News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. The Thaiger delivers the latest national news that matters.
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TAT declares Phuket “is ready” to reopen for tourism on July 1
Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn attended a meeting with Phuket officials yesterday following months of vacillation by local tourism officials and central government departments. The tug-of-war between public health imperatives and Thailand’s battered tourist industry has caused a constant barrage of changes to announced details. “There will be no quarantine for foreign visitors under the Phuket Sandbox scheme…
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Covid UPDATE Sunday: 2,804 new infections and 18 Covid-related deaths
The Thai public health department has announced another 18 Covid-related deaths and 2,804 new infections. 409 of today’s cases come from the prison system. The numbers coming out of the public health department, and announced each morning at around 11.30am by a CCSA spokesperson, have been statistically similar for the past 2 months, with the exception of the cases coming…
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With nearly 60% of their population vaccinated, why is Chile’s Covid rate surging?
Chile, with nearly 60% of its population fully vaccinated, has gone into another lockdown to curb a new surge of the coronavirus. The Chilean Health Ministry says the 7 day average of new Covid infections remain above 7,000 people per day, and there were only 30 intensive care beds left in the capital as of last night. Santiago has a…
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Are we losing the fight against child labor?
When global coronavirus lockdowns and economic disruptions closed schools and curtailed millions of families’ income, an alarming increase in child labor across developing nations made headlines. But even before the pandemic, the number of children forced to work was on the rise. A report by the International Labor Organization found that 160 million children around the world are engaged in…
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US President Biden persuades G7 to be more competitive towards China
The Group of Seven (G7) rich industrialized nations and the EU are presenting a harmonious front at their summit in the Cornish seaside resort of Carbis Bay in southwestern England. Diplomats seem pleased new US President Joe Biden is making transatlantic cooperation possible once again. While heads of state and governments meet in small groups or stroll along the beach,…
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Pattaya October reopening hampered by obstacles
Pattaya has been working on its reopening plan, aiming to bring back international tourism in the fourth quarter of 2021. Officials have launched the “Pattaya, Move on” scheme which aims to open back up the popular tourist city in October, but the Public Health Ministry disagrees with their plan so far. The goal is to reopen Pattaya without the need…
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Thong Lor again: 31 arrested in club violating Covid-19 rules
Some people never learn. After frequently being named as the source of the Covid-19 third wave outbreak, which brought the more contagious Alpha variant to Thailand and spread it to every province in the country, the clubs and Hi-So people of the Thong Lor area of Bangkok are still flouting Covid-19 safety restrictions. Today 31 people were arrested after partying…
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Pfizer vaccine application received, review process begun
The Food and Drug Administration in Thailand is now processing the application for the Pfizer vaccine for domestic use against Covid-19. The secretary-general of the FDA says they have received the application from Pfizer Thailand and have begun the review process, taking the vaccine one step closer to use in Thailand. The government had just submitted an order of 20…
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Covid UPDATE: 3,277 new infections and 29 deaths, provincial totals
There are another 29 Covid-related deaths and 3,277 new infections announced today. 892 of today’s cases were from Thai prisons, an ongoing source of infections where around 22,000+ inmates have now been detected as new Covid cases (more below). Here’s the provincial totals for today… • Meanwhile the Thai Justice Ministry says the start of a vaccine rollout in the…
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Red tape and restrictions suggest a slow Phuket reopening
With the rollercoaster ride of the Phuket Sandbox reopening scheme, some government officials remain mostly optimistic, while many others are scaling back predictions and expectations. A slow return of tourist to Phuket is forecast as the plan, which won’t be officially approved until just days before the scheduled reopening on July 1, is meeting with a fair amount of blowback…
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UPDATE: Tourism Minister reportedly says July 1 ‘sandbox’ won’t happen
UPDATE By the conclusion of a meeting in Phuket this afternoon the only confirmation was that the July 1 date for a re-opening of Thailand, via the Phuket sandbox was “still on”, according to Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com who attended the meeting. More details when they emerge. Bottomline, nothing is confirmed until the Thai Cabinet discusses the issue, probably Tuesday,…
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Koh Samui eyes August 1 reopening, “Samui Sealed Route”
While Phuket’s July 1 reopening is hotly debated, Koh Samui has been quietly vaccinating its population and putting together plans to welcome tourists back, proposing an August 1 reopening. The proposal aims to ease Koh Samui and neighbouring islands Koh Phangan and Koh Tao back into tourism, potentially as a second stop for travellers arriving into Phuket with their Sandbox…
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Covid UPDATE Saturday: 3,277 new infections and 29 deaths
The public health ministry has announced another 29 Covid-related deaths and 3,277 new infections for Saturday. 892 of today’s cases have been from Thai prisons, an ongoing source of infections where around 22,000+ inmates have now been detected as new Covid cases. • Meanwhile the Thai Justice Ministry says the start of a vaccine rollout in the overcrowded prisons started…
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COVID vaccines in the workplace: Can I ask who got their shots?
Jon works for the local government in the US state of Virginia. The 40-year-old received both his COVID shots in April. Most of his coworkers are vaccinated, too. But how does he know that’s the case? “I find most people will volunteer the information,” Jon told DW. “Even though we’re not supposed to ask.” In many other workplaces around the…
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8.3% of Thailand’s 50 million vaccine target reached so far
Thailand has set a goal of 50 million people vaccinated against Covid-19, and as of today, they have given at least one vaccine to 8.3% of that target. The spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced that since beginning vaccinations in Thailand on February 28, 5.66 million injections have been administered. On Thursday, 223,315 vaccines were given around…
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Site launched for June 14 vaccine signup for all foreigners
The latest update on Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine registration plans indicates that all foreigners can sign up online from June 14. The Thailand Intervac website seems to be constantly evolving and was first opened for diplomats on a specific URL and then for general foreigner signups on the main site, though hiccups and problems are often reported. The main site was…
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United States to return 27 stolen antiquities to Cambodia
The United States is returning 27 stolen antiquities to Cambodia. The antiquities, which include Buddhist and Hindu statues from the Angkorian era, are valued at around USD$3.8 million. It’s unclear where the statues were found, or when they were smuggled to the US, but reports say investigators in New York spent years working to recover the antiquities. Operations from Manhattan’s…
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Autopsy reveals heart attack killed woman who received AstraZeneca vaccine
A 46 year old Bangkok woman that died on Tuesday after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, died from a heart attack, says the autopsy. Dr Atthasit Dulamnuay says: The right atria of the woman’s heart was found to be ruptured, causing a haemorrhage of 180cc of blood and severe pulmonary oedema, in which excessive amounts of fluid builds up in the…
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Thailand’s Golf Quarantine on hold until Covid situation improves
Thailand’s “Golf Quarantine” is on hold until the Covid-19 situation improves, an alternative quarantine option at a certified golf resort. The postponement was first announced last month. Travellers who made arrangements prior to the announcement and have been granted a Certificate of Entry, or COE, can still enjoy the Thailand’s Golf Quarantine. The programme allows foreign golfers to undergo the…
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Thai woman wants to sell her kidney to help with financial problems during Covid-19
A 64 year old Thai woman says she wants to sell her kidney to help her family with their financial problems brought on by the Covid-19. The woman from the central province Nakhon Pathom, just west of Bangkok, says that due to the disease control restrictions during the outbreak, she was forced to close her Chinese restaurant. Since then, she’s…
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2 men arrested in Kanchanaburi for allegedly smuggling in migrant workers over the last 2 days
Early this morning and yesterday night, 2 Thai nationals and over 28 Burmese have been arrested in Kanchanaburi, a province in western Thailand. The Thais were allegedly smuggling the migrants into Thailand so they could work in the country. The exact charges have not been specified. In the first bust: A combination of police, soldiers, and “volunteers” had stopped and…
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Thai Airways to offer international flights to 16 destinations next month
Starting next month until September, Thai Airways will offer international flights from Bangkok to 16 destinations including Tokyo, Osaka, London, Paris and Frankfurt. The airline’s chief commercial officer says there’s an increase in demand for air travel and they plan to increase flights later this year under its 2021 Winter Programme. The airline says it “prioritises hygiene excellence” and strictly…
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Friday Covid Update: 2,290 new cases, provincial totals
2,290 new cases and 27 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total infection count since the start of the pandemic last year to 189,828 and the death toll related to the virus to 1,402. Thailand now has 43,428 active Covid-19 cases. Bangkok remains the epicentre of infections with tight restrictions to control…
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Alpha variant of Covid-19 makes up 9 in 10 infections
The Department of Medical Sciences confirmed today that nearly 90% of all Covid-19 infections in Thailand are from the newly-labelled Alpha variant. The strain, previously known as the UK variant as it was first identified in the United Kingdom, was found in 88.48% of 4,185 cases that university labs studied between April and June, with 3,703 infections of the Alpha…
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China arrests 1,100 in cryptocurrency money laundering bust
In what will only fuel perception in China that cryptocurrency is nothing more than a money laundering tool, security officials have arrested 1,100 people accused of using criminal profits to buy crypto. Chinese officials have been cracking down on cryptocurrency trade, which is banned in the country. The Ministry of Public Security in China says that Chinese police reportedly caught…
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Best-case for Phuket’s Sandbox: up to 1.2 million tourists, Kasikorn predicts
Up to 1.2 million foreign tourists could travel to Thailand through Phuket’s “Sandbox” travel scheme. That’s the best-case scenario, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre. They estimate that the scheme, which is planned to allow vaccinated tourists to enter the country and stay on the island without going through quarantine, could draw in 550,000 people to 1.2 million from July…
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CCSA says tighter scrutiny needed for construction workers leaving sites
The CCSA says a triad of forces (soldiers, police, thessakij inspectors) will work in tandem to make sure construction workers don’t leave their sites. Gen Natthapon Nakpanich says the combined joint forces will keep an eye on construction sites and dormitories to ensure the workers and dwellers adhere to public health orders. Nattapon adds that the increased scrutiny comes after…
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AstraZeneca working with Southeast Asia countries after delays from Thai plant
Following reports from several Southeast Asian countries regarding delays in deliveries of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine from the Thailand manufacturing plant, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company now says it is working with the governments to make sure the vaccine is supplied “as quickly as possible.” Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines have announced that they expect delays of the AstraZeneca vaccine from…
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Police quell gun dealing network in Bangkok
Yesterday in Bangkok, the Crime Suppression Division reported a major quelling on illegal gun sales online in Bangkok. They think the guns are part of a weapon smuggling network that had a circulating fund of at least 100 million baht. Part of the quelling was a raid where 23 “short and long guns” and more than 1,000 cartridges of ammunition…
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Online learning only for schools in Bangkok and other dark red provinces
The government’s Covid-19 task force says students at schools in Bangkok and other dark red provinces will not have on-site classes while infection rates remain high. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says online learning will be used in 4 central provinces when schools re-open on June 14: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, and Samut Prakan. So far, the third wave…
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