Coronavirus
- World News
Truck flips after police chase near the Myanmar border
A truck flipped over, critically injuring 2 people, after police chased a truck with Burmese workers who allegedly crossed the border illegally. The government recently ordered border officials to step up their patrol on Myanmar border and make sure people aren’t crossing illegally after the neighboring country reported a spike in coronavirus cases. Immigration police in the northern province Tak…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand is prepared for a 2nd wave of the coronavirus, health officials say
Thailand is prepared for a second wave of the coronavirus, according to the country’s public health officials. While there hasn’t been any local transmissions recently, numbers are on the rise in other countries and Thailand’s hospitals have stocked up on supplies to be prepared for any potential second outbreak of Covid-19. A 29 year old British woman tested positive for…
- Tourism News
Thailand hopes to welcome long-stay visitors escaping winter in Europe
The Thai government is understood to be finalising a plan to open the borders to long-stay visitors escaping the European winter, aka. snowbirds. With borders closed to to most international arrivals, the country’s tourism sector is devastated and in desperate need of a kick-start. Boon Vanasin, from Thonburi Healthcare Group, says officials are considering the introduction of long-stay visas, enabling…
- Covid-19 News
British woman in Bangkok quarantine facility tests positive for Covid-19
A British woman, recently returned from the United Kingdom, has tested positive for Covid-19 while in alternative state quarantine in Bangkok. Nation Thailand reports that the 29 year old language teacher returned to Thailand on August 15. By August 27, she had developed symptoms, including fever and a headache, and tested positive for the virus. Meanwhile, the number of cases…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 vaccine may involve 2 doses
Health experts in the US say that when a viable coronavirus vaccine is found, it may need to be administered in 2 separate doses, in order to be effective. This throws up all sorts of logistical problems, with Kelly Moore, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University, expressing concern over procurement issues and the difficulty in getting people to show…
- Property
4 new luxury hotels set for Bangkok and Pattaya
The future of Thailand tourism looks expensive. 4 luxury hotels are planned for Bangkok riverside and Pattaya beach, despite the drop in tourists due to the coronavirus pandemic. 3 of those hotels will be an expansion of Asiatique: The Riverfront, a waterfront shopping mall in Bangkok. Asset World Corporation, or AWC, inked the deal with Marriott International. The CEO and…
- Covid-19 News
UPDATE: Pushback from local associations over the Thai government’s “Phuket Model”
UPDATE: Amidst the “plans” and “models” being proposed by the government to re-open Thailand to some form of general tourism (nothing confirmed yet), there’s also been some pushback from operators in some of the hardest hit areas. The government had proposed the Phuket Model as a way of kicking off tourism from early October. But the model involves a mandatory…
- Phuket News
Worries remain over government’s “Phuket Model”
As the government has gradually eased Covid-19 restrictions, the tourism sector has high hopes for a good recovery. The resort island province of Phuket is eager to reopen to foreign tourists to help stimulate the local economy, which has been hard hit by the pandemic. The “Phuket Model” has been proposed to reopen the province in October in a “new…
- Pattaya News
Officials say no signs of mental illness in man who fell to his death in Pattaya quarantine
The deputy director-general of the Department of Mental Health says a 30 year old Thai man who fell to his death while in state quarantine in Pattaya displayed no signs of mental illness. Samai Sirithongthavorn says the man underwent physical and mental tests while on board the repatriation flight returning him to Thailand from Israel. The Pattaya News reports that…
- Tourism News
TAT governor says tourism sector must learn lessons from pandemic
The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand says the sector must take on board the lessons of Covid-19, including the need to shift to a “value over volume” tourism model. Yuthasak Supasorn says, should a second wave of Covid-19 engulf the world in 2021, effective risk management will be crucial in overcoming the challenges thrown up by the outbreak.…
- Thailand News
Northern Thailand pigs on lockdown after virus outbreak
While humans are still trying to get a handle on the coronavirus, pigs in Northern Thailand are facing their own virus outbreak. The Department of Livestock Development have opened an investigation after the death of 5 pigs. Some pig farmers may need to kill off their pigs to prevent the virus from spreading. The pigs died from porcine reproductive and…
- Covid-19 News
US surpasses 6 million Covid-19 cases whilst the world trend is ‘down’
The US has surpassed the 6 million mark for the total number of Covid-19 cases. Brazil (3.7 million) and India (3.3 million) are the countries with the 2nd and 3rd highest number of cases. Around the world there is now a total of 24,331,524 Covid-19 cases, 829,664 deaths with 16,872,542 recorded as ‘recovered’. Of note, both the trend in new cases…
- Tourism News
International tourists ‘essential’ to Thai economy, PM says
“If nothing is done, things will get worse. Premises will be shut down. Employees will be laid off. How can the government afford to help them all?” Thailand needs tourists to pick its economy back up, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says, adding that a system needs to be put in place that would both prevent the spread of the coronavirus and…
- World News
16 Burmese arrested for illegally crossing the border
Even though borders have tight restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, people have crossed the Malaysia border and entered Thailand illegally through what Thai media reports as “natural passageways.” Police arrested 16 Burmese workers who entered the country illegally including 2 pregnant women. They were found hiding at a Chinese Cemetery in the Southern province Songkhla. Thai media says many…
- Tourism News
Thai Hotel Association demands international tourists be allowed to return
The Thai Hotel Association is urging the government to re-open the country to international tourists, pointing out that room occupancy is nearly zero and many smaller premises have had no choice but to close. THA chairman, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, says the government must look at ways it can admit tourists from certain countries or cities, using marketing promotions to lure…
- Covid-19 News
Thai government approves 1 billion baht for development of Covid-19 vaccine
The Cabinet has signed off on funding of 1 billion baht for the development of a vaccine against Covid-19. It’s understood the cash injection being granted to the National Vaccine Institute comes from the 2020 emergency budget. There is concern that while Thailand has done well to keep the virus suppressed, the country remains at risk of a second wave,…
- World News
Hong Kong resumes travel bubble discussions with Thailand and Japan
Hong Kong’s commerce chief, Edward Yau, says the Special Administrative Region is once again chatting to Thailand authorities, and Japan, regarding the possible formation of “travel bubbles”. The talks were suspended last month as Hong Kong battled a third wave ‘spike’ of the Covid-19 virus. Now, the idea of mutually beneficial travel agreements is back on the table, subject to a…
- Covid-19 News
China admits skipping clinical trials in roll-out of Covid vaccine for high-risk groups
As Russian President Vladimir Putin trumpets the launch of the country’s Covid-19 vaccine, China says it’s been administering its own vaccine since late July, foregoing clinical trials. Officials in Beijing say healthcare workers and those employed in state-owned enterprises have been first to receive the vaccine, under what it calls “urgent use” protocols, according to a Nation Thailand report. The…
- World News
Bali’s borders closed to international tourists the end of 2020
Planning a trip to Bali? Think again. Bali’s borders are closed for foreign tourists for the rest of the year. The Indonesian island was set to lift restrictions on September 11, but the Bali governor says it is still not safe to have people entering and leaving due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thailand has also pushed international tourist travel until…
- World News
Singapore lifts restrictions, travellers from New Zealand and Brunei allowed
Some major border restrictions are lifting in Singapore. Those in New Zealand or Brunei who want to spend a holiday in Singapore can do so starting September 1. There will no requirement for those travellers to do a 2 week quarantine. Those in Singapore will also be allowed to travel to both New Zealand and Brunei. Yes, it’s a travel bubble…
- World News
Girlfriend of Malaysian man with Covid-19 tests negative
Thai health officials are tracking down those who were in contact with a Malaysian man who tested positive for Covid-19 after he returned to his home country. Health officials report the man’s Thai girlfriend has tested negative for the virus. The 46 year old man, who had no coronavirus symptoms, tested positive for the virus on August 15 while quarantined…
- Tourism News
Phuket may open to international tourists on October 1 – with conditions attached
The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, agrees in principle that international tourists can return to Phuket from October 1. However, in what will come as no surprise, there are conditions attached. Under the Safe and Sealed plan, Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn proposes opening a total of 6 regions to international tourists, who will need to undergo a 14 day…
- Covid-19 News
Health officials tracing 24 contacts of new Covid case
Health officials say their decision to trace 24 people who’ve had contact with a woman who tested positive for Covid-19 is merely a precaution, insisting there’s no cause for alarm. The 35 year old woman, from the north-eastern province of Loei, returned from the United Arab Emirates on June 24 and entered state quarantine. While there, she was twice tested…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 update: 7 imported cases found in state quarantine, no new deaths (August 20)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration this morning reported 7 new Covid-19 cases over the previous 24 hour period. The latest new cases include 3 male hotel employees, 28, 38 and 46 years old, who returned from the United Arab Emirates on August 7 and tested positive on August 18 in a Bangkok state quarantine hotel. A 33 year old…
- Economy News
Thai education inequality grows, more students need financial aid
Thousands more students are seeking financial help this year, growing the education gap between the rich and the poor. Some families cannot afford to send their children to school due to financial stress brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, chief of the Equitable Education Fund says. Around 1.8 million students applied for financial aid this year. 1.56 million applied last…
- Covid-19 News
Medical tourists are permitted to come to Thailand at this time
Even though Thailand’s borders are still closed to most travel, including tourism, there are some select groups being allowed back into the Kingdom. Medical tourists are one of those groups. Foreign medical tourists are now permitted to apply to come to Thailand for medical treatment with strict disease control measures being put in place. Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says…
- World News
SE Asia’s most popular islands still ‘on hold’ as they wait to re-open to international tourists
Foreign tourists may be allowed back on to Boracay’s famed beaches in the Philippines as early as October. Meanwhile the Indonesian beach resort of Bali has shelved any immediate plans to re-open the island. In Thailand, the beaches of Phuket remain largely empty whilst the provincial government tries to promote the island as a “safe and sealed” destination to limited…
- Economy News
Thai economy shrinks, pandemic to blame
The Thai economy is shrinking. A lot. So much that it’s close to hitting as low as it did in the 1998 financial crisis. Some say the coronavirus pandemic is to blame. For the second quarter, the Thai economy shrank by 12.2%, the National Economic Social Development Council says. That’s just a few decimal points away from a low in…
- Economy News
Phuket drivers, tour operators ask Toyota for loan grace period
With the drastic decline in tourism, dozens of van and taxi drivers, as well as tour operators in Phuket say they can’t make payments for their vehicle loans. With around 20,000 baht+ owed per month and little to no income, drivers and tour operators are facing having their vehicles repossessed. This morning, around 50 drivers and operators gathered together in…
- Covid-19 News
Experts warn Thailand not immune to second wave of Covid-19
Despite its seemingly successful suppression of the Covid-19 virus, medical experts say Thailand is not immune to a second wave. Thiravat Hemachudha, director of the Thai Red Cross Emerging Infectious Disease Health Science Centre, says the country cannot afford to let its guard down, adding that it is too risky to become lax about hygiene measures. “First and foremost, Thais…
