covid19
- Covid-19 News
Koh Tao residents caught without face masks made to do push-ups and jumping jacks – VIDEO
Officials on the island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand have come up with a novel way to punish people for not wearing face masks, still a legal requirement under the Covid-19 emergency decree when people are out in public. The Pattaya News reports that both tourists and Thais caught without protective face coverings are being made to…
- Covid-19 News
Thai billionaire urges government to allow tourists to return
The senior chairman of Thailand’s largest food and agriculture business, Charoen Pokphand Group (CP All), is appealing to the Thai government to open up the country to overseas visitors once more. The Bangkok Post reports that billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont says Thailand needs to start easing travel restrictions in a bid to restart the tourism industry. “Thailand’s economic losses from the lockdown…
- Covid-19 News
South Korea asks Thailand to remove it from list of “high risk” countries
South Korea is asking to be removed from Thailand’s list of “high-risk” countries. The list was drawn up in early March, when South Korea was second only to China for Covid-19 case numbers. It now ranks 40th, and is considered one of the countries most successful at managing the outbreak. To date, none of the 7,000 Thai citizens, who have…
- Health
Thailand to manufacture anti-viral drug to treat Covid-19 patients
The state-owned enterprise responsible for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals in Thailand says it plans to produce a licenced version of Favipiravir, the anti-viral drug that has proved successful in treating some Covid-19 patients. Nation Thailand reports that The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation developed the drug in March, but there is a waiting period of about a year before the product can…
- Covid-19 News
Australian government warns citizens not to let down their guard as restrictions ease
The Australian government is warning its citizens not to let their guard down as some restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus are lifted. The country has had 98 deaths from around 7,000 cases to date. Given the devastating figures coming from many other parts of the world, Australia (and neighbouring New Zealand) appear to…
- Covid-19 News
44 arrests at Pattaya pool party, drugs and firearm seized – VIDEO
44 people have been arrested at a birthday party after police raided a pool villa in central Pattaya at 1:30 this morning. It’s understood 3 of those arrested were Chinese tourists; the remainder were Thai. All face charges of breaking curfew and violating the Emergency Decree. 1 man, 41 year old Thanasak Kaewsri, had an outstanding warrant for drugs and…
- Pattaya News
6 arrests after attack on Pattaya shop owner and family for refusing to sell alcohol – VIDEO
Six curfew-breakers have been arrested for allegedly attacking a Pattaya shop owner and his family, as well as damage to their business and car, on Saturday night. The shop owner had refused to sell the perpetrators alcohol as it was after the curfew, with a further ban on alcohol sales after 6pm in Chon Buri province. The Pattaya News reports…
- Covid-19 News
Phuket bus driver shares government quarantine facility with coffin
A bus driver who left Phuket to return to his home city of Trang was left feeling a little, well, uneasy when he realised he would be sharing his government quarantine facilities with a coffin. Were the authorities just ‘planning ahead’? Or just a ‘whoops’ moment? The man had left Phuket as part of the exodus of some 50,000 people…
- Covid-19 News
Health officials say they’re ready for a “second wave” of Covid-19
As countries around the world start to ease some of the restrictions put in place to stop the spread of Covid-19, the fear of a “second wave” persists. Now a report in Nation Thailand says healthcare officials in Thailand are using the lessons from the past fews months, in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, tracing and testing, and are prepared…
- Covid-19 News
Survey shows a third of people believe Thailand will be Covid-free in 3-6 months
A survey conducted by the Super Poll Research Office shows that a third of people believe Thailand will be free from the Covid-19 virus within 3 to 6 months. Thai Residents reports that Super Poll conducted a survey of 1,255 citizens on May 6, which also revealed that over 32% believe the virus will be gone in as little as…
- Covid-19 News
China on alert as 17 new Covid-19 cases reported, highest in two weeks
China has recorded its highest daily increase in new Covid-19 cases since April 28, with 17 new cases. Five of those are in Wuhan, where the outbreak began in late 2019, and is the highest number recorded there since March 11. A Reuters report says that 7 of the cases recorded yesterday involve arrivals from overseas, a big jump from…
- Education
Online learning system to support re-opening of schools
Thailand’s Ministry of Education is launching an online learning system designed as a back-up in the event that the re-opening of schools is deemed unsafe. With Thaialnd’s schools set to reopen their doors from July 1, a televised and online system is being tested to supplement children’s learning. The new system, set to be tested next Monday, May 18, will…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand to introduce contact-tracing app in bid to constrain virus
More news is expected today about a new contact-tracing app being launched as part of the Thai government’s latest efforts to constrain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. A report in Nation Thailand says authorities will shift their focus from location targeting to increased testing of six groups considered high-risk. They include healthcare workers, those in state quarantine and newly…
- Covid-19 News
Businesses banned from shutting down during emergency decree
Employers have been left perplexed by an order from the Thai Labour Ministry forbidding them from shutting down their businesses during the emergency decree. The same order bans employees from taking part in any industrial action. A report in Nation Thailand says companies that have already closed are being instructed to re-open, and employees advised to return to work, with…
- Covid-19 News
Pattaya shopkeeper and family attacked after refusing to sell alcohol to curfew breakers
A Pattaya shop-owner and his family have been left shaken after an attack by a group of curfew breakers, apparently angry that they weren’t able to buy alcohol. The Pattaya News reports that the 19 year old daughter of the shopkeeper, Thipthida Chaisat, says around 10 young Thai males, who appeared very drunk, arrived at her father’s shop in the…
- Covid-19 News
Thai Health Minister says China, South Korea no longer virus hotspots
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has provisionally approved a suggestion from Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul that China and South Korea be removed from the list of Covid-19 “hotspots”. Nation Thailand reports that the number of confirmed cases in each country has now dropped into single digits and attempts are being made to re-establish economic and social ties between Thailand and the two…
- Business News
Business recovery in the Covid-19 era
As some countries begin to tentatively look to reboot their economies in a Covid-19 world, what does the future hold for business? Nation Thailand reports today on an extensive Bank of Thailand survey that examined the impact of the pandemic on four business sectors and what might happen next. Things are looking a bit brighter for the manufacturing and retail…
- Bangkok News
Beware overcrowding and virus transmission – PM
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says packed crowds in public spaces are a concern when it comes to the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. The Bangkok Posts reports that Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says the PM wants to see more measures put in place to reduce overcrowding. Just a few days ago, a…
- Covid-19 News
Follow the rules or face the consequences – PM
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is warning that unless people and businesses continue to adhere to social distancing rules, previously lifted restrictions could be reinstated. Nation Thailand reports that the PM has already issued new guidelines on the sale of alcohol after chaotic scenes in supermarkets across the country following the lifting of the alcohol ban in all but a handful…
- Covid-19 News
Yala lab under investigation following Covid-19 testing errors
A medical lab in the southern province of Yala, which returned 40 “false positive” Covid-19 test results, is being investigated to determine where the errors came from. Thai PBS World reports that experts from Prince of Songkhla University in Hat Yai and the Medical Science Department in Nonthaburi province have been sent to the lab to investigate the situation. The…
- Covid-19 News
Concerns in Pattaya over packed trucks transporting construction workers
Whilst Thailand’s residents are being told to ensure appropriate social distancing in all circumstances as the country slowly re-opens businesses, Pattaya residents have shared their concern about the conditions local construction workers are being transported, saying there is no social distancing being observed at all. The Pattaya News reports that it has received photos of workers crammed onto packed trucks…
- Covid-19 News
Government health official warns of near-certainty of “second wave” of Covid-19
With the easing of some restrictions put in place to slow and eventually halt the spread of the Covid-19 virus, a government health official is now warning of the rise of a “second wave” from next week is “inevitable”. Nation Thailand reports that the Director of the Division of Communicable Diseases issued his warning yesterday, saying an increase in the…
- Covid-19 News
Officials issue reminder of nationwide time restrictions on alcohol sales
With the alcohol ban having been lifted in all but a handful of provinces, government officials are warning retailers and consumers that the restrictions on what time alcohol can be sold still remain in place. It comes after one wholesaler in Nonthaburi, just outside Bangkok, was found to be selling alcohol outside of the legally authorised hours of 11am – 2pm…
- World News
Broke Russian family deported from Indonesia for busking – VIDEO
A Russian couple and their young child have been deported from Indonesia, after a video of them busking illegally at a market on Lombok island went viral. Coconuts reports that officials did not charge them with violating the conditions of their visa, with the Head of the Mataram Immigration Office saying he understood the family had been caught up in…
- Covid-19 News
Second round of tests confirm 40 Covid-19 cases in Yala were “false positives”
A second round of tests carried out on 40 people who tested positive for the Covid-19 virus in the southern province of Yala, have all come back negative. The Bangkok Post reports that the initial tests have now been confirmed as “false positives”. Now a third test is being run to remove any doubt. The spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19…
- Covid-19 News
Owners of Pattaya nightlife venues discuss Covid-19 safety regulations for re-opening
The owners of entertainment establishments in Pattaya held a meeting at the city’s Hollywood Club on Saturday to exchange ideas on appropriate safety measures to implement as part of a future re-opening. For now, all bars and clubs around Thailand are closed until further notice as part of measures in place to prevent a re-ignition of new cases of the…
- Covid-19 News
“Arrivals from Phuket have been screened for virus” – Interior Ministry
Following concerns raised in a number of destination provinces, the Interior Ministry has moved to reassure people that everyone leaving the island of Phuket to head home to the provinces has been screened for the Covid-19 virus. The Bangkok Post reports that a number of citizens elsewhere in the country became concerned when seeing footage of heavy traffic and long…
- Covid-19 News
Mad dash for booze as alcohol ban lifted in most provinces – VIDEO
There was a mad dash at supermarkets around Thailand yesterday as drinkers and retailers rushed to replenish their stocks following the lifting of a national alcohol ban imposed to stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Shoppers just grabbed entire boxes, or multiple boxes, paid and marched happily out the door. But, for now, the ban remains in force in…
- Covid-19 News
Number of Covid-19 cases passes 3.5 million worldwide
The number of Covid-19 cases around the world yesterday passed the 3.5 million mark, with a worldometers.com tally confirming 84,004 new cases in the last 24 hours. However, the growth in new cases is finally starting to slow down – flattening the curve. Nearly a quarter of a million people have now died from the virus, with Europe and the…
- Covid-19 News
Passenger numbers at Don Mueang airport plummet over long weekend
The number of passengers passing through Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport over the coming long weekend is expected to be just a fraction of the usual figures as a result of the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 outbreak and aircraft travel restrictions. Khaosod English reports that airport officials say they expect to see no more than 4,000 passengers a day, a…
- Covid-19 News
Tourists busted for partying, taking drugs, in Satun hotel
Two tourists have been arrested at a hotel in Satun after an employee reported them for partying and using drugs. Thai Residents reports that Italian national “Martire” and Dutch national “Mohammad” were arrested in possession of cocaine and marijuana at The Bara Bara Budget Hotel. Sompong Chingduang from the Immigration Police was called to the hotel by an employee who…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya mayor pledges assistance for city’s nightlife venues
A report today claims that Pattaya’s Mayor Sonthaya Khunpluem and City Hall are promising to help the city’s entertainment venues that have been shuttered as part of the restrictions in place to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The pledge comes as Chonburi province moves into the “white zone” (seen as low-risk) after a period in the high-risk “red…
- Covid-19 News
All emergency decrees to remain in place for another month – PM
Any hopes people may have had of seeing lockdown restrictions eased for some low-risk businesses and social activities at the start of May have been dashed by Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The PM issued an order, published in the Royal Gazette last night, mandating all provincial governors, including the governor of Bangkok, to delay their plans to ease the measures until…
- Economy News
Academics say virus will make inequality in Thai society even worse
Leading academics from Malaysia and Thailand say the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus will only exacerbate the substantial wealth inequalities in Thailand, a country where so many citizens are already at a significant economic disadvantage. Writing in The Diplomat, M Niaz Asadullah from the University of Malaya and Ruttiya Bhula-or from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, say the collapse in tourism…
- Covid-19 News
“Please be patient. I share your pain” – Thai PM
Following the extension of the emergency decree for another month, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is calling on everyone to bear with him as efforts to flatten the Thai Covid-19 curve continue. The Bangkok Post reports that with the decree being extended until May 31, the PM is now asking for understanding and cooperation, promising that the government will provide financial assistance…
- Thailand News
Woman seriously injured after English husband allegedly throws her from balcony
A woman has been seriously injured in Rayong, eastern Thailand, after her English husband allegedly threw her from the balcony of their 8th floor condo yesterday afternoon. Thai Residents report that the 56 year old woman, named only as Sukunda, landed on a patio on the 7th floor of the building in the Ban Chang district. Officers from the local…
- World News
Singapore robot patrols park with polite social distancing reminder
“Do not loiter at this park. Stay safe, stay home.” A robot, originally procured a year ago to monitor plants and reservoirs in Singapore, is being put to a different use in these strange new Covid-19 times. Boasting a 360 degree, high-definition camera and facial recognition sensors, the robot, known as O-R3, patrols Bedok Reservoir park, politely telling off anyone…
