Central Thailand News

Central Thailand news, Ayutthaya news, Kanchanaburi updates, and business developments—stay informed on local events, tourism, and culture, including landmarks like the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Central Thailand news source.

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    How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?

    Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....

  • Fire ravages buildings used to store cosmetics

    Fire ravages buildings used to store cosmetics

    Early this morning, a fire ravaged 11 buildings used for keeping cosmetic products in Pathum Thani, a Thai province north of Bangkok. There were no reported deaths or injuries but the estimated damages exceed 50 million baht. Firefighters attempted to extinguish the fire using 20 firetrucks, says the investigation chief, Kriangkrai Saengyot from the Pratunam Chulalongkorn police station. The fire…

  • Ayutthaya UNESCO status a headache for high-speed rail

    Ayutthaya UNESCO status a headache for high-speed rail

    Progress for Thailand’s high-speed rail link from Bangkok to the northern province of Nong Khai has hit a snag over construction in UNESCO World Heritage site Ayutthaya. The cultural status of Thailand’s former capital has complicated the process of building a new train station to accommodate the rail line. The Transport Ministry is working to resolve the issue, calling a…

  • Samut Prakan uncovers Covid-19 cluster of 800 infections

    Samut Prakan uncovers Covid-19 cluster of 800 infections

    Worries that Covid-19 had spread through a condominium complex with 8,000 residents in Samut Prakan were justified today as a cluster of 800 infections were uncovered in the housing community. Over 8,000 people residing in the Sin Charoen Thani condo complex are being tested for Covid-19 by a team of public health officials and immigration officers led by the Muang…

  • “Eating raw meat and no medical care” – Phetchaburi field hospital escapees

    “Eating raw meat and no medical care” – Phetchaburi field hospital escapees

    Earlier today The Thaiger wrote how 500 Covid patients tried to escape a field hospital in Phetchaburi. Now, we have further information on why they may have wanted to escape… power outages, they were being frequently in the dark, had to eat raw meat, and were not provided medical care. Tlay Nyo, one of the workers told Thai media… “We…

  • 2 markets in central Thailand report hundreds of new infections

    2 markets in central Thailand report hundreds of new infections

    A Bangkok market and another in the central province of Pathum Thani have recorded hundreds of new Covid-19 infections. The Bangkok Post reports that over 860 new cases have been detected at Pathum Thani’s Simummuang Market, while officials in the Bang Kapi district of Bangkok have confirmed the 3-day closure of Bang Kapi Market following a spike in infections there.…

  • Priceless Buddha statue stolen in March found at a bus stop

    Priceless Buddha statue stolen in March found at a bus stop

    In Lop Buri’s Tha Wung district, a rare Buddha statue went on a mysterious and strange trip having been stolen in March and just found at a bus stop nearby. The statue was stolen from a local museum in the Central Thailand province at the beginning of March and was spotted yesterday morning sitting at a bus stop. The statue…

  • 12 gamblers arrested in raid on restaurant in central Thailand

    12 gamblers arrested in raid on restaurant in central Thailand

    Police have arrested 12 people found eating, drinking, and gambling in a restaurant in the central province of Pathum Thani. Under disease prevention measures, there is currently a ban on in-restaurant dining in a number of provinces in Thailand. According to the Bangkok Post, the authorities raided the restaurant in the Lam Luk Ka district of Pathum Thani late last…

  • Nonthaburi province closes amulet trading venues and swimming pools from today

    Nonthaburi province closes amulet trading venues and swimming pools from today

    Thailand’s Nonthaburi province, which is near Bangkok, is closing amulet trading venues and public swimming pools from today in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19. The new closures come just 2 days after Thailand saw a rollout of new, nationwide restrictions. The swimming pool closures include those situated in housing complexes and estates. The province’s communicable disease committee…

  • 17 new Covid infections in new Samut Prakan cluster, 584 being monitored

    17 new Covid infections in new Samut Prakan cluster, 584 being monitored

    The Department of Disease Control says 17 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported in migrant workers in the central province of Samut Prakan, part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region and directly south and east of central Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi Airport is in Samut Prakan). Opas Karnkawinpong from the DDC says the infections were detected at migrant worker camps, and an…

  • World Heritage committee to consider delaying Kaeng Krachan national park application

    World Heritage committee to consider delaying Kaeng Krachan national park application

    The UNESCO World Heritage Centre says it recognises the plight being faced by indigenous Karen people in Kaeng Krachan national park, in central Thailand. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says the Karen villagers are not permitted to live in the park, after complaints from environmental rights groups concerned about the effect on the surrounding forest land. The Karen people have submitted a…

  • Samut Sakhon field hospitals plan to shut down as Covid cases drop to double-digits

    Samut Sakhon field hospitals plan to shut down as Covid cases drop to double-digits

    The central province and epicentre of Thailand’s second wave of Covid-19, Samut Sakhon is set to shut down as many as 7 field hospitals after daily reported cases of the virus have dropped to double-digits. Kiattiphum Wongrajit, the permanent secretary for Public Health says the country is now only seeing between 30-50 new cases of Covid per day, thanks to successful…

  • Jealous man stabs ex-girlfriend to death at dental office in Ratchaburi

    Jealous man stabs ex-girlfriend to death at dental office in Ratchaburi

    A lover’s quarrel has ended with a man under arrest after allegedly using a 10 centimetre long knife to stab and kill his ex-girlfriend at a dental office in central Ratchaburi province. 38 year old Kaewmorakot Netniam was found dead on the 2nd floor of the Ban Sing Tantakam Dental Clinic, with multiple stab wounds, by police and a doctor…

  • Airline executive arrested for failure to pay wages of 150 workers

    Airline executive arrested for failure to pay wages of 150 workers

    An airline executive has been arrested in the central province of Samut Songkhram, after complaints from150 employees that they had not been paid. Chawengsak Noiprasan, who had a court warrant issued against him in October, was taken to Don Muang police station from a property in the Bang Khan Take sub-district. He is a board member of Siam Air Transport.…

  • Governor of Samut Sakhon recovering from Covid-19 after more than 40 days on ventilator

    Governor of Samut Sakhon recovering from Covid-19 after more than 40 days on ventilator

    The governor of the central province of Samut Sakhon is slowly recovering after more than 2 months battling Covid-19. Weerasak Wichitsangsri tested positive for the virus in late December and subsequently ended up on a ventilator for over 40 days. It’s understood Weerasak’s time on the ventilator was a record for the hospital and at times, medics were unsure if…

  • Thai police officer gets slap down after trying to marry mistress

    Thai police officer gets slap down after trying to marry mistress

    A Thai policeman is making headlines after getting a slap down from his own mother after he attempted to marry his mistress. The man went as far as scheduling a wedding, with monks present to bless the union, but his mom and real wife of 16 years, along with their kids, aged 5 and 15, crashed the party. Nipapan Peuchpen,…

  • Traders at 2 Pathum Thani markets unhappy with extended closure order

    Traders at 2 Pathum Thani markets unhappy with extended closure order

    Traders at 2 wet markets in the central province of Pathum Thani have expressed their frustration at the decision to keep the markets closed until next Thursday. The Pornpat and Suchart markets, in the Thanyaburi district, have been closed since last Friday and were supposed to re-open yesterday. However, officials have extended the closure in response to a number of…

  • Covid-19 task force to consider easing Samut Sakhon restrictions from next week

    Covid-19 task force to consider easing Samut Sakhon restrictions from next week

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is to discuss the easing of restrictions in the central province of Samut Sakhon next week, as new cases continue to fall. Health officials recently introduced a “seal and bubble” strategy to contain the spread of the virus at the epicentre of its resurgence late last year. Yesterday, the province reported 129 new cases,…

  • Officials introduce stricter “seal and bubble” measures for Samut Sakhon factory workers

    Officials introduce stricter “seal and bubble” measures for Samut Sakhon factory workers

    Health officials in the central province of Samut Sakhon, epicentre of the Covid-19 resurgence, say they will introduce tougher restrictions on factory workers in a bid to suppress the spread of the virus. The “seal and bubble” measures are being introduced after the discovery of nearly 8,000 cases during proactive testing at 7 factories in the province in recent weeks.…

  • Samut Sakhon officials seal off migrant workers in 7 factories for entire month

    Samut Sakhon officials seal off migrant workers in 7 factories for entire month

    Health officials in the central province of Samut Sakhon have taken the unprecedented step of sealing off 7 factories, where 40,000 migrant labourers live and work, until the end of February. The action is aimed at halting the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Public Health Permanent Secretary, Kiatipoom Wongrajit, says over 9,000 infections have been found in the 7 factories,…

  • Samut Sakhon’s shrimp market to remain closed until February 15

    Samut Sakhon’s shrimp market to remain closed until February 15

    Samut Sakhon’s Central Shrimp Market, the epicentre of Thailand’s recent wave of Covid-19, will remain closed until February 15. The market can reopen once the overall hygiene situation at the market and surrounding area has improved, according to the province’s disease control committee. Local officials say the shrimp market needs to remain closed until the market structure and nearby residential…

  • Samut Sakhon speeds up proactive Covid-19 screening to test at least 60,000 people this week

    Samut Sakhon speeds up proactive Covid-19 screening to test at least 60,000 people this week

    Proactive Covid-19 testing in Samut Sakhon is increasing and health officials now aim to test at least 60,000 people this week. Medical officials from several hospitals are also coming together to help accelerate the screening at different venues in the province. The active case finding in Samut Sakhon, the primary “Covid-19 hotspot” in the new wave of infections, health officials…

  • 50,000 to be tested for Covid-19 in Samut Sakhon, 198 new infections reported in Thailand today

    50,000 to be tested for Covid-19 in Samut Sakhon, 198 new infections reported in Thailand today

    50,000 people are lining up to be tested for Covid-19 in the hotspot of Samut Sakhon over the next 5 days as health officials step up pro-active testing in the hard-hit Thai province. The target of 10,000 people to be tested per day will focus on factory workers, communities and dormitories in an effort to change Krathum Ban and Muang…

  • Sumut Sakhon’s Central Prawn Market to reopen at the end of January

    Sumut Sakhon’s Central Prawn Market to reopen at the end of January

    Samut Sakhon Central Shrimp Market, the epicentre of the latest wave of Covid-19, is ready to reopen by the end of January after a big clean up. The reopening is considered “important” to the province’s economy, according to the province’s deputy governor. It will also be a new beginning for the workers, mostly migrant workers, who have been so profoundly…

  • Nonthaburi gamblers given jail sentences

    Nonthaburi gamblers given jail sentences

    Following a raid on an illegal gambling den in the central province of Nonthaburi, 41 people have been handed jail sentences at Nonthaburi Provincial Court. Somjit Hinkerd and Sorasak Janthamanee were convicted of running a gambling den in the Bang Bua Thong district and sentenced to 3 months and 15 days’ imprisonment. The other gamblers were sentenced to 15 days’…

  • Food factory converted into 3-zone quarantine facility in Samut Sakhon

    Food factory converted into 3-zone quarantine facility in Samut Sakhon

    The government’s Covid-19 task force says Thailand’s first factory quarantine facility is now up and running in the central province of Samut Sakhon. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the Pattaya Food Group has converted its factory into a facility to house quarantined Covid-19 patients. “The factory used to manufacture canned foods under the Nautilus brand, but it is…

  • Samut Sakhon to open fourth Covid field hospital on Friday

    Samut Sakhon to open fourth Covid field hospital on Friday

    The central province of Samut Sakhon, where Thailand’s second wave of Covid-19 originated last month, is to open a fourth field hospital by Friday. Vice governor Surasak Phonyangsong says the facility consists of 2 buildings with 350 beds to treat both asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic cases. Nation Thailand reports that it is located in the Nadee area of Muang district.…

  • Bangkok officials to consider easing Covid restrictions

    Bangkok officials to consider easing Covid restrictions

    Officials in Bangkok say they may look at lifting some restrictions in the capital, despite yesterday’s cases going up by 37, to a total of 1,989. The Bangkok Post reports that officials are optimistic the overall situation will improve. Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, spokesman for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, says provided the capital avoids any further “super-spreader” events, officials may consider lifting…

  • Bangkok website lists 11 “high risk” areas, urges visitors to identify themselves

    Bangkok website lists 11 “high risk” areas, urges visitors to identify themselves

    A Bangkok website, known simply as BKK Covid-19, has listed 11 areas and venues now considered “high risk” and urged recent visitors to come forward. The places in question are spread across several provinces in the centre and east of the country. Those who have visited the following since December 15 are urged to register. 1. Samut Sakhon province 2.…

  • Officials say strict containment measures will bring Samut Sakhon outbreak under control

    Officials say strict containment measures will bring Samut Sakhon outbreak under control

    Health officials in Thailand say a number of strict containment measures being implemented in the central province of Samut Sakhon, should bring the Covid-19 outbreak under control within the coming weeks. Permanent Secretary for Health, Kiatiphum Wongrajit, says around 4,000 migrant workers located at the epicentre of the outbreak are being detained for over 10 days to ensure they do…

  • Total of 81 new Thai Covid infections in past 24 hours, including from Samut Sakhon

    Total of 81 new Thai Covid infections in past 24 hours, including from Samut Sakhon

    Thailand’s CCSA has reported 81 new Covid-19 infection – 37 are local Thais, 35 are migrant workers and 9 that were detected in quarantine after arriving from outside the country. The total in Thailand is now 5,910, 1,613 new infections detected in the past 7 days. The 9 quarantined arrival cases are from the US, Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Myanmar and the…