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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  • Thai restaurants and food chains switching to home deliveries

    Thai restaurants and food chains switching to home deliveries

    A difficult time for restaurants as the government rolls out lockdowns across the country. So many of the restaurants and food chains are changing from sit in facilities to home delivery. They’re saying that they need to switch their financial strategy to stay afloat as the spread of Covid-19 becomes more serious in Thailand. So they’re becoming ‘virtual’ restaurants providing…

  • Phuket declares ‘lockdown’ of all but essential services

    Phuket declares ‘lockdown’ of all but essential services

    A lockdown of all but essential services has been declared for Phuket, echoing the ‘lockdown’ in Bangkok and surrounding provinces over the weekend. The Thaiger has just received an English version but awaiting an internet-friendly version which we will publish ASAP. Here are the main things you need to know.

  • Australian consul general in Phuket confirms letters for stranded Aussie expats

    Australian consul general in Phuket confirms letters for stranded Aussie expats

    The Australian Consulate General in Phuket says it will provide visa support letters to any Australians in Thailand who can prove long-term residency in Thailand. The Australian consul general in Phuket confirms that letters for expats caught by Non-Imm O visa requirements will be provided. “Please email Consular.Phuket@dfat.gov.au with your personal particulars page of your passport and a copy of your…

  • UPDATE: Thailand confirms 106 new coronavirus cases, 3 more deaths

    UPDATE: Thailand confirms 106 new coronavirus cases, 3 more deaths

    UPDATE: New cases announced in Phuket (below). ORIGINAL STORY: Thailand health officials have reported 106 new Covid-19 coronavirus infections today, bringing the total to 827 in the Kingdom. The number of new cases is lower than the 122 recorded yesterday. The Ministry of Public Health has also reported 3 additional deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing…

  • Team Thailand, hell yeah! Coming to save you from Covid-19.

    Team Thailand, hell yeah! Coming to save you from Covid-19.

    The world may be going completely bonkers but at least here in Thailand we can rely on Team Thailand. “Team Thailand”, is the patriotic term the mercurial Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has come up with to describe the hand-picked panel of medical experts who will be going through daily reports and recommending the next steps to battle the…

  • Tourism call centre flooded with complaints over cancellations

    Tourism call centre flooded with complaints over cancellations

    Thailand’s Tourism Department and its recently opened complaint centre are being flooded with complaints from would-be tourists about cancellations due to the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak. More than 2000 have filed complaints, and the department says refunds will be difficult. The outbreak has bashed global travel, resulting in Thai AirAsia, Thai Lion Air and Bangkok Airways, among others, temporarily stopping all…

  • Cabinet will look at proposal to help with home internet

    Cabinet will look at proposal to help with home internet

    Cabinet today will look at a proposal to help people working from home with 10 Gb free internet for their smartphones, along with other subsidies. The Thai National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will ask for cabinet approval providing mobile users with 10 free gigabytes of data usage per subscriber, per month up to June 30. The NBTS say they recognise…

  • Italian coronavirus strain may be more dangerous than Wuhan version

    Italian coronavirus strain may be more dangerous than Wuhan version

    “We are fighting an enemy which is more devastating than any weapon or army. The enemy keeps multiplying every day and gains the upper hand if we do not change our way of life. The only way to defeat this enemy is for all of us to do these simple things. Practise social distancing and avoid crowded places, and we…

  • The Thaiger top 10 ways to cope with self-isolation

    The Thaiger top 10 ways to cope with self-isolation

    It’s a turbulent time. With socialising discouraged and many businesses closed, things can seem a bit scary. And with the Covid-19 coronavirus sweeping the world, you will be worried about the health of family and friends, even yourself. If you’re stuck at home due to the virus you’re probably asking yourself: “Now what am I supposed to do?” But there…

  • Chon Buri closes more businesses, asks public to avoid beaches

    Chon Buri closes more businesses, asks public to avoid beaches

    Yep, this means Pattaya as well. The governor of Chon Buri province today signed an order for the closure of additional businesses “until the situation improves,” to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in and around the major party town of Pattaya. The order includes the closure of following: Water parks and public swimming pools (Privately owned pools…

  • 7-Eleven to hire 20,000 delivery staff across Thailand

    7-Eleven to hire 20,000 delivery staff across Thailand

    “We recommend using the 7-Eleven Delivery mobile application to shop for foods and consumer products and we will deliver them to you.” There are plenty of businesses around Thailand either closing or heavily down-scaling their operations in the current Covid-19 crisis.Now, the operator 0f 7-11 stores across Thailand, CP All, has announced that it will expand its delivery services to…

  • Cash handouts to be proposed tomorrow

    Cash handouts to be proposed tomorrow

    “Those having social security will be taken care of by the Social Security Office, while those who are not insured under the social security scheme will be taken care of by the Ministry of Finance. We are planning to use an emergency budget from fiscal 2020 of around 20 billion baht to provide cash handouts to people affected by the…

  • Thais in Malaysia may return home, but only by air

    Thais in Malaysia may return home, but only by air

    Today a statement was issued by the Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and has officially announced that Thais’ who wish to return home can do so by air. And only by air, if they get a flight. Thai citizens in Malaysia can request a certificate from the Embassy via e-mail, if they want to return to Thailand. Provided that…

  • Phuket confirms 4 new coronavirus cases, some businesses closed

    Phuket confirms 4 new coronavirus cases, some businesses closed

    4 new Covid-19 coronavirus cases were confirmed in Phuket, southern Thailand, today. This brings the total on the resort island to 17. 26 more are in hospital awaiting test results. Provincial officials are inspecting a variety of sites for a potential “field hospital” to be set up, in case the number infections in Phuket continues to rise. The director of…

  • Thai manufacturers of ‘substandard’ sanitisers warned

    Thai manufacturers of ‘substandard’ sanitisers warned

    The ruling ‘Phalang Pracharat’ Party has given a warning that using counterfeit alcohol-based sanitisers can lead to lethal health conditions and vendors will face imprisonment. Tipanan Sirichana, a deputy spokesperson of the ruling party, posted on her Facebook account that there were several cases of patients suffering from respiratory illness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea after using substandard sanitisers. “The chemical…

  • Olympics postponement may be ‘inevitable’ due to Covid-19

    Olympics postponement may be ‘inevitable’ due to Covid-19

    Today Japan’s PM Shinzo Abe, says “postponing the Olympics over the coronavirus pandemic may become inevitable”, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said a delay was being considered as pressure grows from athletes and sports bodies. Meanwhile Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic committees announced they will not send teams to the Games if they are held this summer, prioritising the health…

  • Covid-19 coronavirus questions and answers

    Covid-19 coronavirus questions and answers

    Everything you wanted to know which we answer to the best of our current knowledge…. 1. How does the virus/infection spread? Mostly spread through contact with an infected person through coughing, sneezing, nasal secretion and saliva. It is understood that the virus can be airborne for at least a short time. So just being in the same vicinity as an…

  • Four Chinese nationals arrested at Burmese border

    Four Chinese nationals arrested at Burmese border

    Four Chinese nationals have been arrested in the Mae Sot district of the lower northern province of Tak, in north west Thailand, and charged with illegal entry and violation of Covid-19 coronavirus controls. The four were arrested this morning. They were crossing from Myanmar into Thailand. They were arrested by a government patrol after crossing the Moei river from Myanmar…

  • Thailand confirms 122 new coronavirus cases (Monday)

    Thailand confirms 122 new coronavirus cases (Monday)

    Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and the Department of Disease control confirmed 122 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in their daily press briefing today (Monday). This brings Thailand’s total to 721 since the virus was first detected in January. 7 remain in critical condition. Of the new cases, 16 have been traced to previously confirmed cases, while 4 were…

  • Thailand seals borders in North, Northeast

    Thailand seals borders in North, Northeast

    “All travellers should closely monitor announcements concerning the border closure to prevent misunderstandings.” Thailand’s borders are now sealed to all but freight traffic in the North and Northeastern regions. The third Thai-Lao Friendship, linking Nakhon Phanom province with Khammouane province in Laos, closed at 10pm yesterday as a precaution against the Covid-19 coronavirus. Goods vehicles are still permitted but drivers…

  • Covid-19 UPDATE: Thailand’s latest cases, ‘Olympics’ decision in four weeks

    Covid-19 UPDATE: Thailand’s latest cases, ‘Olympics’ decision in four weeks

    As the world’s new cases soar past 338,000 this morning (including 9,339 new cases announced in the US over the past 24 hours), Thailand is bracing itself for a wave of cases outside of Bangkok. Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health and the Department of Disease control confirmed 122 new cases of the Covid-19 coronavirus in their daily press briefing today (Monday). This…

  • Bye bye Bangkok, 1000s of workers head home

    Bye bye Bangkok, 1000s of workers head home

    The Thai PM was asked over the weekend if there would be additional measures to tackle the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. He replied “We’re working on it.” Bangkok’s lockdown-you-have-when-you’re-not-having-a-lockdown, is pushing 1,000s of casual and migrant workers out of the city ‘up country’ as Bangkok shutters many of its businesses. Many are heading home to Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos…

  • The Thaiger, punching on in tough times

    The Thaiger, punching on in tough times

    The Thaiger is a small, dedicated team who have been working overtime to keep up the flow of accurate (as best we can) information over the past two and a half months as the coronavirus story has evolved. But we’re a small business, like many others, and have a lot of pressures on us to keep punching on whilst so…

  • Officials concerned about people heading ‘up country’ after being put off work

    Officials concerned about people heading ‘up country’ after being put off work

    Bangkok’s next door provinces are imposing increased preventative measures to deal with Thailand’s current surge of Covid-19 cases by closing a range of retail business, starting today. The closures are set to add a wave of newly-unemployed who may decide to head home for the annual Songkran early, and that’s a problem. The provinces that have followed the lead from…

  • Sa Kaeo closes 19 Cambodian border checkpoints – Covid-19

    Sa Kaeo closes 19 Cambodian border checkpoints – Covid-19

    Despite denials only days ago, all 19 checkpoints in the eastern province of Sa Kaeo, two permanent and 17 temporary, along the border with Cambodia will be temporarily closed in a bid to stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronivirus. Thai health officials announced a new total of 599 cases. Read that story HERE. The order, dated yesterday, signed by…

  • Thailand announces 188 new covid-19 coronavirus cases (Sunday)

    Thailand announces 188 new covid-19 coronavirus cases (Sunday)

    Thailand’s daily press briefing with the Ministry of Public Health and the Department of Disease Control confirmed 188 new cases of the Covid-19 Coronavirus this morning. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 599 since the first cases were detected in the Kingdom in January. Of those cases, 42 have fully recovered, while 557 remain…

  • 13 cases in Phuket, official

    13 cases in Phuket, official

    13 cases of Covid-19 coronavirus have now been confirmed in the southern Thai island of Phuket. 6 new cases have been announced in the past 24 hours. On Friday the Phuket Governor admitted to five cases on the island – 2 Chinese visitors in early February and 3 current cases involving a Danish family. 188 new cases have been announced…

  • Covid-19 UPDATE: World cases exceed 300,000, Italian hospitals overwhelmed

    Covid-19 UPDATE: World cases exceed 300,000, Italian hospitals overwhelmed

    In the past week, the number of Covid-19 coronavirus cases has nearly doubled. Same with the number of deaths. This morning (10am Thai time) more than 308,000 people are now infected with the novel coronavirus worldwide, and that’s only the people who have been tested and identified. The most worrying rises have been in the US, Spain, Italy, Germany and…

  • Bangkok’s five surrounding provinces also enforce closures, supermarkets stay open

    Bangkok’s five surrounding provinces also enforce closures, supermarkets stay open

    Five provinces neighbouring the Thai capital are now following suit and ordering the temporary closure of some shops and stores from today up to April 12. The five provinces are Samut Prakarn, Samut Sakhon, Nakhon Pathom, Nonthaburi and Pathumthani. The efforts are designed to slow the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in and around Greater Bangkok. Yesterday 89 new cases…

  • Your democracy is killing you and how China suppressed Covid-19

    Your democracy is killing you and how China suppressed Covid-19

    OPINION On January 25, 2020 the Chinese government started locking down around 930 million citizens over the following few weeks, starting with the city centres of Hubei province, the probable ground zero of the outbreak, and spreading outwards. Most of these Chinese citizens are still quarantined in their homes. About two weeks later, in the second week of February, the…