COVID

  • Covid-19 News

    Bloomberg Covid-19 Resilience list has Thailand 5th to last

    At one point, Covid-19 seemed like it may be under control and on its way out. But then the Delta variant emerged, throwing once-stable countries into infection chaos. Bloomberg compiles a monthly Covid-19 Resilience Ranking that tracks a number of metrics to rank what countries are the best to be in to weather the pandemic, and Thailand has fallen on…

  • Covid-19 News

    CCSA Covid-19 plan: domestic vaccines, “learning to live with it”

    Facing the emergence of the Delta variant and surge of Covid-19 infections, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to be accepting the idea that Thailand may never be rid of the Coronavirus. He proposed a shift in focus for the government at a Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting on Friday, suggesting a “learn to live with it” strategy. Sources at Government…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thailand to get Covid-19 foreign aid from China and Korea

    While a government spokesperson announced that Thailand expects to have 140 million Covid-19 vaccines received in the country by the end of the year, many wondered with the slow rollout so far exactly where all these vaccines are coming from. Today we received a hint as foreign aid was offer by both China and South Korea who announced donations of…

  • Phuket News

    Bangkok Hospital Phuket offers expats vaccines including Pfizer

    Another round of free Covid-19 vaccinations for expats was announced yesterday, this time with the option of receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Bangkok Hospital in Phuket made the announcement stating that they would be providing expats the free vaccines in partnership with the Department of Disease Control, but they would only be offering inoculation for those who have never received any…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thammasat University approved to import Covid-19 vaccines

    The Royal Thai Gazette published the announcement yesterday that Thammasat University has now joined a handful of government entities that can import Covid-19 vaccines. The publication of their regulations on medical services and public health management during the pandemic allows them to import medicine and vaccines as an authorized government entity. Thammasat University has already set its sights on importing…

  • Thailand News

    Restrictions eased in “dark red” provinces; new “Covid Free” initiative

    “Thai officials are shifting their focus to work on ways the public can safely live with the presence of the coronavirus rather than trying to completely eradicate it.” Disease control measures are easing in Thailand’s “dark red” provinces, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today. Starting September 1, the ban on interprovincial public transportation will be lifted, restaurants will…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket Covid-19 numbers drop slightly to 169, no new deaths

    Though today’s Covid-19 numbers in Phuket are lower than yesterday, they do push the rolling weekly total above 900, 10 times the original threshold for reevaluating the Phuket Sandbox. One new Sandbox infection was identified, along with 169 domestic infections yesterday. Now, new deaths have been reported. The Phuket Provincial Public Health Office report confirmed the new infections and no…

  • Covid-19 News

    Friday Covid Update: 18,702 new cases; provincial totals

    18,702 new Covid-19 cases and 273 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 1,139,571 and the Covid death toll in Thailand to 10,587. The latest and most severe wave of infections, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 1,110,708 of the cases…

  • Covid-19 News

    Friday Covid Update: 18,702 new cases and 273 deaths

    Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,702 new Covid-19 cases and 273 coronavirus-related cases today. Since April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,110,708 Covid-19 infections. In the 24-hour period since the last count, 20,163 recoveries were reported. Thailand now has 185,200 active Covid-19 cases. With the latest and most severe wave on a downward trend, there…

  • Covid-19 News

    Vaccine inequality may see poorer countries lose $2.3 trillion

    A new study found that the global economy will lose US $2.3 trillion due to slow Covid-19 vaccinations and that less wealthy countries will suffer disproportionately. The study by the Economist Intelligence Unit stated that because vaccine rollouts are much slower than those of wealthy nations, the developing and emerging countries will see the most loss. The Asia-Pacific Region is…

  • World News

    YouTube pulled 1 million Covid-19 misinformation videos

    More than 1 million harmful videos have been removed from YouTube since February 2020 for containing Covid-19 misinformation. The video-sharing platform that is one of the most visited websites in the world, second only to its parent company Google, announced on Wednesday the total after criticism that YouTube is a major source of Covid-19 disinformation. Politicians and government leaders have…

  • Thailand News

    Thursday Covid Update: 18,501 new cases; provincial totals

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,501 new Covid-19 cases and 229 coronavirus-related deaths today. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 20,606 more recoveries. There are now 186,934 active Covid-19 cases, a downward trend over the past week. With the situation improving, restrictions are likely to be eased. Since the start of the pandemic…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thursday Covid Update: 18,501 new cases and 229 deaths

    18,501 new Covid-19 cases and 229 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. There have been 20,606 recoveries recorded over the past 24 hours. Thailand now has 186,934 active cases. Since April 1, the CCSA has reported 1,092,006 Covid-19 cases. Out of the new cases, 139 were found in correctional facilities. More than 40,000 inmates at…

  • Bangkok News

    Bangkok Sandbox: open businesses to vaccinated customers

    Perhaps feeling a bit jealous of more easily isolated tropical islands with their Sandboxes, who are reopening despite their own rising Covid-19 infections, the private sector has proposed its own reopening in the capital they are calling the Bangkok Sandbox. A “Factory Sandbox” has already been put into use in the industrial sector that maintains safety and confidence in the…

  • Covid-19 News

    Australia and New Zealand consider just living with Covid-19

    With Covid-19 on the rise in Australia and New Zealand, officials in both countries have hinted at moving away from a strategy of eliminating the virus and instead learning to live with it. Australia has daily infection numbers nearing 1,000, setting new records each day and, while New Zealand had long avoided Covid-19 outbreaks, today the country reported 62 new…

  • World News

    Worldwide Covid-19 infections may be levelling off again

    The World Health Organisation said this week that Covid-19 may be plateauing worldwide after 2 months of steady increases. The global Covid-19 totals saw 4.5 million new infections and 68,000 new deaths this week, stats that reveal only a marginal increase over last week’s totals of 4.4 million infections and 66,000 deaths. According to the WHO’s epidemiological update, the worldwide…

  • Covid-19 News

    Purchase of 8.5 million Chinese antigen test kits paused again

    Like many things regarding Covid-19, or Thai policy in general, the saga of importing controversial antigen test kits has reversed directions yet again. Following an order last week to proceed with the purchase of 8.5 million Chinese-made antigen test kits, the cabinet has now withdrawn the purchase approval. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha supported the cabinet decision to withdraw the deal to…

  • Covid-19 News

    Wednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases; provincial totals

    18,417 new Covid-19 cases and 297 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,102,368 Covid-19 cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 1,073,505 of those cases. 10,085…

  • Transport News

    Phuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today

    Flights between Phuket and Koh Samui that had originally been cancelled until the end of the month have now resumed nearly a week early as Bangkok Airways relaunched the flight route with limited service. From today, the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus schemes will be reconnected as part of the Sandbox 7+7 Extension, allowing people to arrive in Phuket, spend…

  • Covid-19 News

    Wednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases and 297 deaths

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,417 new Covid-19 cases and 297 coronavirus-related deaths today. The CCSA also reported 21,186 more recoveries over the past 24 hours. In the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has recorded a total of 1,073,505 cases. There are now 189,268 people being treated for…

  • Covid-19 News

    Tuesday Covid Update: 17,165 new cases; provincial totals

    17,165 new Covid-19 cases and 226 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Another 20,059 patients were marked as “recovered” in the 24-hour period since the last count. There are now 192,334 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. The number has been on a downward trend over the past several days as the daily count for…

  • Covid-19 News

    Tuesday Covid Update: 17,165 new cases and 226 deaths

    17,165 new Covid-19 cases and 226 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Another 20,059 patients were marked as “recovered” in the 24-hour period since the last count. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,055,088 Covid-19 cases.…

  • Covid-19 News

    Monday Covid Update: 17,491 new cases; provincial totals

    17,491 new Covid-19 cases and 242 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, 22,134 recoveries from Covid-19 have been reported. There are now 195,454 people being treated for the coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 1,066,786 Covid-19 infections. The latest and most…

  • Covid-19 News

    Monday Covid Update: 17,491 new cases and 242 deaths

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 17,491 new Covid-19 cases today and 242 coronavirus-related deaths. A total of 1,037,923 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since April 1, the start of the latest and most severe wave of the coronavirus in Thailand. There are now 195,454 people being treated for Covid-19. The number of active cases has been on…

  • Covid-19 News

    Covid-19 violating gathering of 23 students and teachers busted

    If you have been following along, mark Nakhon Ratchasima down on your “Covid-19 restriction violating party” bingo card. Last night a group of students and teachers in the Muang district of Nakhon Ratchasima were caught gathering with an abundance of alcohol and a noticeable lack of Covid-19 safety measures. The bust is one of an increasing number of illegal parties…

  • Pattaya News

    Pattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen

    Chiang Mai, which recently reported that, due to the Covid-19 situation and slow vaccination, they will delay their planned September reopening to October at the earliest, like many tourism areas that have seen plans to welcome back international tourists dashed by the intensity of the pandemic in Thailand. Now Pattaya has also acknowledged that their plan for reopening on September…

  • Chiang Mai News

    Charming Chiang Mai plan to reopen pushed to October or later

    With Covid-19 still running rampant in Thailand, several tourist locations that were anticipating reopening in August or September are revising their plans to push back until October or later. Officials say that Chiang Mai will now delay their plans to reopen to international tourists due to Covid-19 issues. The deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced yesterday that…

  • Covid-19 News

    New Covid-19 team aims to correct bad information, not censor it.

    A special media team the government created to try to tackle the epidemic of fake news regarding Covid-19 in Thailand has been met with suspicion they will serve a broader censorship role. The team denies the idea that the team will suppress free speech and dissent, claiming that their focus is on getting factual information disseminated about the public health…

  • World News

    Vietnam Covid-19 surges, Ho Chi Minh enters lockdown Monday

    With soaring Covid-19 infections, Ho Chi Minh City has issued a stay-at-home order enacting a strict lockdown that bans people from leaving their home starting Monday. The megacity of 9 million people has accounted for a full 80% of all Covid-19 deaths and 50% of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam and less harsh lockdown restrictions aren’t making headway. The deputy head…

  • Covid-19 News

    China eyes booster shots to hit herd immunity by year’s end

    If they can achieve over 80% vaccination rate, China may reach herd immunity by the end of the year, according to the country’s top respiratory disease expert. He believed that booster shots would make up for the loss of efficacy after 6 months of vaccines from China and others used in the country. Officials in China believe that they will…