Covid-19 News
Thailand Covid-19 news, vaccine updates, travel restrictions, and government policies—stay informed on case numbers, safety measures, and global developments. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for Covid-19 updates in Thailand.
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Four major banks close branches for the weekend to prevent crowds
Four of Thailand’s biggest commercial banks are closing all branches over the weekend to promote social distancing and fight the spread of the Covid-19. Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank, Krungthai Bank and TMB-Thanachart Bank announced yesterday that they would close all branches nationwide today and tomorrow (Saturday and Sunday). Electronic services will remain available. Krungthai Bank’s announcement said the decision was…
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Hundreds of Thai hotels seek aid to protect employees
Will the Thai Social Security Office compensate hundreds of hotels pursuing emergency assistance? Hotels are doing it hard as tourism has come to a virtual halt inside Thailand and hotels are either closing or scaling back their operations substantially. Yesterday, The Thai Hotel Associations sent a letter to the Thai Chamber of Commerce notifying them that hundreds of hotels are…
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Thailand’s health ministry identifies coronavirus hotspots
The ministry of Public Health has released a list of what it considers Covid-19 coronavirus hotspots – places and times where the risk of contagion was extremely high. People who were in these places on these dates are urged to self-quarantine themselves in their homes, and to seek medical advice if they feel ill or show symptoms. The list covers…
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Phuket closes Cape Promthep, other beaches and parks
Add another to the growing list of sites, venues and attractions being shuttered by the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak in Thailand, Phuket’s popular tourist magnet, Cape Promthep, a lookout point famous for its sunsets, has been closed to visitors. Officials on Thailand’s most popular resort island declared the attraction off limits as virus numbers start to increase around the nation. The…
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Chinese tourists arrested for breaking quarantine rules in Phuket
Four Chinese citizens have been arrested, after having their temperatures checked, in the Saku area, Phuket, after “defying coronavirus quarantine rules”. They spent Thursday night at Saku police station for leaving their rented accommodation without notifying authorities of their move from their previously registered address. Two of them were found at a house in Phuket Town, the other two had headed to…
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US Covid-19 cases exceed 100,000 people, South Korea leads the world with testing
The US has kicked the number of cases of Covid-19 coronavirus over 100,000 people. As testing continues to expand rapidly, the US is seeing daily spikes of 10,000+ in recent days (18,294 in the past 24 hours). On March 20 there were 19,000 active cases recorded for the US. The numbers are expected to continue to rise steadily in the coming…
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British PM Boris Johnson tests positive for Covid-19
The British PM has tested positive for the coronavirus. Boris Johnson says he developed “mild symptoms over the past 24 hours”, including a cough and temperature. Mr Johnson was last seen last night, UK time, as he clapped outside his home as part of a nationwide gesture thanking National Health Service staff. 55 year old Mr Johnson maintains he is now…
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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…
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Army officers sidelined over illegal boxing match that caused ‘Covid-19’ cluster
The head of the army’s welfare department has been “transferred to an inactive post” along with other army brass, as an inquiry begins into a now-notorious boxing event on March 6 at the Lumphini Boxing Stadium that’s has led to scores of Covid coronavirus infections. The Royal Thai Army announced today that that Major General Rachit Arunrangsri, who was in…
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Singaporeans face jail, fines if they don’t observe social distancing
Singapore authorities have announced tough new measures to combat the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, saying that those found guilty of intentionally standing or sitting too near to others could be jailed for up to six months. The city-state has already closed bars and cinemas, as well as banning large events. While Singapore isn’t under lockdown or a state of…
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King and Queen of Malaysia under quarantine after palace staff test positive for coronavirus
Malaysia has the highest number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia (2031 at time of publication), and now its King and Queen are under quarantine after 7 staff members of the royal palace tested positive for the virus. National news agency Bernama made the announcement yesterday. Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin and his wife Tuanku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah have tested…
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China closes its borders, only allowing Chinese nationals, diplomats and C visas to enter
How the tables can turn within a month or so. Due to the rapid global spread of the Covid-19 virus, China’s Foreign Ministry has announced that they will temporarily suspend all entries into China. This will also include foreign nationals holding valid visas or residence permits in China. Doors closed, but with a few minor exceptions. “The suspension will be starting…
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34 year old returns from Bangkok, attends a wedding, tests positive for Covid-19
A 34 year old woman, who has since been tested as positive with Covid-19, returned by bus from Bangkok to her home in Roi Et, north east Thailand, to attend a wedding. After results confirmed her case, officials are now scrambling to track down hundreds of guests that also attended the wedding. Governor of Roi Et, Wanchai Konggasem, reports that…
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Phuket reports 7 new coronvirus cases (Friday March 27)
7 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Phuket, bringing the total confirmed cases on the southern resort island to 41. All appear to originate from the Soi Bangla walking street entertainment area of Patong district. None of the cases is considered critical at this stage. The new cases comprise… • Case 35: A 22 year old Thai woman…
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People ‘strongly advised’ to stay home for 7 days
“People nationwide are strongly urged to stay home and stop socialising for 7 days, starting this weekend, as the government steps up efforts to stem the coronavirus.” Reported, Chief of Defence Forces General Pornpipat Benyasri, who is also in charge of security affairs and has full authority of the anti-virus measures under the emergency decree that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered.…
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Human Rights Watch blasts the arrest of Phuket artist over online comments
A local artist and art gallery owner in Phuket, Danai Ussama, better known as “Mr Zen”, was arrested at his home on the island this week, on the day before Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha announced a state of emergency would soon go into effect (which happened on Thursday, March 26). The 42 year old street artist was arrested Monday afternoon and…
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US surpasses China with most coronavirus cases
The United States has overtaken China and now has the highest number of cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in the world, with 85,505 at 9:10am (Thai time). That number is expected to spike. China has 81,782 cases, and Italy 80,589. But the death toll in the US lags behind China’s 3,291 and Italy’s 8,215. The turning point comes as US…
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Anutin misspoke again, later apologises, again
“We’re not happy with some health personnel who do not take good care of themselves. They should have set an example for others.” Thailand’s volatile Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday criticised medical personnel infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus , drawing furious responses on social media until he apologised, again. The deputy PM and Bhumjaithai Party leader originally told reporters…
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Defence chief: Stay home for the sake of the nation, or curfew is inevitable
“We should control ourselves instead of being forced to by the state.” Under the state of emergency that went into effect yesterday, the head of Thailand’s defence forces Pornpipat Benyasri has urged people to stay in their homes today and the weekend or face an enforced curfew to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Pornpipat, who under the emergency…
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Lies, damn lies and statistics – reporting the ‘stats’ of Covid-19
The world pushed through the half a million new cases today, along with 24,000+ deaths, as authorities around the globe struggle to contain the Covid-19 virus as it continues to spread. Today there are 532,000+ active cases, and growing quickly, some 60,000 more identified cases than there were just two days ago. The USA is now the leader in cases,…
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Sitting down is the new smoking – exercise in a Covid-19 world
Now the world is in lock down because of the Coronavirus I bet you will be spending most of your time sitting down watching TV or working on the computer, only to then later sit down some more and watch some more TV… or like me just playing computer games all day. But I bet you didn’t know that sitting…
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7 Thai cabinet members are ‘high risk’ personnel and should be isolated
One of the directives under the state of emergency decree is a measure for certain types of people who are asked to stay home due to being in a high risk category if they contract the virus. The 3 groups are… Seniors aged 70 years and above People with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory…
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Blue Flag grocery vehicles deployed in greater Bangkok to encourage staying home
With the state of emergency requiring people to stay home as much as possible and keeping their ‘social distance’ in public to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the Ministry of Commerce has launched a fleet of Blue Flag vehicles to sell and deliver groceries and other consumer goods at affordable prices, right to people’s homes. Starting yesterday, mobile…
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Thailand’s chicken egg exports banned for 7 days
“The 7 day ban is a trial period, if the situation does not improve by next week, we may consider extending the ban.” Deputy PMr and Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit says… “Currently domestic production capacity averages 40 million eggs per day, while Thailand’s daily consumption is 39 million, and 2 million were exported. To deal with the problem, the…
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5 new coronavirus cases reported in Phuket, first in Koh Samui
Phuket Newshawk reports 5 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases on the southern island of Phuket. The details of the new cases are… A 64 year old Swiss businessman A British man, aged 20, who is a caretaker of yachts A 43 year old Thai woman, a masseuse in Patong A 41 year old Thai man, concierge in a Patong hotel A…
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20,000 expected to apply for unemployment in Chiang Mai
With thousands of businesses shuttered and public spaces closed to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coroavirus, Chiang Mai’s social security office expects some 20,000 laid-off workers to register for unemployment benefits. “People started registering on Tuesday and we’re getting at least 1,000 a day on average. And they’re not just Chiang Mai people, but also from other provinces.” Registration…
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No public transport bus tickets until at least April 30
“We cannot provide additional buses and all available buses have been used. Complying with the social distancing policy halves the number of passengers per bus.” Due to the state of emergency declared by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, the president of state enterprise Transport Company, Jirasak Yaovatsakul, announced today that ticket sales for all…
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One MRT station closed after confirmed Covid-19 case
An employee has confirmed positive with Covid-19 who worked at the Nonthaburi Civil Centre MRT station run by the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRT). So the MRT has suspended all services at the Nonthaburi Civil Centre station this morning from 8:40 am. The Nonthaburi Civic Centre will go through a deep clean and sterilisation today, in line with the…
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New cases in Thailand – 111, pushes total over 1,000
Thursday’s total for new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus is out. The number of newly confirmed Covid-19 cases in Thailand is now over 1,000. 111 new cases were announced to the media today a spokesperson from the Ministry of Public Health. The official number of infections in Thailand, at the time of publication (1pm Thai time) is 1,045. The ministry…
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Immigration Bureau asks people to file reports online, avoid their offices
A spokesman for the Immigration Bureau says that foreigners living in Thailand are now requested to process their 90 day residence reports via an online platform or by post only. Applicants are usually required to report in person to complete the procedure. The change comes as one metre social distancing has been virtually impossible at immigration offices. One IB office…
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