Coronavirus
- Thailand News
Samut Sakhon governor remains on ventilator with serious lung infection after Covid-19
After nearly recovering from Covid-19, the Samut Sakhon governor was diagnosed with a bacterial infection in his lungs and now remains on a ventilator after nearly a month of the breathing treatment. Doctors are now doing hourly checks to monitor governor Verasak Vichitsangsri’s condition. While the 58 year old governor’s Covid-19 infection has subsided, the virus negatively affected his lung…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 59 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death
The new wave of cases has been on a downward slope in recent weeks. Today’s count of 59 new Covid-19 cases is the lowest daily count since mid-December. A coronavirus-related death was also reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. A 48 year old Thai woman died after testing positive for Covid-19. The woman worked as…
- Covid-19 News
AstraZeneca vaccine could be approved for emergency use in Thailand this week
Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration is likely to approve a Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with Oxford University as early as this week. The vaccine, already given the go-ahead in the US and UK, would be approved for emergency use, with administration likely to begin next month. Healthcare workers and those with underlying conditions will be prioritised. Opas…
- Visa Information
UPDATE: Confusion over Covid-19 tests for visa extensions
UPDATE: Khaosod English removed a story on Covid-19 tests for those seeking visa extensions and replaced it with the article “Immigration backtracks on plan to require Covid-19 test for visa extensions.” They say the previous report sparked uproar among expats and immigration police spokesperson has since apologised for the misunderstanding. Original article… Confusion reigns today over whether Covid-19 tests will…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 171 new Covid-19 cases
171 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. The majority of the cases were detected in a proactive testing campaign. Thailand now has 3,168 active Covid-19 cases. The CCSA has reported a total of 12,594 infections and 70 deaths since the start of the pandemic last year. Out of the 171 new…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 in Thailand not a cause for concern – WHO, John Hopkins University
A top medic in Thailand says data from the World Health Organisation and John Hopkins University indicates that the Covid-19 situation in the Kingdom is not currently a cause for concern. Mondej Sookpranee, a specialist in infectious diseases at MedPark Hospital in Bangkok, says both the WHO and John Hopkins have evaluated the situation in Thailand. “Both organisations have evaluated…
- Covid-19 News
Thai FDA expected to approve AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use
In the midst of a new wave of Covid-19 infections, the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is expected to be approved for emergency use and injections could begin next month. The local roll out would start with vulnerable groups who are in the 5 coastal provinces under maximum control to contain the coronavirus – Samut Sakhon, Trat, Chon Buri, Chanthaburi and Rayong.…
- Covid-19 News
Visitors to Phuket from “highest risk” areas must show Covid-19 test results
People arriving Phuket from the “highest risk” areas are required to take a swab test by the staff at emergency operation centres (EOC) or show the test result document endorsed by the EOC staff made within 72 hours of their arrival. The revised order is effective from now until January 31, according to the Phuket Governor. Those people who are…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 369 new Covid-19 cases
369 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Most cases were detected in Samut Sakhon in a mass testing campaign. Thailand now has 3,147 active Covid-19 cases. Since the started of the pandemic, the CCSA has reported 12,423 cases – 8,186 of those cases were reported in the new wave of infections.…
- World News
Australia might keep borders closed throughout 2021
It might be a while until tourists can visit Australia. Borders might not be fully reopen until at least 2022. Australia is rolling out its immunisation program next month, but even if most of the population is vaccinated against Covid-19, the Australian government says it will probably wait to make sure the vaccine prevents the transmission of the virus before…
- Bangkok News
Police raid Bangkok restaurant, more than 80 people face charges for violating Emergency Decree
More than 80 people face jail time and fines for allegedly violating disease control measures under the Emergency Decree after police raided a Bangkok pub and restaurant. The Indian restaurant Taj Café off Sukhumvit Road in the Watthana district was raided over the weekend after a complaint reporting that customers were smoking hookah, which is illegal in Thailand, and that…
- Thailand News
374 new cases today – Covid update
New case numbers have jumped alarmingly again today, even though the growth curve was starting to flatten a bit this week. Thailand is reporting 374 new cases of Covid-19 today over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to over 12,000 infections since the pandemic began. Only 10 of those cases were non-local infections as they were found in state quarantine.…
- Thailand News
Former finance minister proposes legalisation of gambling
With Covid-19 cases linked to some illegal gambling dens, causing a headache for health officials trying to track down elusive gamblers to contain the virus, the former Finance Minister floated the idea to legalise gambling. The former Finance Minister and current leader of the Kla Party, Korn Chaitkavanich, claims legalising gambling will help contain the spread of Covid-19. He also…
- Thailand News
Kanchanaburi governor orders all hotels in the province to close immediately
To prevent the spread of Covid-19, the Kanchanaburi governor is issuing an order to immediately close all hotels, resorts and other accommodations, excluding those operating as local quarantine facilities. Hotels that currently have guests can continue to operate until the guests check out, but new guests are not allowed. Kanchanaburi is a tourist destination that draws in large groups of…
- World News
Covid-19 projected to reduce Americans’ life expectancy – USC/Princeton study
With Covid-19 linked to more than 336,000 deaths in the United States, American’s life expectancy will decline, especially among black and latino people, according to researchers from the University of Southern California and Princeton University. The study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that life expectancy at birth for Americans will shorten by 1.13 years to…
- Thailand News
Customers steadily decline at seafood market due to Covid-19 fears
The tourists’ well-known Mae Klong Seafood Market in the coastal province Samut Songkram is seeing a steady decline of seafood buyers due to fear of Covid-19. Samut Songkram is a neighboring province of Samut Sakhon, a hot spot of the new wave of the Covid-19 outbreak. Although the Samut Songkhram Municipality has imposed stringent measures on all markets in the…
- Thailand News
Health officials concerned with “family clusters” after baby tests positive for Covid-19
Health officials are concerned about the increasing cluster infections among family members, friends and colleagues after a 3 month old baby in Bangkok tested positive for Covid-19 after coming in contact with an infected family friend. The baby’s mother and 7 year old brother also tested positive for Covid-19, according to the director-general of the Institute for the Prevention and…
- Covid-19 News
Samut Sakhon intensifies Covid-19 case finding, 35,000 factory workers to be tested
More than 35,000 workers at 400 factories in Samut Sakhon will be tested for Covid-19 by January 24 in a mass testing campaign. The province, just southwest of Bangkok, rolled out the proactive case finding campaign after the outbreak at the Central Shrimp Market in the Mahachai area fishing hub last month. The outbreak affected hundreds of migrants who worked…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 271 new Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths
271 new Covid-19 cases and 2 deaths were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing, raising Thailand’s total number of infections to 11,262 and total coronavirus-related deaths to 69. There are now 3,533 active cases in Thailand. A 72 year old British man died after contracting Covid-19, according to the CCSA. The man had pre-existing health…
- Covid-19 News
Samut Sakhon governor recovering from Covid-19, to be taken off ventilator
The Samut Sakhon governor is recovering from Covid-19 and is expected to be taken off a ventilator today. 58 year old Verasak Vichitsangsri was in “severe condition” after contracting the virus on December 27, according to the Bangkok Post. His infection was reported just a week after the outbreak at a major seafood market in the province where hundreds of…
- Covid-19 News
Health Ministry requests more info on Chinese vaccine after effectiveness rate revised down
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry has called for more information from the makers of the Chinese Covid-19 vaccine, after its effectiveness rating was revised downwards by researchers in Brazil. The Sinovac Biotech jab was originally confirmed as 78% effective in trials in the South American country, but that has now changed to just over 50%. The research team at Brazil’s Butantan…
- Covid-19 News
Golf quarantine now available in 6 golf resorts
The Tourism Ministry’s Golf Quarantine proposal has been approved by the Thai cabinet. That means foreign golfers can now stay in quarantine whilst enjoying a round of golf in 6 approved golf resorts located in Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Nayok, Phetchaburi and Chiang Mai. Foreign golfers are now allowed to spend their 2 week quarantine 14-16 days) at any of the 6…
- Thailand News
DDC eases concerns about cool weather affecting the spread of Covid-19
The Department of Disease Control is easing people’s worries about the spread of Covid-19, saying that low temperature won’t make the virus more transmissible. They say disinfectants and sunlight are still effective to kill the virus. With cool weather in Central and Northern Thailand in recent days, some have been concerned that the low temperatures could impact the spread of…
- Covid-19 News
Trial data doesn’t “impact” Thailand’s plans to use Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine
The recent China’s Sinovac BioTech trial data reporting 50.4% efficiency does not “impact” Thailand’s plans to receive and administer vaccines for Covid-19 next month, according to director general of the Medical and Science Department Supakit Sirilak. Questions have risen around the vaccine’s efficacy rate, which was originally reported as 78% in trails in Brazil, but recently downgraded to just over…
- World News
Indonesia rolls out Covid-19 vaccinations, president gets first dose
Indonesia is rolling out its mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign with President Joko Widodo as the first in the country to get jabbed with China’s Sinovac Biotech vaccine. Indonesia approved the vaccine for emergency use earlier this week. It’s the first large-scale use of the Sinovac vaccine outside of China. Thailand has also made an agreement to purchase the 2 million…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 157 new Covid-19 cases
157 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. There are now 3,981 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. The CCSA has reported a total of 10,991 infections and 67 deaths since last year. 90 of the new cases are local transmissions, 42 cases were detected in proactive testing, 4 cases were detected in…
- Transport News
US and UK require pre-departure Covid-19 test for all international arrivals
Heading back to the United States or United Kingdom? You’ll need to get a Covid-19 test first. Both countries are now requiring passengers arriving to the US or UK get tested for Covid-19 no more than 72 hours before the flight departs. Passengers will also need to show proof of a negative result before bordering. The new travel regulations go…
- Covid-19 News
Health Ministry says local administrations can buy Covid vaccines for roll-out in their areas
The Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, says local administrations can use allocated funds to buy approved Covid vaccines for administration in their localities. “The government plans to provide free jabs to the public but it is alright too if a local administration wants to use state-allocated funds to launch their own vaccination drive. It is good that local administrative bodies…
- World News
Malaysia PM imposes nationwide travel ban, lockdown measures due to Covid-19 spike
As the number of Covid-19 cases continues to climb in Malaysia, PM Muhyiddin Yassin imposed a nationwide travel ban and ordered lockdown measures for Kuala Lumpur and 5 other states for the next 14 days. The country’s prime minister says “our healthcare system is at a breaking point.” Malaysia was able to keep the coronavirus at bay during the early…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 287 new Covid-19 cases, majority in Samut Sakhon
287 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. There are 4,035 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. Since last year, Thailand has reported a total of 10,834 Covid-19 cases and 67 deaths. Of the 287 cases reported today, 153 were local transmissions, 125 were detected through active case finding among a mostly migrant…
