups from gathering. The Thong Lor police were alerted that a hotel room on Soi Sukhumvit 31 was full of people being loud and not…
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Covid-19 situation has not improved, stricter rules being discussed – CCSA
More stringent measures may need to be in place to control the spread of Covid-19 as the situation in Thailand has not improved, despite tight measures in “dark red” provinces which include nightly curfews and travel restrictions, a spokesperson representing the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said today. In addition to talk of tightening restrictions, 7 more provinces were classified…
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AstraZeneca asks to extend vaccine delivery date amid delays
After delays in domestic and international deliveries and halving the monthly vaccine delivery targets to 5 million for Thai use, AstraZeneca has now asked for an extension for their delivery schedule of 61 million Covid-19 vaccines. The company, which has partnered with Siam Bioscience to produce vaccines domestically, now expects to reach its goal by May of 2022. The delay…
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Thai PM returns to Government House after third negative Covid test
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, does not have Covid-19 and returns to work at Government House today. The PM had been self-isolating for 14 days after coming into contact with Veerasak Pisanuwong from the Surin Chamber of Commerce, while visiting Phuket for the island’s sandbox re-opening on July 1. Veerasak subsequently tested positive for the virus. The Bangkok Post reports…
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Search party locates missing college student’s body in Chiang Mai
Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai police have found the body of a college student who had been missing for 2 days. Rescue workers discovered the body in Doi Suthep Pui National team. Rescue workers say Nong Boss was hiking in the forest prior to going missing. Rescue workers, however, were not alone in their search efforts. More than 100 people had…
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Thai industry representatives call on Health Minister to roll out vaccines in factories
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will meet with the Federation of Thai Industries next week as the FTI calls for Covid-19 vaccines to be rolled out in factories. FTI chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree says the factory rollout is a priority as the surge in infections is causing some sites to close. To date, just 10% of around 10 million industrial workers…
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Thai Red Cross Society to give 1 million Moderna vaccines free
As Thailand’s vaccination rollout plods along with Sinovac vaccines that have little effectiveness against the Delta variant of Covid-19 and AstraZeneca production far behind schedule, many nervous Thai citizens are looking to private hospitals and third party groups importing more effective vaccines to turn the tides in the battle against Covid-19. This week has seen a step forward as Thailand’s…
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BioNTech says there are no talks with Thonburi Healthcare for vaccines
Following reports that the Thonburi Healthcare Group in Thailand was planning to sign an agreement for 20 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, Germany BioNTech said it was not in talks with the Thai hospital group. In an email sent to Reuters reporters, BioNTech said “We are not in negotiations with the company you mentioned below about vaccine supply.” The…
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Bangkok taxi driver faces fines, license suspension, training classes after passenger complains about ride
A Bangkok taxi driver has been fined, has his license suspended, and has to take a training class after his erratic behaviour unnerved a passenger. The passenger posted online about the eccentric taxi ride that was supposed to take them from Victory Monument to Klong 6, Pathum Thani, last Sunday. However, the passenger cut the ride short and got off…
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Army files defamation complaint against social media users over “fake news”
Following rumours spread on social media saying Thai soldiers travelling to the US for Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines when they were actually going overseas for parachute training, the Royal Thai Army filed a defamation complaint against 9 people who allegedly spread the so-called “fake news.” A representative from the army filed a complaint with the Nang Loeng police station yesterday on…
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Available Covid patient beds at Bangkok hospitals hit “critical level”
The available beds at Bangkok hospitals for Covid-19 patients have hit a “critical level” with only 10% of beds now open for those with severe coronavirus symptoms, according to the Public Health Ministry. With the uptick in Covid-19 cases over the past several months and a sharp increase over the past few weeks, said to be due to the spread…
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With Covid-19, Tourism Ministry mulls new reopening strategy
The Tourism and Sports Ministry is reevaluating the plans for reopening Thailand and its tourism hubs as Covid-19 infections are rising all over the country. While they admit that the surge in Covid-19 is a major health and safety issue, they insist on the necessity of reopening and restarting the tourism economy and get Bangkok reopened in particular. Minister of…
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Thursday Covid Update: Provincial totals; 2,224 new cases in Bangkok
All of Thailand’s 77 provinces recorded new Covid-19 infections today. A total of 9,186 new Covid-19 cases and a record daily high of 98 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA recorded a total of 372,215 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 3,032 Covid-related fatalities. Out of…
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New Covid-19 response teams to be dispatched to 69 Bangkok communities
In an effort to contain the Covid-19 outbreak in Bangkok where the highly transmissible Delta variant, said to now be the dominant strain, 69 response teams have been set up to conduct rapid Covid-19 tests in high-risk communities to quickly detect infections and contain the virus. Governor Aswin Kwanmuang says the so-call “Comprehensive Covid-19 Response Teams,” or CCRTs, which are…
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Travellers from “dark red” and “red” zones must be vaccinated to enter Phuket
Those who aren’t vaccinated against Covid-19, and are travelling from a “dark red” or “red” province, won’t be allowed to enter Phuket… at least for the next couple of weeks. With the rise of coronavirus infections amid the island’s reopening to foreign tourists under the “Sandbox” model, Phuket authorities are tightening restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus. From…
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Bangkok Book Festival returns, online
The “Bangkok Book Festival” is returning this Friday, after making prior appearances in 2015 and 2016. The theme will be “The magic of Paper” as the 3rd non-annual festival seems to invoke a mood of wonder and “knowledge” of paper. The intention is to inspire readers and promote reading through 6 activities. Activities such as talks and books for sale.…
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Government Pharmaceutical Organisation sues over Moderna profiteering allegations
The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation is suing the chairman of the Thonburi Healthcare Group and a mathematician, both of whom have criticised its procurement of the Moderna vaccine. The Bangkok Post reports that the GPO has filed police complaints against THG chairman Boon Vanasin and mathematician Loy Chunpongthong. Both men have alleged that the GPO profited from the purchase of Moderna…
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Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 98 deaths; 9,186 new cases
A record daily high of 98 coronavirus-related deaths was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The CCSA also logged 9,186 new Covid-19 infections, continuing on the trend of daily infections hitting the 8,000s and 9,000s. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, there have been 343,352 confirmed…
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1 million additional vaccine doses being purchased for Bangkok residents
The Thai government has pledged to purchase an additional 1 million Covid-19 vaccine doses for Bangkok residents in the coming 2 weeks. Apisamai Srirangson from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the plan is to vaccinate 70% of the capital’s residents, but to date only 43.6% have been vaccinated. The Bangkok Post reports that the Disease Control Department will…
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Government forging ahead with mixed vaccines, amid doubts and confusion
The Thai government plans to go ahead with a proposal to combine vaccines from different manufacturers, in an effort to boost immunity against the Delta variant. The move comes after a World Health Organisation scientist warned against the practice, raising concerns among the Thai public. Following reports that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha was questioning the decision, government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri has…
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Proposal: stop Covid-19 testing foreign workers in dark red zones
Thailand’s Minister of Labour Suchat Chomklin is scrambling to explain away a leaked alleged proposal to stop testing foreign migrant workers for Covid-19 after Thai social media exploded all day with criticism. The order had been sent to the Bangkok Employment Office Area 1-10 on July 5, but just came to light yesterday. The proposal to cancel testing for foreign…
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Thai government mulls over regulations for locally-made AstraZeneca exports
The Thai government is looking into regulations for exporting the locally-made AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, possibly limiting the volume shipped overseas. The consideration comes as Thailand battles its most severe wave of Covid-19 and the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant. The number of active cases continues to hit record highs. With a limited supply of vaccines, health officials have…
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Market vendor goes to police station, reports a spirit is harassing her
A Thai woman in northern province Phrae went to the local police station to report that a spirit was harassing her. The 39 year old market vendor who sells boiled corn told police the spirit was trying to possess her body and causing her heart and abdominal pain, according to the Thai media outlet Thairath. She tried taking medicine, but…
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Police warn to be careful about adding friends online, some aren’t real friends
Royal Thai Police are warning social media uses to be cautious when adding “friends” online. The police say sometimes these “friends” are not real friends after all. The police say to be especially wary of people posing as foreigners online as they can be sources of danger. Reportedly, the word of caution comes from deputy RTP spokesperson Deephor Siriwat. Thai…
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