BMA
- Bangkok News
Stricter Covid-19 rules for Bangkok area construction sites
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has set out instructions to large construction companies and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to implement stricter regulations to curb Covid-19 in worker housing facilities. The decree comes after clusters of outbreaks were found at housing facilities at construction sites in the Wattana and Laksi districts. The CCSA spokesmen cited cramped living conditions and a…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok opening first ICU field hospital for Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms
With the rising number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Bangkok, the epicentre of the new wave of infections, pushing hospitals to their limits, an ICU field hospital is opening in Bangkok. Field hospitals have been used for Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic, or who have mild symptoms. Those with more severe symptoms have been treated at hospitals. Since the…
- Covid-19 News
More staff to man Covid-19 hotlines after complaints of unanswered calls
Thousands of people have been calling Thailand’s Covid-19 hotline each day and many calls from those seeking hospital beds, medical attention or ambulance services are going unanswered. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha even called 2 of the hotline numbers and he says no one answered his calls. Now the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration plans to revamp the emergency call centre with plans to…
- Environment News
Earth Hour on Saturday, Bangkok to join global “lights off” hour
The city of Bangkok will go dark for an hour on Saturday, joining thousands of cities across the globe for Earth Hour, an annual initiative where lights are turned off to raise awareness about protecting the planet. The deputy governor of Bangkok, Sopon Pisuttiwong, says lights be off from 8:30pm to 9:30pm on Saturday, joining 7,000 other cities in darkness.…
- Covid-19 News
Celebrity’s birthday “Covid-19 cluster” organisers and partygoers may face charges
With more infections linked to the “birthday party Covid-19 cluster” and some concealing their timeline, the Disease Control Department is urging the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to take legal action against people involved. Thai media are calling it a “super spreader” party. So far, 26 cases are linked to the birthday event for the 33 year old Thai actor Techin Ploypetch, aka…
- Thailand News
Thailand’s poorer areas may suffer if vaccines funded by local municipalities
Thailand’s poorer areas may suffer if Covid-19 vaccine distribution is given the green light to be funded by local municipalities. Suspicions are already being raised as critics say many municipalities who offer to fund the vaccines may have alterior political motives. As many as 20 municipalities are reporting that they have already set aside funding. Ratchaburi Town Municipality, for example,…
- Economy News
BTS skytrain maximum fare rate increasing to 158 baht despite backlash
Bangkok’s BTS skytrain maximum fare rate is being raised to 158 baht despite receiving backlash over the hike. The Transport Ministry is behind the calls for City Hall to stop the increase as it says it is too expensive for the average commuter who takes the BTS 2 times a day. Saksayam Chidchob, the Transport Minister, says other routes should…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
More closures in Bangkok as BMA mulls further restrictions
• High risk entertainment venues closed • BMA’s 437 schools closed for at least 2 weeks • CCSA considering restricting Bangkok restaurants to take-any only services only The Bangkok Metropolitan Organisation has closed “high risk’ venues around Bangkok as of midnight last night. The city’s 437 public schools run by the BMA have also been ordered to close until at least January 17.…
- Thailand News
COVID UPDATE: Bangkok bans, Anutin quarantined, another patient dies | VIDEO
A video summary of the current situation, today, as The Thaiger continues to keep you up to date with all the latest news about the current Covid-19 outbreak. The BMA’s order includes… bars with hostesses, horse racing tracks, cock-fighting arenas and massage parlours. But pubs and restaurants can stay open as long as they serve only food and drinks, and…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok schools, nurseries, close for 12 days in bid to curtail Covid spread
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has closed all 437 municipal schools and 292 nurseries in the capital, amid confirmation of an additional 121 cases of Covid-19 in Samut Sakhon. The central province has become a hotspot of local transmission, with infection primarily concentrated on its migrant worker population. BMA spokesman Pongsakorn Kwanmuang adds that most city officials have been ordered to…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration cancels NY countdown events, asks workers to work from home
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the municipal organisation in charge of the Greater Bangkok city area, has announced that all New Year countdown events have been cancelled after new cases of Covid-19 were found in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. But organisations who have already organised events will be able to ask for specific permission. The BMA is also asking the workers…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Coconut Business, Weekend protests, Pork dressed as Beef | November 13
Thailand News Today for the last day of a busy week. Protests and the opening of the Blue Line will hold up traffic over the weekend. See you on Monday. US grocers cut ties with Thai coconut milk company after PETA reveals monkey labour Thailand’s coconut milk industry is under the spotlight again after PETA lobbies US grocers to boycott…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok’s Chinatown to get a new look
Bangkok’s Chinatown is getting a makeover. A noticeable change will be to the food carts lining the main strip, Yaowarat Road, which are usually packed tightly along the street. In the revitalisation plan starting early next year, the food carts will be “more ordered” and “harmonised,” according to deputy governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul. “After January, people will see a noticeable change…
- Environment News
Bangkok residents not satisfied with floodwater management-Nida Poll
Bangkok residents are largely unsatisfied with the floodwater management in the capital, according to a recent poll. The National Institute of Development Administration conducted the poll on October 6-7 with 1,322 respondents from various levels of education and occupations. Almost 60% of people say they are not satisfied with 33% of those saying poor preparation and flood management contributed to…
- Bangkok News
Little has changed: 9 years after devastating floods, Bangkok remains defenceless
Parts of Bangkok remain at risk of catastrophic floods, as happened in 2011, when thousands of people were displaced and homes partially or totally destroyed. Now, 9 years later, a report in the Bangkok Post says city officials have made little progress in shoring up the capital’s flood defences, and the upper-eastern area remains as exposed as ever. Back in…
- Bangkok News
No ammonium nitrate stored in Bangkok – BMA
The spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, aka. City Hall, has confirmed that no ammonium nitrate is stored in the capital. His remarks come after Tuesday’s devastating explosion of the chemical in Beirut that killed more than 150 and injured over 5,000. Pongsakorn Kwanmuang sent condolences to those affected in the tragic blast and said that no ammonium nitrate is…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok removing trees to make way for underground walkways
As part of a new “landscape improvement project,” the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has begun removing trees along Na Phra Lan Road, to pave the way for an underground network of walkways. 34 trees on the road will be removed, and the “Silpakorn Nokrob” (around Silpakorn) Facebook page yesterday called the decision “heartbreaking” for locals and conservationists. In April the BMA…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok City Hall plans more proactive Covid-19 testing, new rules for pet cafés
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration aka City Hall plans a “sentinel surveillance approach” to aggressively test for Covid-19 in high-risk areas, and has issued new rules for pet cafés to ensure the safety of guests, animals and staff. Bangkok’s governor made the announcement yesterday. “BMA will perform saliva tests in high-risk areas on at least 400 people per day until the…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok authorities under fire for over-zealous tree pruning
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has come in for some flak after some over-enthusiastic pruning of the city’s trees. Some of the city’s green shade was cut back to bare, ugly stumps. A report in the Bangkok Post says trees along Witthayu Road, near the city’s famed Lumpini Park, have been chopped down to their lower trucks. A similar fate has…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok deploys mobile testing units
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is providing testing at home for people who may have caught the coronavirus disease. City governor Aswin Kwanmuang said yesterday that the BMA, along with the Mor Lab Panda Facebook page, are sending mobile teams to conduct Covid-19 testing to the homes of people who complete an online questionnaire and are at risk. People who test…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok City Hall closes more venues, but 3 types allowed to reopen
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA or City Hall as it’s more commonly known), is closing down more public venues around the capital, effective midnight tonight (Friday) until April 30, as it steps up measures to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Sites to remain closed are all sport arenas of both humans and animals (boxing arenas, cockfighting and fish fighting…
- Covid-19 News
Army disinfecting Bangkok streets
The Royal Thai Army this morning began spraying roads in Bangkok with disinfectant to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus . the Royal Thai Army units have been deployed to carry out the daily cleaning from 1am to 5am until the end of March. A spokesman says the spraying, approved at a high-level meeting chaired by army chief Apirat…
- Food
Street food returns to the streets of Bangkok in four districts
Street vendors are not to be more rigorously controlled in relation to their location and conduct. Bangkok authorities are now set to apply its new registrations to hundreds of street side food vendors in four districts of the capital. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has agreed to the setup of 191 stalls. The registration process will be complete by February and before…
- Health
Over 77,000 Bangkok residents living with HIV
Atachai Phunkron gets ready to serve his clients as a trained HIV counselor at the SWING drop-in centre in Bangkok – Richard Nyberg, USAID, 2016 Authorities estimate that 77,500 people are living with HIV in Bangkok, 1,190 of them contracted the virus this year, according to deputy Bangkok governor Pol Lt Gen Sophon Phisutthiwong. 628 of the 1,190 identified this year…
- Expats
Khao San Road vendors petition the BMA to postpone renovation
Street vendors in Bangkok’s chaotic ‘backpacker central’, Khao San Road, are lobbying the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority’s (BMA) plans to give the popular tourist street a makeover and clear stalls that have clogged up the sidewalks for decades. Read the earlier Thaiger story HERE. A formal letter has been submitted to Bangkok’s governor Aswin Kwanmuang. Vendors have been resisting attempts by…
- Bangkok News
Shortcuts on the way for motorists to bypass Lam Salee intersection in Bangkok
PHOTO: The Nation The BMA (Bangkok Metropolitan Administration) is looking for help from the Metropolitan Police Division 4 to find suitable shortcuts so motorists could avoid the notorious Lam Salee intersection. The Nation reports that BMA deputy governor Sakoltee Phattiyakul says the intersection has long been notorious for traffic snarls and the situation has just become worse with delays caused…
- Transport News
Bangkok authorities roll out voice-guides for vision-impaired at zebra crossings
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) says they will install voice-guide equipment at 54 more zebra crossings on major roads next year to assist people with eyesight disabilities to cross roads and add additional safety at the crossings. The BMA’s Traffic and Transport Department says the department is pursuing a plan to install voice guides at all 522 zebra crossings in…
- Crime News
Two city cleaners injured in this morning’s explosions around Bangkok
PHOTO: JS100 Two road sweepers in Suan Luang district were injured in an explosion on Soi Rama 9 57/1, a soi off Rama 9 Road, at 8am this morning. After examining the area, police determined that the explosion was caused by a ping-pong bomb. The bomb was one of multiple small explodsions between 7 and 9am. Read about the rest…
- Transport News
Report motorcycles riding on footpaths today for a 1,000 baht reward
PHOTO: Daily News Bangkok motorcyclist, riding on footpaths, will be fined 2,000 on-the-spot from today. If someone reports a motorcyclist riding on the footpath they’ll get 1,000 baht fine. Officials doubled the fine and offered the reward after the previous 1,000 baht fine didn’t appear to act as a deterrent. Reports can be made through a Line application, a government…
- Bangkok News
Officials demolish 38 year old Kieat Tong Chai market in Bangkok
PHOTOS: Daily News Bangkok officials (BMA) have demolished a market built to occupy the middle of a road in Din Daeng district following 38 years of disputes. The Nation reports that Din Daeng district office director Panchapat Lakdee says they’ve demolished the Kieat Tong Chai market to make more space for motorists in the middle of Soi Pracha Songkroah 38…
- Bangkok News
BMA backs down to allow Khaosan traders, sort of…
by Kornrawee Panyasuppakun “From around 9pm to 3am, backpackers use Khaosan as “party central”, rather than a shopping fair. Electronic dance beats can be heard blaring from clubs and bars.” There’s been a back down in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration yesterday after vendors from Khaosan Road convinced a committee that their stalls, whilst illegal in the past, were a huge…
