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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Phase 6 to be announced this week, will allow more groups to come to Thailand
“…keeping the economy functioning is of secondary importance.” 5 move groups are expected to be allowed into Thailand as the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration rolls out Phase 6 of the -reopenings’ this week. The groups would include migrant workers and some foreigners. A meeting was held yesterday where the next phase of reopening Thailand was discussed which will be considered by…
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Medical expert says it may be weeks before Melbourne outbreak under control
As Australia’s second-largest city is in the middle of a second wave of the Covid-19 virus, a top medical expert says the outbreak will likely take weeks to control. Melbourne, in the southern state of Victoria, has been hit with a spike in new community-transmitted cases, recording 438 infections on Friday and even more over the weekend. Acting chief medical…
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Pattaya’s homeless population seeks refuge in abandoned bars
Despite the easing of nearly all restrictions imposed to suppress the Covid-19 virus, Thailand’s people are still very much feeling the lingering effect of the shutdown. An ongoing ban on nearly all international arrivals has crippled the tourism industry, meaning many nightlife venues in places like Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket remain shut. A report in The Pattaya News shows the…
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Thai government pleased with ongoing suppression of Covid-19 despite nightlife re-opening
The spokesman for Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, says that despite his initial concerns, there has been no new spike in virus cases following the re-opening of the country’s nightlife. While discussing phase 5 of the easing of Covid restrictions, Dr. Taweesin admits that many medical experts, including himself, had been uneasy about the move. However,…
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Emergency Decree, Phase 6 to be discussed in coming weeks: CCSA
Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said in a press conference this morning that discussions on the Emergency Decree and a “Phase 6” of lifting Covid-19 restrictions and reopening the country are expected in the upcoming weeks. A meeting is expected of the committees, including the CCSA and the National Security Council, responsible for easing…
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Covid-19 update: 3 new cases found in state quarantine, no new deaths (July 19)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that it discovered 3 new cases of Covid-19 in the previous 24 hours, all in state quarantine. It was the 57th day without a domestically transmitted case since May. The new cases bring the total number of cases up to 3,249 since January, when the outbreak began. There were no new fatalities,…
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Poll: vast majority fear second virus wave, support foreign arrival ban
A recent opinion poll by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, showed well over 90% of respondents fear a second wave of Covid-19 and want a complete ban on foreign arrivals in Thailand. The poll, taken July 14-18, gauged the concerns of 1,459 Thai adults of various education levels and occupations, about the possibility of a second outbreak,…
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US surpasses 140,000 Covid-19 deaths as outbreak escalates
US deaths from Covid-19 surpassed the 140,000 mark yesterday as cases have continued to rise in 43 of the 50 states over the past 2 weeks. As of today the tally stands at 142,877. Since late June the US has seen a resurgence in new cases and now, 6 weeks later, deaths are also on the rise, according to a…
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NSC chief says recent virus cases won’t be used as excuse to extend Emergency Decree
Thailand’s National Security Council has announced it won’t use 2 recent Covid-19 incidents, in which VIPs were exempted from testing and quarantine only to later be found infected, to extend the Emergency Decree. A national state of emergency was declared on March 24 and enforced days later. Under the current Thai constitution, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has the authority to extend…
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Suvarnabhhumi Airport sees huge jump in traffic
Despite a continued and near-total ban on international arrivals, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport is seeing a spike in traffic after the government eased lockdown measures and allowed domestic travel. The airport’s general manager says that from July 1-15, Suvarnabhumi saw 3,205 flights (1,604 incoming and 1,601 outgoing) or an average of 214 per day. “The total number of passengers using…
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Covid-19 update: 7 new cases found in quarantine (July 18)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 7 new cases today, the biggest increase over a 24 hour period in weeks. All the new patients returned from foreign countries and were diagnosed in state quarantine facilities. 2 had returned from the US, 1 from Bahrain and 3 from Egypt. Thailand has gone 56 days without a domestically transmitted case of…
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In reversal, Australian embassy will provide visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. Both the US and British embassies announced that their citizens in Thailand will have to decide “whether to stay or go,” and that such letters will “no longer be possible.” But at…
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More details on visa amnesty “grace period” proposal
The Thai Immigration Bureau has provided more details on a proposed visa amnesty extension. The proposal, expected to go before the Cabinet at its regular meeting on Tuesday, is being presented as more of an application for a grace period than an extension. The proposal would essentially provide a grace period for those on amnesty without a valid visa, to…
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Diplomats no longer exempt: will be subject to quarantine
The CCSA announced yesterday that centre has resolved that ambassadors and diplomats entering Thailand will no longer be exempt from Thailand’s quarantine requirements, and will be required to enter “alternative state quarantine” on arrival for 14 days. The announcement follows the discovery of a case of Covid-19 in the daughter of a Sudanese diplomat living in Bangkok. That case ostensibly…
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Cabinet to decide on third visa extension for foreigners
The Foreign Affairs Ministry announced today that a third “automatic extension” of visas for foreigners is “in the works” and will be proposed to the Cabinet with the results announced “soon” by the Immigration Bureau. A decision was originally slated for July 15, then postponed to today. Spokesman Natapanu Nopakun’s remarks this afternoon indicate the decision hasn’t yet been made.…
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All transit passengers must now show Covid-19 certificate: CAAT
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand will enforce a new rule requiring all passengers, even on Thai-owned chartered flights or special flights transitioning through Thailand, to have a valid Covid-19 clearance certificate. CAAT has probibited all transit flights with Covid-19-infected passengers following China’s temporary ban of 2 Thai registered airlines after several passengers tested positive upon arrival in China. In…
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Research institute says Covid vaccine will bring tourists back
As Thailand’s economy remains the hardest hit in Asia, a new prediction slates the end of 2021 as the saviour in terms of tourists coming back. The Thailand Development Research Institute says.. “once a vaccine is rolled out late next year, the tourists will once again return to the kingdom”. Kirida Bhaopichitr, the Institute’s research director said that most visitors…
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Everyone tested for Covid-19 in Rayong, Bangkok negative
The Department of Disease Control has announced the results of Covid-19 testing among 1,603 high-risk people involved in the incidents of an Egyptian military crew member (in Rayong) and a 9 year old girl from Sudan (in Bangkok). The results in Rayong province show that all of 1,336 people tested are negative, while in Bangkok, all 267 tested in a…
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Thailand to allow medical tourism within 2 weeks
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announced today that Thailand’s medical tourism and wellness programs will go ahead despite the controversy swirling around 2 Covid-19 cases this week – in Bangkok and in Rayong. CCSA spokesman Dr Taweesin Visanuyothin says the Ministry of Public Health will announce a list of hospitals that pass its criteria next week, and the first…
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Rayong protesters arrested ahead of Thai PM’s visit – VIDEO
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s visit to Rayong yesterday was marred by drama as 2 protesters were forcibly removed and taken into custody after raising signs condemning him just minutes before his motorcade arrived. The signs, expressing fury over the government’s recent mishandling of an imported case of Covid-19, read… “If you stay longer, the country will be in ruins. Get out,…
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Egyptian Covid case: Government says 11 “high-risk” people have tested negative
The government’s Covid-19 task force says 11 “high risk” people, who had contact with an Egyptian soldier who was found to be infected with the virus, have tested negative. This includes staff at the hotel where the man stayed, as well as drivers who transported him and his colleagues around Rayong. A total of 1,603 people have now been cleared…
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Nearly all Rayong schools close “as a precaution” amid Covid-19 scare
274 schools in Rayong have closed, following revelations that some teachers visited venues that had also been visited by an Egyptian soldier, and members of his air crew. One of the soldiers was found to be infected with the Covid-19 virus after he had left the country and flown back to Egypt. The Thai Education Ministry says classes will now take…
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PM and Health Minister give “moral support” visit to Rayong amid Covid scare
As the city of Rayong in eastern Thailand battles with the fallout of a visiting Egyptian soldier testing positive for Covid-19 , the PM and his Public Health Minister descended on the city in a show of moral support. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, accompanied by Anutin Charnvirakul, as well as the deputy chief of the Royal Thai Army and Dr. Suwanchai…
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PM asks reporters to “ease off” on new Covid-19 stories
With the nation rattled by news of 2 new Covid-19 infections among “VIPs” who were exempted from testing when they arrived in the country – one an Egyptian soldier, the other the 9 year old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat – PM Prayut Chan-o-cha asked reporters today to make their reports on the new cases “less scary”. He said the…
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9 returning Thais rushed to hospital with high fevers after arriving at BKK
The deputy director of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport says 9 Thai nationals, returning from Jordan and South Korea, have been diagnosed with “high fevers” and rushed to hospital. The first 8 were part of a group of 120 who touched down on a Royal Jordanian flight yesterday afternoon. “Preliminary screenings found that 8 passengers had high fevers and were rushed to…
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Foreign embassies stop issuing visa extension letters
A number of embassies in Bangkok are saying that they won’t issue any further visa extension letters for their citizens when Thailand’s visa amnesty expires on July 31. An announcement published last week by the US embassy said American citizens residing in Thailand will have to decide whether to stay or leave, as it will no longer provide extension of…
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Rayong governor transferred, hundreds tested, amid Egyptian soldier Covid mess
Locals in the eastern province of Rayong, are lining up to be tested for the Covid-19 virus, following the news that a visiting Egyptian airman tested positive after being exempted from quarantine. The PM has already apologised for the mess and promised a review into the rules that meant none of the visiting aircrew had to fulfil the mandatory quarantine…
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Flight restrictions clarified amid new Covid-19 fears
Due to the recent imported cases of Covid-19 , which included a 9 year old girl from Sudan and an Egyptian soldier who breached quarantine to go shopping in Rayong province, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is clarifying the entry process for several groups of foreigners. Thailand is currently not accepting general tourists or travellers and is unlikely to in…
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PM apologises, promises review of “VIP” loopholes amid foreign Covid cases
Following an Egyptian soldier and Sudanese child both testing positive for the Covid-19 virus in Thailand, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has apologised and promised a review of the rules that exempted both foreigners from quarantine. An Egyptian aircrewman tested positive after visiting Rayong, in the east of the country, while the 9 year old daughter of a Sudanese diplomat has tested…
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Thai government blames Egyptian embassy for Covid-19 positive air crew mess
The Thai government is blaming the Egyptian embassy for lobbying for the 31 military personnel visiting Rayong province to avoid the 14 day mandatory quarantine. Some 1,889 members of the Rayong community, who visited the same malls in Rayong City (named as the Laem Thong Department Store) at the same time as the Egyptian crew member, are now facing a…
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