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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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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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…
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PM hits back at criticism of vaccine rollout, threatens to hold critics responsible for delays
The Thai PM has hit back at opposition politicians who have criticised the national vaccine rollout, warning them that any delays with delivery will be their fault. Responding to Wiroj Lakkhanaadisorn, an MP from the Move Forward Party who questioned delivery timescales, Prayut Chan-o-cha warned critics not to politicise the matter. “I am concerned that comments on the vaccines will…
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Thai Airways to deliver first doses of Covid-19 vaccine on February 24
Thailand’s national carrier, Thai Airways International, is being tasked with transporting 200,000 doses of a Covid-19 vaccine from China to Bangkok, arriving next week. The CoronaVac jab from Chinese manufacturer, Sinovac, will be the first Covid-19 vaccine to be administered in the Kingdom. Nation Thailand reports that Thai Airways flight TG675 will take off from Beijing at 6.50am local time…
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2 more cases of South African variant detected in Thais in state quarantine
There are now 3 Thai people in state quarantine who are being treated for the highly transmissible South African variant of Covid-19. Unlike foreign nationals, Thai nationals do not have to be tested prior to returning to the Kingdom. Opass Putcharoen from the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Diseases Clinical Centre has confirmed there are 3 patients in quarantine, infected…
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Human trafficking ‘gang’ arrested over Samut Sakhon outbreak | VIDEO
But are they scapegoats? Nearly 2 months after the Samut Sakhon outbreak put Thailand’s previously excellent Covid 19 record to the test, a series of people are now being rounded up and arrested as the key people behind the outbreak. A 45 year old Thai woman, known as Jay Phet, has been arrested for acquiring illegal Burmese migrants, getting them…
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Covid lockdown in Pathum Thani district, just north of Bangkok | VIDEO
Whilst migrant dormitories and parts of the seafood markets in Samut Sakhon remain either in complete lockdown or as restricted areas, and the affected gambling dens in Rayong have magically disappeared, the focus of the current Covid outbreak has now turned to Pathum Thani… just north of Bangkok and probably better known as the province that hosts the Buddhist Dhammakaya…
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Health Minister says first vaccine doses will be here on February 24
Thailand’s Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, says the first doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in the Kingdom on February 24. Nation Thailand reports that the first batch of 200,000 doses will leave China on February 20. Anutin’s statement comes after weeks of uncertainty, with the government coming in for criticism over the slow pace of the vaccine…
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Thai government says tourism-dependent locations will get high priority in vaccination drive
The government’s Covid-19 task force says places like Phuket and Pattaya, which are heavily reliant on international tourism, will be considered “high priority” for vaccination. The Pattaya News reports that Apisamai Srirangsan, assistant spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, made the announcement at a press conference yesterday. The southern island of Phuket – along with a number of…
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Quarantine may be increased to 21 days for returnees arriving from Africa
The Thai government may increase mandatory quarantine to 21 days for those returning from Africa, as efforts continue to stop the spread of the South African variant of the virus. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says the B1351 variant, which first surfaced in South Africa late last year, is faster spreading and could lead to an increase in the…
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CCSA Update: 143 new Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths
143 new Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand’s coronavirus death toll is now at 82. Since the start of the pandemic last year, Thailand has reported a total of 24,714 Covid-19 infections. There are 1,749 active Covid-19 cases. A 62 year old Thai man from Ubon Ratchathani died…
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Thai returnee tests positive for South Africa Covid-19 variant
A Thai national, who is in quarantine after returning from Tanzania, is infected with the South Africa strain of Covid-19, a variant of the virus known to be more contagious and believed to be resistant to some vaccines. The Department of Disease Control director general Opas Karnkawinpong says health officials are closely monitoring the situation and a rapid screening process…
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Scientists say Thailand bats could spread similar coronaviruses
Scientists say bats in Thailand could spread other coronaviruses related to Sars-CoV-2, or Covid-19, joining what is thought to be many other bats doing the same thing across Asia. The revelation comes after scientists found bats at a wildlife sanctuary in eastern Thailand to feature a virus that closely matches that of the virus that causes Covid-19. The team that…
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QAnon, plandemics and sheeple – making sense of the Covid conspiracy-speak
OPINION Whilst many of us have been finding ways to cope with lockdowns and restrictions related to Covid-19, or trying to hang on to jobs and keep our family safe, others have used their spare time to indulge in an elaborate alternate universe of plandemics, sheeple and evil 5G. Bill Gates is apparently the devil in human form and ‘Q’…
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Chulalongkorn University in lockdown following discovery of Covid cluster
Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University has closed until the end of February in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, following the discovery of 16 cases on campus. The university is urging all staff and students to remain in their accommodation and not to go out or meet others between now and February 28. 16 university employees have tested positive for…
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Samut Sakhon to re-open 22 fresh markets from Monday
The central province of Samut Sakhon, where the Covid-19 virus first re-surfaced in December, is to re-open 22 wet markets from Monday. However, the seafood market where the outbreak began is not one of them, and it is not yet known when that might re-open. The 22 markets have been closed since December 19 as a result of the virus…
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Samui tourism operators push for faster vaccination programme
Tourism operators on the island of Samui are calling for the national vaccine rollout to be accelerated, in a bid to re-start international tourism by the third quarter of 2021. Ratchaporn Poolsawadee from the Tourism Association of Koh Samui says domestic tourism alone cannot support the sector and it won’t recover without a vaccination programme. He adds that despite the…
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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,…
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Despite lack of vaccine clarity, TAT still aiming for Q3 revival of foreign tourism
Despite there being no definitive date for when everyone in Thailand might be vaccinated against Covid-19, officials say they’re still planning for the return of foreign tourists later this year. Yuthasak Supasorn from the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the plan to welcome international travellers in the third quarter of 2021 is still on track. The optimistic Yuthasak says foreign…
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Health Ministry says 2 million vaccine doses to be administered by April
Thailand’s Health Ministry says it hopes to have vaccinated over 960,000 people across 10 provinces come April. The Bangkok Post reports that Sopon Mekthon from the government’s Covid-19 vaccine task force says the initial rollout will target high-risk groups, such as those over the age of 60, those with underlying conditions, as well as frontline healthcare workers and disease control…
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201 new cases, 185 locally transmitted- Covid-19 Update
Today, Thailand has reported 201 new Covid-19 cases, with 185 being locally-transmitted. 16 of those cases were imported, raising the total number of cases in the country to 24,104 since the outbreak began. An assistant spokeswoman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, says 96 new cases were confirmed at hospitals and 89 others through active case finding. Samut Sakhon,…
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Human trials of Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccine to begin next month
Thailand’s Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, says the first stage of human trials of a locally-produced vaccine will get underway next month. The jab is a joint collaboration between the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and the Faculty of Tropical Medicine of Mahidol University. It’s understood the vaccine has performed satisfactorily in animal testing, showing an ability to stimulate immunity. Pannee Pitisutthitgan from…
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Phuket’s tourism representatives petition PM over ban on local vaccine purchase
Representatives from various tourism associations on the southern island of Phuket have reacted with dismay to a government ban on local administrations and the private sector purchasing Covid-19 vaccines. In January, the Public Health Minister stated that the government was not opposed to local authorities purchasing their own vaccine supplies, provided the jabs had been approved by the Food and…
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CCSA Update: 157 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death
157 new Covid-19 cases and 1 new death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 4,909 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 23,903 Covid-19 infections and 80 coronavirus-related deaths. Out of the 157 new cases, 106 cases were detected in active…
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Sick pet cats and dogs to be tested for Covid-19 in Seoul, South Korea
Cat and dog owners in Seoul, South Korea are now asked to keep their pets 2 metres away from both people and other pets while sick cats and dogs with flu-like symptoms will be tested for Covid-19. The new health measures for pets comes after the country reported its first feline coronavirus case in January when a kitten in the…
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Health Minister hits back at accusations of vaccine “failure”
Thailand’s Public Health Minister has refuted accusations that the government has failed to procure Covid-19 vaccines in a timely manner, demanding that the media stop confusing the public. A somewhat vexed Anutin Charnvirakul says Thailand cannot be compared with other countries as the Kingdom now has a deal to produce the AstraZeneca vaccine locally. This will make it easier to…
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CCSA Update: 189 new Covid-19 cases
189 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 5,301 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 23,746 coronavirus infections and 79 coronavirus-related deaths. 123 of the new infections were linked to high risk areas including 109 in Samut…
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World Tourism hotspots re-opening – success or failure? | VIDEO
The world of tourism has been turned upside down, not just in Thailand but around the world. Globally, it’s certainly the hardest hit industry from the coronavirus pandemic, shutting down hotels, tour companies, grounding aeroplanes and putting millions out of work. Before we look at the latest situation, and predictions for Thailand, let’s take a quick tour of some of…
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Court denies request to remove online footage of Thanathorn’s criticism of vaccine rollout
The Criminal Court has rejected a bid by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to remove a piece of online footage that criticises the government’s Covid-19 vaccine rollout. The former leader of the Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, took to Facebook to live stream his thoughts on the government’s handling of the national vaccination programme, criticising officials for procurement…
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Officials brainstorm ideas to revive Phuket tourism
Government officials and business representatives on the resort island of Phuket have been busy brainstorming various proposals to revive tourism, with many calling for quarantine requirements to be waived for vaccinated foreigners. The Bangkok Post reports that Bhummikitti Raktaengam from the Phuket Tourism Association says foreign tourists who can prove they’ve been vaccinated against Covid-19 should be allowed to enter…
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Health officials say 50% of Thais will receive Covid-19 vaccine this year
The chief of the Department of Disease Control, part of the Ministry of Public Health, says plans are underway to vaccinate 30 million Thais by the end of 2021. Opas Karnkawinpong says thousands of public and community hospitals across the country will be involved in the national vaccine rollout, with vaccines distributed from central storage sites at the Department of…
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