Coronavirus
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 documentary to feature Thailand and New Zealand as success stories
Thailand and New Zealand have been chosen by the World Health Organization as successful models to be featured in a documentary about handling and stemming the spread of Covid-19 . A WHO official in Thailand confirmed to the Bangkok Post that the documentary is in production. No further details of the project have been revealed. The National Institute of Health’s…
- Tourism News
Tourism sector facing massive closures
Thailand’s tourism sector, long seen as a lifeline for the nation’s battered economy, is in a meltdown; more than 30% of tourism-related businesses have left the market with many more expected to follow, according to the Tourism Council of Thailand. The president of the TCT says the tourism industry predicts further deterioration after 6 months of the Covid-19 crisis, as…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s Covid task force to make preparations in event of “second wave”
The spokesman for Thailand’s Covid-19 task force. Dr. Taweesin, says the government is making sure it’s ready to handle any potential second wave of the virus. Dr Taweesin Visanuyoth says the recent mishaps with an infected Egyptian soldier in Rayong and a Covid-positive Sudanese child in Bangkok, have taught the government a valuable lesson. Taweesin stresses the importance of being ready…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok university professor says no “travel bubbles” for at least 6 months
A professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University says Thailand’s “travel bubble” plan, which would allow small groups of foreign tourists to visit Thailand, should be put on hold for at least another 6 months. In a Facebook post yesterday, he said that the global Covid-19 situation remains “of serious concern”, as new infections are still surging, with more than 200,000 new…
- Covid-19 News
PM insists proposed emergency decree extension not due to anti-government protests
As PM Prayut Chan-o-cha looks set to approve an extension to Thailand’s emergency decree, he insists his reasons for doing so have nothing to do with the political protests taking place in cities around the country. Accusations that the extension is politically motivated have dogged the PM since the decree was extended for a second time at the end of…
- Thailand News
Dozens of Cambodians arrested for attempting to enter Thailand illegally
Thailand’s border patrol forces are upping their game in the fight to prevent the Covid-19 virus being imported by illegal migrants. A report in The Pattaya News says officials have arrested dozens of Cambodian workers for entering the country illegally. The arrests took place in Sa Kaeo, in the east of the country, less than 50 kilometres from the Cambodian…
- World News
Hong Kong facing prospect of curfew amid rise in Covid-19 cases
Medical experts are warning that a curfew may have to be imposed after Hong Kong has seen nearly 500 new cases of Covid-19 in the last week. Yesterday alone saw 73 new cases with 66 being community transmitted. However, officials say they have only identified the sources of transmission for around 30 of those reported cases. A restaurant at the…
- Covid-19 News
Thai economy won’t need a bailout from the IMF
The Thai economy won’t need a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, although the GDP growth for 2020 may end up being the lowest in the region. The Governor of the Bank of Thailand, Veerathai Santipraphob says the Thai economy is “strong enough”. Speaking at a seminar entitled “Post-Covid Economic Direction”, Veerathai noted that, although Thailand has managed to control…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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,…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Thailand News
Why are Thailand’s Covid-19 numbers so low?
Why has Thailand, with a population greater than that of the UK, been largely spared the catastrophic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping the nation and much of the world? Social distancing is embedded in Thai culture – Thais rarely touch when greeting, preferring the prayer-like “wai” gesture to a handshake or embrace. Could this custom be at least partly…
- World News
Hong Kong Disneyland closes the gates, again
Whilst Disney World theme parks in Florida reopened to the public this week, after being closed for four months because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hong Kong Disney theme franchise closed up again. Less than a month since it reopened Hong Kong Disneyland shutdown following a new coronavirus outbreak in the city. The theme park shuttered at the end of January…
- Northern Thailand News
Nakhon Ratchasima reports 3 suspected Covid cases in locals who visited Rayong
The governor of Nakhon Ratchasima province, in the north-east of the country, has confirmed that 3 people there are showing signs of being infected with Covid-19. It’s understood all 3 visited the province of Rayong between July 8 – 11, where an Egyptian soldier tested positive for the virus. A report in Nation Thailand says 2 of the people are…
- Politics News
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,…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
More details emerge about the movements of the Sudanese family
This is an official explanation of the circumstances of the Sudanese 9 year old who has tested positive for Covid-19 and was residing in central Bangkok in Sukhumvit. There have been some other publications providing additional information about alleged movements of the family during the time before the girl was admitted to hospital, but The Thaiger is unable to verify…
- Covid-19 News
Daughter of Sudanese diplomat tests positive for Covid-19 in Bangkok
The Government’s Covid-19 task force says a 9 year old Sudanese girl who has tested positive for the virus is undergoing treatment in a Bangkok hospital. It’s understood the child is the daughter of a diplomat and was self-isolating with her family at a condominium in the capital after arriving in Thailand. Thai media have been camped outside the diplomat’s…
- Covid-19 News
Covid task force to hold press conference as Egyptian soldier tests positive
As a visiting Egyptian soldier tests positive for the Covid-19 virus, the blame game is well underway, with the Thai army, local hotels, and airport personnel all ducking for cover. The 43 year old unnamed Egyptian air crew tested positive while staying in Rayong, on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. In response, the government says the Centre…
- Covid-19 News
Egyptian air crew were permitted to visit venues in Rayong
The Egyptian soldier, who has been found to have tested positive for Covid-19, was part of an air crew who had special dispensation from the Emergency Decree provisions regarding the coronavirus. The crew, spending one night in Rayong on their way back to Egypt from China, were permitted to leave their quarantine facility and wander around venues in Rayong. The…