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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Sponsored Is private health insurance in Thailand worth it? Real costs vs risks explained
Thailand has a strong healthcare system with both public and private options. Public hospitals offer affordable care, but many people, including expats, choose private health insurance for faster service, modern facilities, and more treatment choices. To decide if private health...
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Suphan Buri car accident kills 2, injures 4; all had Covid, 3 knew
Yesterday, 2 people died and 4 more were injured in a car accident in the central Thai province of Suphan Buri. Thai media says the people were on their way home to receive Covid treatment. A pickup truck carried the 6 relatives on their journey from Bangkok. However, for reasons unknown, it veered off the road and hit a tree…
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315 inmates at Khon Kaen prison test positive for Covid-19
In a recent Covid-19 outbreak among prison inmates, 315 people detained at Khon Kaen Provincial Prison in the Isaan region tested positive for the virus. The latest and most severe wave spread to many of Thailand’s overcrowded prisons, infecting more than 40,000 inmates over the past several months. Local disease control officials tested inmates at the Khon Kaen prison after…
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2 people infected with Covid-19 rally in Bangkok to demand medical care
A small group of people, including 2 who claimed they were infected with Covid-19, held a rally outside the Government House in Bangkok yesterday evening, calling for the Thai government to provide proper medical treatment for coronavirus patients. 25 police officers dressed in personal protective equipment, or PPE suits, were called to monitor the rally. Just 7 people attended the…
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Health Ministry asks vaccine importers to prepare procurement plans for next year
6 Covid-19 vaccine importers have been asked to prepare purchase plans for next year, which should factor in virus mutations. The Public Health Ministry made the request at a meeting with AstraZeneca Thailand, Pfizer Thailand, Zuellig Pharma, Janssen-Cilag, Biogenetech, and the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation. According to a Nation Thailand report, Opas Karnkawinpong from the Department of Disease Control says an…
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Study finds 2 doses of Pfizer, AstraZeneca effective against Delta strain
A study published yesterday shows that 2 doses of the Pfizer vaccine or 2 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are almost as effective against the rapid-spreading Delta variant as they are against the Alpha variant. In Thailand, the AstraZeneca vaccine is being produced locally and is the primary vaccine being used in the nationwide Covid-19 immunisation campaign. Thailand recently approved…
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Singapore forced to re-introduce stricter measures as Covid-19 cases rise
Singapore has had to re-introduce a number of disease prevention measures in response to a rise in community infections in the city state. TTR Weekly reports that a number of restrictions will be re-applied from today until August 18. Social gatherings are once again being reduced in number, from 5 to 2 people, with officials urging people to limit their…
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3 bodies found in Bangkok streets, 2 positive for Covid-19, result pending for third
Netizens have slammed Bangkok police, claiming that the bodies of 3 men who died separately on the streets of the capital were left uncollected for hours. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has called for understanding, insisting that the claims on social media are untrue. According to a Bangkok Post report, spokesman Piya Tawichai says 2 of the 3 bodies have tested…
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Government does an about-face, will hold talks to join Covax
In a significant U-turn, the Thai government says it’s prepared to hold talks to join Covax, the global initiative that aims to ensure equal access to vaccines. Thailand famously became the only Southeast Asian nation not to join when it had the opportunity to do so last year. At the time, government spokesman Anucha Buraphachaisri said Thailand preferred to sign…
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New Phuket checkpoint rules see 392 people denied yesterday
New restrictions for entering Phuket announced Sunday went into effect yesterday, causing a rash of nearly 400 people to be turned away at the entrance checkpoint. While previous rules allowed unvaccinated people meeting certain criteria to enter, now everyone who enters Phuket needs to be fully vaccinated in addition to testing negative for Covid-19. This new strict requirement applies to…
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Bangkok’s Bang Sue vaccination centre open to expats 60 and above
Expats ages 60 and above in Bangkok and surrounding provinces can now register from an AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine appointment at the Bang Sue Grand Station Central Vaccination Centre. Walk-in services are offered to foreign residents who are 75 years old and older from 9am to 4pm. Foreign residents who are at least 60 years old must fill out a registration…
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Pattaya restaurants suffering, closing over dark red restrictions
New severe Covid-19 restrictions go into effect as Chon Buri province and Pattaya inside it were classified as dark red zones, causing already hard-hit restaurants to suffer and some to close completely. Being pushed to take-away only after their customer base is already severely reduced by international borders being all but closed to tourism for over a year has left…
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CCSA recommends closure of 10 more places and venues in “dark red” zones
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is recommending the closure of 10 more places and venues in “dark red” zones as additional measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. Provincial authorities in each of the 13 “dark red” zones, including Bangkok, can decide whether to follow the CCSA’s recommendation. The measures in “dark red” zones currently in place include a…
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Locked in a construction worker camp in Bangkok – Thailand’s hidden Covid tragedy | VIDEO
Friso Poldervaart and Greg Lange, founders of the Bangkok Community Help Foundation, spoke to The Thaiger this week about the critical problems emerging in some of the worker and construction camps. Some 80,000 people – mostly Burmese, Cambodian and Thai workers – have been isolated in these shanty towns, basically imprisoned. They are guarded by Thai police and army. Some…
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Covid-19 “survival boxes” funded by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s donated salary
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha waived his salary for the next 3 months to support the public amid the most severe wave of Covid-19 infections. Some of the funds will be used for so-called “survival boxes” to distribute to those in “dark red” zones, according to government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri. Several cabinet members and other public officials announced they would temporarily forgo…
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Healthcare workers to be prioritised for Pfizer vaccine from next month
The head of the Department of Disease Control says the country’s healthcare workers will be first in line for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine from August. Opas Karnkawinpong says a donation of 1.5 million doses from the US government is expected to arrive at the end of this month. In a separate deal, the government has signed a procurement contract to…
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Private sector says lockdowns won’t work without vaccines, mass testing
Industry representatives in Thailand say Covid-19 lockdowns won’t work unless accompanied by mass screening and vaccination. Supant Mongkolsuthree from the Federation of Thai Industries has expressed scepticism that the proposed tightening of restrictions in 13 high-risk provinces will bring the virus under control. Instead, he says the proposal could cost the economy around 100 billion baht and will be ineffective…
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Opposition MP slams government over AstraZeneca procurement failure
An MP from the opposition Pheu Thai Party has blasted the government for not disclosing the details of the AstraZeneca procurement contract. Yutthapong Charasathien is demanding that Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul remove the head of the Department of Disease Control over the failings, accusing him of mismanaging vaccine procurement and allocation. The Bangkok Post reports that during a meeting…
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FDA says don’t buy South Korean Covid home test kits
Thailand’s FDA is cautioning people against ordering the South Korean manufactured Covid home test kits sold online. The FDA says they have not approved them, yet. The seller, who is offering the Covid tests on their Facebook, says their kits have already been approved in South Korea. And by the World Health Organization! Also, the test kits can tell the…
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All domestic travellers entering Phuket need to be vaccinated against Covid-19
All domestic travellers entering Phuket must be vaccinated against Covid-19 and also test negative for the virus. The new rules imposed by Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew go into effect today and will be in place until at least August 2. The island province reopened to foreign tourists who are vaccinated against the coronavirus on July 1, amid the most severe…
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Motorbike taxis allegedly hiking up fares at Bangkok’s Bang Sue station
Yesterday, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the police, Damrongsak Kittipraphat, said motorcycle gangs have been offering people who are attempting to use Bangkok’s Bang Sue Grandstation’s parking lot rides at exorbitant prices. Damrongsak says the duplicitous drivers claimed the parking lot is full and then offered people rides at inflated rates. The commander says they have made multiple arrests pertaining to the…
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Thai start up’s “Subunit” vaccine almost ready for production/use in mid 2022
The government has announced that a new Covid vaccine may be ready for “production” as early as a couple of weeks. The new vaccine, the “Subunit vaccine” comes from plant protein and uses the same technology as Novavax. Novavax, as reported back in March has previously been shown to be 100% effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalisation or death from…
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Unused Thai schools to be transformed into field hospitals as infections surge
Empty or unused school buildings across Thailand are to be converted into field hospitals as Covid-19 cases surge and the hospital bed crisis continues. Amporn Pinasa from the Office of the Basic Education Commission has issued an order for all unused buildings to be repurposed as makeshift field hospitals to increase the number of treatment facilities available. With hospitals in…
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Thailand’s airlines feeling the pinch with no government support
Asia Aviation, the largest shareholder in Thai AirAsia, says the latest partial lockdown threatens TAA’s financial status, with no government aid forthcoming. AA executive chairman Tassapon Bijleveld says the industry has been limping along without any help for over a year now and wants to know how the government expects to collect tax once large businesses collapse. In a Bangkok…
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Worst case scenario? 32,000 cases a day, says research
The CCSA, referencing research by a professor from Mahidol University, says it’s possible, in a worst-case scenario, that Covid infections could hit 32,000 cases a day in 3 months. Dr Nuanchan Singkran’s research uses data as current as of July 17. It posits that if the handling of the situation is not improved, the daily infection rate could hit about…
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European nations accelerating vaccination, mandatory inoculation considered for some
As European nations gradually emerge from the ravages of the pandemic, some governments are getting tough on those who refuse to be vaccinated. In particular, French President Emmanuel Macron is pushing for accelerated vaccination, including mandatory inoculation for some. A Bloomberg report says the European Union has gone from trying to manage limited vaccine supplies to having more than enough,…
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Despite chaos and confusion, hundreds of foreigners vaccinated in “one-off” event
Following a series of last-minute announcements from a number of foreign embassies, over 1 thousand American, Australian, Indian, and New Zealand nationals in Bangkok lined up to be vaccinated on Sunday. According to a Coconuts report, foreign residents queued for up to 4 hours to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, in what has been described as a “one-off”…
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Phuket officials concerned over “Sandboxers” who test positive for Covid on arrival
Out of the so-called “Sandboxers” who tested positive for Covid-19 since the Phuket reopening started on July 1, half of the infections were detected after the first test taken at the airport on arrival. The positive results conflict with the travellers’ negative results issued no more than 72 hours before departure, a requirement under the “Phuket Sandbox” model. Noticing a…
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Stricter measures and lockdown may be coming
Health officials say stricter measures may need to be imposed in the next 2 weeks, including a complete lockdown of cities. This intensified lockdown could happen in the next 2 months if the rate of infection does not decrease, said the Director General of the Department of Disease Control Dr Opart Karnkawinpong, yesterday Dr Opart says if the new infection…
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Monday Covid Update: 122,097 active cases; provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported a record high of 11,784 new Covid-19 cases and 81 coronavirus-related deaths. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has recorded a total of 415,170 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 3,422 virus-related deaths. There are now 122,097 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. With the emergence of the highly transmissible Delta variant in…
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Phuket adds and “clarifies” many restrictions, “no” booze
Phuket officials announced yesterday that they’re going to kick restrictions up a notch. The Covid protection measures include a new order stipulating all domestic arrivals from anywhere in the country need to provide evidence that they have tested negative for Covid before they are allowed admittance into Phuket. The order came out after 9 pm last night. It will come…
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