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“Red zone” restrictions tighten, legal action for concealing travel information
People who travel from any of the 28 “red zone” provinces and conceal their travel timeline can face up to 2 years in prison and a fine of 40,000 baht, according to yesterday’s announcement in the Royal Gazette. The tightened measures are aimed to slow people’s travel from the affected area to other parts of the country and to prevent…
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Toll booths in Samut Prakan shut down after supervisor tests positive
Toll booths in Samut Prakan are temporarily shut down after a supervisor tested positive for Covid-19. The entrances and exits to the Theparak 4 toll booths Kanchanapisek Bang Phli-Suksawat Expressway, just south of Bangkok, are closed off for cleaning and disinfection for the next day or so, according to the Expressway Authority of Thailand, or EXAT. Toll booth employees who…
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Struggling massage parlours petition government for financial assistance
Representatives of Thailand’s spa and massage parlour industry are pleading with the government to provide some form of tailored financial aid to offset the impact of Covid-19. Yesterday, the Charawi Association for the Conservation of Thai Massage submitted a letter to PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, who also chairs the government’s Covid-19 task force. In it, they call on his administration to…
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Protesters call rally in Bangkok to support activists charged over German Embassy petition
Pro-democracy activists have called a protest at Thung Mahamek police station in Bangkok, in a show of solidarity with 13 protesters arrested for delivering a petition to the German Embassy. Last October, members of the pro-democracy Ratsadon group led a march of thousands of people to the German Embassy on Sathorn Road. The protesters’ plan was to submit a petition…
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Thai PM promises free Covid vaccine for half the population in initial rollout
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has repeated his pledge to vaccinate half the population for free in 2021. Thailand will take delivery of its first supply of China’s Covid-19 vaccine by the end of next month, with an initial 200,000 doses of the Sinovac jab reserved. First in line will be healthcare workers and elderly people considered high risk. Following the initial…
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Deputy PM Prawit backtracks after denying existence of Bangkok gambling dens
Whoops. Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwon says his recent claim that there are no illegal gambling dens in Bangkok was all a misunderstanding. The nation’s favourite watch collector and Minister of Misunderstanding was forced to backtrack after the public scoffed and mocked his claims. “I didn’t mean that gambling dens do not exist. We all know that there are gambling dens,…
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U-Tapao airport halts commercial flights due to Covid-19 outbreak
Commercial flights in and out of U-Tapao International Airport are suspended for the rest of the month due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Rayong and Chon Buri, which are classified as “red zone” provinces under maximum control. The domestic flights, which include flights to the popular destinations Phuket and Chiang Mai, could be suspended longer if the coronavirus situation in…
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Construction of new Bangkok rail links set for completion this year
Bangkok residents will see construction of a number of rail projects finally completed this year, with hopes this will do something to alleviate traffic problems in the capital, as well as improving air quality. The Bangkok Post reports on 4 electric rail routes it’s hoped will be up and running later this year. The Pink Line This 34.5 kilometre track…
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UPDATE: Mor Chana App – mobile app to track Covid situation
The CCSA is calling on people, particularly those in 5 provinces with high risk and strict control measures, to download Mor Chana (download links below), a new mobile app to help identify individuals who have been exposed to infected patients using GPS and Bluetooth technology to track their location. People travelling from the 28 Red Zone areas will likely be…
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Pro-Trump rioters storm the US Capitol building, stopping the count of Electoral College votes
The heart of United States democracy, the US Capitol Building, was stormed by a mob of unruly pro-Trump protesters. Inside, the House of Representatives and the Senate were in the early stages of an unprecedented debate to certify the Electoral College votes that named Joe Biden as the winner of the Presidential vote held on November 3, 2020. The protesters…
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Thailand News Today | 10,000 schools closed, 900 new migrant infections, Gambling crackdown | January 6
• The nationwide Emergency Decree has been extended until the end of February. The decree gives the Thai government the ability to set policies and procedures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 such as restricting travel and setting up road checkpoints. The emergency decree was first declared in April last year and has been extended, month by month, ever since.…
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PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to form committee to investigate illegal gambling
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Thai government to form an investigation committee to crackdown on illegal gambling in response to the outbreak at a Rayong gambling venue. The spike in cases linked to illegal activity has caused problems for health officials who have been trying to track down elusive gamblers to contain the spread of the virus. The prime…
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Chiang Mai ranks 5th on travel site’s list of best places for digital nomads
Chiang Mai, a city which some say is a “rite of passage” for digital nomads, is a top location in the world to work remotely, according to the global travel site Big 7 Travel. In the list of “50 Best Places for Remote Working in 2021,” Chiang Mai ranked 5th out of 50 places. The site says the city has…
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No travel ban on British arrivals, quarantine facilities tighten rules
While there’s no ban on travellers from the United Kingdom, quarantine facilities are tightening disease control measures for British arrivals after a new, faster-spreading Covid-19 variant was reported in the European country. British arrivals must now stay in their room for the majority of the stay under new measures set by the Department of Disease Control. The department ordered ASQ…
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Restaurants in Bangkok that violate the measures will be shut
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is to close restaurants that don’t comply with the Covid-19 restrictions for 14 days. Restaurant owners must follow the disease control measures strictly if they don’t want to worsen their business further. The Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang says that, in all food shops in Bangkok, alcoholic drinks are banned from being served. “All districts must ensure that restaurants comply strictly with the Covid-19 steps of the BMA, such as socially distanced seating plans and the use of the Thai Chana application.” A restaurant owner told the Bangkok Post that the restaurant will be happy to…
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Bangkok website lists 11 “high risk” areas, urges visitors to identify themselves
A Bangkok website, known simply as BKK Covid-19, has listed 11 areas and venues now considered “high risk” and urged recent visitors to come forward. The places in question are spread across several provinces in the centre and east of the country. Those who have visited the following since December 15 are urged to register. 1. Samut Sakhon province 2.…
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Over 10,000 schools to close across Thailand in bid to curb virus spread
Over 10,000 schools, in at least 28 Thai provinces, are to close until January 31 and switch to online learning, in an effort to curtail the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The Kingdom is in the grip of a resurgence after months of no local transmission. On the southern resort island of Phuket, Governor Narong Woonciew has ordered all schools…
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“Don’t try this at home,” Thai FDA warns against self-diagnosis using Covid-19 rapid test
With Covid-19 rapid test kits now available online, the Thai Food and Drug Administration is warning the public not to use the tests at home, unless they are a medical professional. Now that Thailand is experiencing a new wave of infections, with active cases exceeding 4,000, far higher than the first wave’s peak of 1,451 active cases in April, FDA…
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Vaccines bring hope, but we won’t be out of the woods for some time – Thai health officials
Health officials in Thailand have welcomed the development of a number of seemingly-effective Covid-19 vaccines but warn that the “new normal” will remain for some time. In an interview with the Bangkok Post, Opas Karnkawinpong from the Department of Disease Control says people will still have to wear masks, observe social distancing, and wash their hands regularly. “The challenge posed…
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Thai officials crackdown on “lèse majesté” social media pages and posts
In a crackdown on social media posts critical of the Thai Monarchy, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society says they plan to pursue legal action against Facebook and Twitter for failing to remove content that violates the country’s draconian lèse majesté law. Social media users who make insulting posts about the Thai Monarchy can also be charged. So far, the…
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392 killed in road accidents during New Year holiday’s “7 Dangerous Days”
Nearly 400 people were killed in road accidents in Thailand over the New Year holiday week known as the “7 Dangerous Days.” Motorcycles were involved in the vast majority of accidents while speeding and drink-driving were the most common causes of accidents. From December 29 up until yesterday, 392 people died in accidents, a 5% increase from last year’s toll…
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Justice minister proposes “fortune-telling” vocational program for prison inmates
Inmates in Thailand’s prisons might soon be able to study astrology and fortune-telling. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin proposed the vocational program to help the prisoners get jobs after they are released. Somsak says the course is a low investment for the Board of Corrections, adding that fortune-telling is popular in Thailand and a skill inmates can use to earn money…
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Thailand News Today | PM reverses lockdown, Southern P.D.A. crackdown, Covid update | Jan 5
Jett back with today’s Thailand News Today. All the latest news on thethaiger.com 527 new Covid-19 cases were reported in today’s CCSA daily media briefing. Thailand now has 4,504 active coronavirus cases in 55 of Thailand’s 77 provinces. A total of 8,966 people in Thailand have reportedly been infected Covid-19 and 65 people have died since February of last year.…
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Covid-19 control measures by province
Provincial authorities are stepping up disease control measures as Covid-19 spreads throughout the country. 55 of Thailand’s 77 provinces have reported at least 1 Covid-19 case since the new wave of the coronavirus. Here’s a run down of Covid-19 measures and advisories in some Thailand provinces, posted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Bangkok Closure of educational institutions at all…
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A year of COVID – from Wuhan to World Pandemic | VIDEO
12 months ago the news of a mysterious respiratory illness started to emerge from hospitals in the central Chinese province of Hubei. Chinese health authorities said they were investigating a small cluster of pneumonia-like cases with an unknown cause linked to a seafood market in Wuhan. Those early days have given rise to any number of conspiracy theories that the…
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Muslim couples in Yala who show affection could be arrested and forced to marry
Muslim unmarried couples in the southern Thai province of Yala could be arrested, and even forced to wed immediately by Islamic authorities, if they are seen being ‘affectionate’ in public. The new rule was set by the Yaha Central Mosque last month, according to Khaosod English. It’s unclear what types of public displays of affection are considered inappropriate, but apparently…
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YouTube blocks music video with pro-democracy protest footage after legal complaint
A music video by a pro-democracy movement band was blocked on YouTube in Thailand due to a legal complaint from the government, according to the message posted on the video’s page. The band Rap Against Dictatorship, also known as RAD, made a post on their Facebook fan page saying that the music video for their song “Reform” was blocked on…
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UPDATE: 5 coastal provinces still open – Prayut rejects “total lockdown” proposal
The proposal for a “total lockdown” restricting travel in and out of 5 coastal provinces was rejected by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The provinces, Samut Sakhon, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, are implementing strict measures to control the spread of the virus, but the provinces will not be completely sealed off. In earlier reports, Deputy Public Health Minister Satit Pitutacha…
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Public health official urges Bangkokians to eat at home
People in Bangkok should eat at home as much as possible to lower the risk of spreading the coronavirus, according to the director-general of the Department of Health. While there is now a ban on dine-in service from 9pm to 6am in Bangkok, Dr. Suwannachai Wattanacharoencha says people should still eat a home during the day. He says the best…
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Social media users help track down 2 kidnapped children in Bangkok
A man is in police custody in Bangkok after social media users helped track down 2 children allegedly kidnapped in the capital. A 7 year old boy, named only as “B”, and an 8 year old unnamed girl, were visiting a shopping mall in the Phra Khanong district, close to their home, at the time of the incident. According to…
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