Bangkok News
Bangkok news, politics, business, crime, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s capital. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Bangkok news source.
-
Sponsored Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Here’s your health checklist before the move
Thinking of retiring in Thailand long-term? Thailand is a popular choice for retirees because of its beautiful landscapes, warm climate, and affordable living. Cities like Chiang Mai and coastal areas offer a relaxed lifestyle with friendly communities. The country also...
-
Thai army sets up 2 more field hospitals to help with Covid influx
Thailand’s army is getting ready to deal with the influx of Covid-19 infections as its deputy spokeswoman says 2 more field hospitals are now in place. The hospitals are in Bangkok and Prachuap Khiri Khan to help ease the burden of hospitals in 2 of the hardest hit areas. Already, an army field hospital has been set up at the…
-
Bangkok sees 7.87 million vehicles over Songkran holiday
Covid-19 and its third wave be damned, close to 8 million vehicles travelled in and out of Bangkok so far during this year’s Songkran festival holiday period. Thailand’s Ministry of Transport released figures yesterday on the yearly holiday and revealed that more than 7.87 million cars, trucks, buses and motorbikes hit the roads and travelled into and out of Bangkok…
-
Covid UPDATE: Wednesday’s new infections rise to 1,335 people, 36 people in “serious condition”
Thailand’s CCSA has announced 1,335 new infections today, after a slight dip in the 10 day surge yesterday. 1,326 of those new infections are local, not imported, and mostly from Bangkok. Today’s tally takes the national total to 35,910 since January 2020 when the first case outside China was detected in Thailand on January 13. The new infections have mostly…
-
Bangkok police tracking down owners of Thong Lor clubs where virus resurfaced
Police in Bangkok are on the hunt for the owners of 2 nightclubs considered ground zero for a third wave of Covid-19 currently spreading around the country. The Krystal Club and Emerald Thonglor 13, in the capital’s fashionable Thonglor district, are currently closed, with the managers of both sentenced to 2 months’ imprisonment. However, officials are now attempting to track…
-
Health officials say pubs, nightlife venues the new ground zero for third wave
Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Thailand, with 967 new infections reported yesterday, when there were just 26 at the start of the month. Health officials are in no doubt where the surge is coming from, pointing the finger at nightlife venues. A rise in infections in Hua Hin appears to back up the theory first floated after a cluster…
-
Investigations of Covid-19 infected elite rule-breakers demanded
Investigations are being demanded by a corruption watchdog into Thai politicians infected with Covid-19 after allegedly attending venues in the Thong Lor entertainment venues in Bangkok that have now emerged as the ground zero for the Coronavirus third wave in the Kingdom. The Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand are being asked to investigate the latest Covid-19 outbreak, noting in a Facebook…
-
Tourism officials slash Songkran travel expectations by half
The TAT, ever the optimists regarding anything tourism related, even domestic tourism, predict that the Bangkok clusters that have emerged in the week before the Songkran break could reduce traffic and spending by up to half. Today the CCSA is reporting 789 new infections and one additional death. 522 were local infections, mostly walk-ins to Bangkok hospitals, 259 were discovered through…
-
Attendance on the wane for Thai democracy protests
While protesters against the Thai government are continuing as they have for endless months, attendance is lessening in the face of crackdowns, coups and Covid-19. The throngs of 10,000 plus protesters, mostly energetic youth, that waved The Hunger Games 3 finger salute and demanded change in Thailand last summer have thinned to a few thousand or less these days. The…
-
CCSA Update: 559 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death. FULL CHART.
559 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Many cases are related to bar hopping and partying and the outbreak, concentrated in Bangkok’s Thong Lor nightlife district, has spread to many provinces. There are now 2,645 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. There are several clusters of infections throughout Thailand,…
-
MP claims 2 Cabinet ministers visited Covid-cluster venue in Thong Lor
With a third of the Thai Cabinet in isolation after coming in close contact with Covid-19, a MP claims 2 Cabinet ministers went to a nightlife venue in Bangkok’s Thong Lor where a cluster of Covid-19 infections have been reported. The chair of the House committee on legal affairs, justice and human rights, Sira Jenjaka, says he has photo evidence…
-
Around 7,000 people in Bangkok have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19
Only 7,121 residents in Bangkok have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 since the Thai government rolled out its immunisation campaign in late-February, according to a report from Nation Thailand. Bangkok has more than 10 million residents. To reach herd immunity against Covid-19, 70% of the population needs to be vaccinated. More than 100,000 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been…
-
12 hospitals in Bangkok stop Covid-19 testing due to limited beds for infected patients
So far, around 12 hospitals in Bangkok have stopped Covid-19 testing, due to either a shortage of supplies or not enough beds to admit patients if they test positive for the virus. While media reports say the hospitals have stopped testing due to a lack of supplies, a spokesperson for the CCSA the reason many private hospitals in Thailand are…
-
Virologist says British strain likely brought in by people crossing Cambodian border
Renowned virologist Yong Poovorawan says it’s highly probable that the UK variant was brought in by Thais or migrant workers crossing the border from Cambodia. He says the variant, officially known as the B117 strain, has been detected in over 1,500 Covid patients in Cambodia since February 20. The variant, which is 1.7 times more contagious than the original strain,…
-
No social distancing as hundreds queue for free Covid testing in Bangkok
Bangkok residents who queued for hours for Covid-19 testing yesterday have expressed concern that the event in the Thonglor area could end up being a super-spreader. Coconuts reports that over 1,000 people crowded into the area in front of the Barbarbar pub at Arena 10. The free testing comes as officials confirm over 500 infections linked to nightlife in the…
-
Covid-19 outbreak in Bangkok could take months to control, health official says
It could take more than 2 months to control the recent Covid-19 outbreak in Bangkok which is concentrated around bars and nightclubs in Thong Lor. Health officials suspect the faster-spreading UK variant of the virus has spread at the bars and entertainment venues in Bangkok. The outbreak has reached around 20 provinces. While it may take 1 to 2 months…
-
10 field hospitals being set up as Bangkok hospitals expected to run out of beds
The Thai military is to set up 10 field hospitals in Bangkok, amid fears that medical facilities in the capital are running out of beds. Between them, the field hospitals are expected to provide an additional 3,000 beds. As infections continue to rise in Bangkok, a number of hospitals have confirmed they are no longer offering Covid-19 tests, amid speculation…
-
Independent candidates polling well in Bangkok governor race
Independent candidates are trending in polls for the Bangkok governor election later this year, with undecided voters leaning independent. Undecided voters have grown to nearly 1/3 of all voters up from just under 30% in March, possibly due to voters being tired of political polarisation. The exact date of the election has not been announced yet but independent candidates have…
-
UPDATE: 405 new Covid-19 cases, CCSA considers closing nightlife venues across Thailand
In what a spokesperson calls a “whopping number” of Covid-19 infections in the past few months, 405 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Many of the infections are linked to nightlife venues primarily in Bangkok among a young adult population in their 20s and 30s, according to deputy spokesperson for the Ministry…
-
Thai Health Minister pictured without mask, sitting next to infected Transport Minister
Do as I say, not as I do… Thailand’s Public Health Minister has been caught without a face mask while sitting next to a Cabinet minister who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Anutin Charnvirakul, previously considered an enthusiastic proponent of mask-wearing, sat next to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob while attending a merit-making event on Tuesday. Saksayam tested positive for Covid-19…
-
Bangkok prepares to open field hospital as officials warn of a rapid rise in infections
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is considering opening a field hospital in preparation for a rapid rise in Covid-19 infections that could overwhelm medical facilities in the capital. Thai PBS World reports that the PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has instructed the BMA and the Ministry of Interior to arrange space in which a field hospital could be set up. The PM says…
-
Phuket Covid infections reported as officials struggle with clusters in Bangkok entertainment venues
A week ago Phuketians were rallying behind the proposal to get the island open to tourists, quarantine-free, from July. The first tourists arrived from Germany and the local hotel industry were confident everything was heading in the right direction. That was until last weekend when the ‘Bangkok nightlife cluster’ came to town in the form of 3 big parties, the…
-
Top doctors say Thong Lor cluster might be the UK Covid-19 variant
The UK variant of Covid-19 might be the strain of the virus that broke out at nightclubs and bars in Bangkok’s Thong Lor area, according to 2 top doctors in Thailand. The B117 variant is said to be faster-spreading – about 1.7 times more contagious than the original strain. Doctors suspect the mutated strain led to the outbreak at the…
-
Covid-19 update: Spike in cases linked to nightlife in Bangkok and Phuket
Bar and club hopping has led to numerous clusters of Covid-19 infections and a spike in the number of daily infections in Thailand. 334 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Most of the cases are in Bangkok. The steep rise in new infections comes just days before the mass migration of…
-
Thailand’s Transport Minister tests positive for Covid-19
Thailand’s Transport Minister has tested positive for Covid-19. Minister Saksayam Chidchob checked in at a hospital this morning with a high fever, according to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. Earlier reports say a member of Saksayam’s staff tested positive for Covid-19 after visiting a nightlife venue in Bangkok’s Thong Lor area. Bar hopping in Bangkok’s Thong Lor and Ekkamai areas…
-
PM doesn’t know if members of his Cabinet frequented Bangkok Covid hotspots
The Thai PM says he can’t say if members of his administration visited bars and entertainment venues where a cluster of Covid-19 infections has been reported. Prayut Chan-o-cha says he doesn’t know if ministers partied in the Thong Lor area of Bangkok, which was reported as a new hotspot of infection last week. On Saturday, out of 71 new cases…
-
New infections in Chiang Mai linked to Bangkok nightlife cluster
3 out of 4 new Covid-19 infections reported in the northern province of Chiang Mai are in patients who frequented nightlife venues in Bangkok. The communicable disease committee has confirmed 4 new infections, while introducing restrictions to curb any further spread. According to a Nation Thailand report, the first patient visited a nightlife venue in the Ratchadaphisek area of Bangkok…
-
Nightlife shut down in 3 Bangkok districts following rise in Covid numbers
While most nightlife venues remain open, they must close by 9pm and cannot sell alcohol. Restaurants may remain open for dine-in services but must close by 9pm and are also banned from selling alcohol. Here we go again. Restrictions and closures to Bangkok’s nightlife are back. Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang has ordered the closure of nightlife venues in 3 districts…
-
Possible 9 pm closing of Bangkok bars to curb Covid-19
In order to limit outbreaks of Covid-19 before the upcoming Songkran holiday, the Health Ministry is eyeing more restrictive rules, including possibly shutting Bangkok bars at 9 pm. This week, new infections were found in the Thong Lor and Ekkamai areas of Bangkok, popular for evening entertainment such as bars and nightclubs. Entertainment venues are an easy target for Coronavirus spread…
-
Bangkok may soon be classified as a “red” zone following new Covid clusters
Bangkok may soon be classified as a “red” zone under maximum control to prevent the spread of Covid-19 following the rise of infections linked to bars and entertainment venues, primarily off Sukhumvit Road in Thong Lor and Ekkamai. Thailand’s top virologist Yong Poovorawan says the recent Covid-19 clusters, along with Thailand’s slow rollout of vaccines, is “worrying” and fears that…
-
Some Bangkok international schools close following rise of Covid-19 cases in the area
Some international schools in Bangkok are temporarily closing down due to the rise of Covid-19 cases in the area with 71 cases linked to bars and entertainment venues in parts of the city – primarily Thong Lor and Ekkamai along the Sukhumvit strip, and around Chatuchak, to the north of the city centre. Regent’s International School Bangkok sent out a…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.