Coronavirus

  • Thailand News

    Changes in Covid-19 laws impact house plant sales

    Changes in Covid-19 have impacted house plant sales, and plant growers bear the brunt of this across the country. Growers say now that lockdown rules have lifted, people don’t have time to care for plants anymore, and their sales have gone down. One plant company owner told Thai PBS in an interview that his sales have dropped between 20-30% since…

  • Covid-19 News

    Wednesday Covid Update: 13,182 new cases; provincial totals

    24 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,344 with 646 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 13,182 new Covid-19 cases and 8,571 recoveries. There are now 98,830 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Thailand News

    Government will focus daily Covid-19 reports on serious cases, wants to reduce anxiety

    After Thailand’s number of Covid-19 infections per day went above 10,000 this weekend, the government plans to change how it does daily Covid-19 reports. In a two-day a week test, the government reports will only focus on deaths and serious cases where people needed to be hospitalised with ventilators, or had pneumonia. The Ministry of Public Health says that even…

  • Covid-19 News

    Tuesday Covid Update: 10,398 new cases; provincial totals

    17 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,320 with 622 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 10,398 new Covid-19 cases and 8,922 recoveries. There are now 94,243 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Thailand News

    Thai PM wants faster vaccines for kids 5 and older

    Thai PM Prayut wants health authorities to move faster to vaccinate kids 5 years old and older, as infection rates have gone up for children in the age group 5-11 years of age. From January 1 to February 2, 2022, there were 10,266 Covid-19 cases for kids in this age group, a 5.6% increase from April to December 2021, government…

  • World News

    Australia to finally open to tourists in March

    Vaccinated international tourists will finally be allowed to enter Australia again in March. The country’s borders shut exactly two years before that in March 2020. Skilled migrants and international students were only allowed back in December 2021. But now that Covid-19 cases are down in all states except Western Australia, Australia’s home affairs minister says she’s making the opening a…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Thailand approves Sinovac and Sinopharm for 6 year olds and up

    Thailand will now allow children aged six and older to get Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines without adjusting the dosage. Between January 1 and February 2 this year, 13,600 kids 5-11 years old tested positive, a 6% increase from April to December 2021. The Thai Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), wants children aged 3-17 to be able to get the vaccines.…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Korat has 7 Covid-19 clusters

    Seven schools in Korat, a Northeastern province, have Covid-19 cluster infections. Buayai Technical College is the most recent school to be hit. 19 students there tested positive, and teachers and students are now doing online learning until February 9. Students and staff took ATK tests on Saturday, and there were no new infections found. Health officials are monitoring the Covid-19…

  • Covid-19 News

    New Zealand announces 5 step border reopening plan, starting this month

    New Zealand is slowly starting to ease restrictions and gradually reopen borders. The country announced a five-step plan for loosening some of the world’s most restrictive Covid-19 measures, starting with allowing citizens in Australia, who have been fully vaccinated, to travel back home at the end of the month. Vaccinated travellers will be free to enter on March 13, according…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thursday Covid Update: 9,172 new cases; provincial totals

    21 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,228 with 530 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 9,172 new Covid-19 cases and 7,832 recoveries. There are now 84,413 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Covid-19 News

    Wednesday Covid Update: 8,587 new cases; provincial totals

    22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,207 with 509 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,587 new Covid-19 cases and 8,485 recoveries. There are now 83,094 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Covid-19 News

    Tuesday Covid Update: 7,422 new cases; provincial totals

    12 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,185 with 487 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 7,422 new Covid-19 cases and 8,715 recoveries. There are now 83,014 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Covid-19 News

    Monday Covid Update: 8,008 new cases; provincial totals

    16 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,173 with 475 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,008 new Covid-19 cases and 8,215 recoveries. There are now 84,319 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Covid-19 News

    Beijing sees an increase in Covid-19 cases as Winter Olympics approaches

    Just days before the Winter Olympics in Beijing, the Chinese capital reported a spike in Covid-19 cases with Sunday reaching 20 new infections, the highest daily count in the past 18 months. While the number is low in comparison to other cities around the world, neighbours are being sealed off and residents are being screened for Covid-19. A total of…

  • Covid-19 News

    Dr Yong: I don’t think “endemic” means what you think it means.

    Dr Yong Poovorawan, the country’s outspoken top virologist, is raining on Thailand’s endemic parade. The chief of the Centre of Excellence in Clinical Virology at the Faculty of Medicine of Chulalongkorn University pointed out that while the nature of Covid-19 may be evolving over time to be less of a threat, it will never by definition be endemic. It seems…

  • Covid-19 News

    COVID-19 SUNDAY: 12 deaths, over 2.4 million total infections

    Today, the CCSA reported 8,444 new Covid-19 infections, down 174 since yesterday, and 12 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 7 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, today the country surpassed 2.4 million infections with a total of 2,403,661 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported. 22,157 total deaths have been recorded from the pandemic.…

  • Covid-19 News

    Anutin trolls US handling of Covid-19, compared to Thailand

    Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul praised the way Thailand handled Covid-19 in comparison to the US over the past 2 years. In comments he made this week he said that in the US, many were still unvaccinated and death tolls remain very high, while in Thailand people are following Covid-19 safety rules and bringing the numbers down. GRAPH: Daily…

  • Covid-19 News

    COVID-19 SATURDAY: 19 deaths, over 200,000 infections in 2022

    Today, the CCSA reported 8,618 new Covid-19 infections, up 168 since yesterday, and 19 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 9 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave of the virus in Thailand, a total of 2,395,217 confirmed Covid-19 infections have been reported, with 22,145 total deaths from the pandemic. Since the beginning of 2022, there have been 200,655 new…

  • World News

    Covid-19 vaccine does not kill athletes, despite consistent rumour

    An apparently false conspiracy theory that the Covid-19 vaccine is killing athletes has once again been pushed by prominent “anti-vaxxers.” US Senator Ron Johnson claimed that 22,000 people have died from the vaccine including many athletes. And Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton contended that over 100 athletes had died after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine. Neither of these statements were…

  • World News

    Philippines reopens Feb 10 for the vaccinated from most countries

    After nearly 2 years of closed borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippines plans on reopening to some fully vaccinated tourists on February 10. Officials made the announcement today that travellers from most countries will finally be allowed to enter, after plans to reopen on December 1 were scrapped due to the spread of the Omicron variant. The announcement…

  • Covid-19 News

    Top doctor asks tough questions on transitioning Covid-19 to endemic

    After a meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee was held yesterday, Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 as an endemic disease by the end of this year according to the Ministry of Public Health. While this declaration has raised hope and excitement among many who are sick of the seemingly never-ending pandemic, some have questioned some of the details involved…

  • Visa Information

    Many foreigners caught unaware of stricter Covid-19 visa rules

    Confusion and dismay are hitting long-staying foreign travellers in Thailand, as many were relieved to see the Covid-19 visa exemption extended, but missed the strict revisions in the fine print. While the decree was extended from the January 25 deadline at the last minute to March 25, the people who are allowed to take advantage of the easy-to-extend visa exemption…

  • Covid-19 News

    Warning to Covid-19 test for Korean restaurant in Pattaya area

    A new warning has gone out urging everyone who has recently been to a Korean restaurant in the Bang Lamung area of Pattaya to get tested for Covid-19. The Chon Buri Public Health Office put out an announcement yesterday telling everyone who had visited or eaten at Doriwon Restaurant, located in Nong Prue on Pattaya Second Road, to get an…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thailand will declare Covid endemic whether WHO agrees or not

    Regardless of whether the World Health Organisation agrees or not, Thailand plans to declare Covid-19 as an endemic disease by the end of this year according to the Ministry of Public Health. A meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee was held today where the decision was made. Thailand will create its own academically acceptable criteria for measuring whether Covid-19…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thursday Covid Update: 8,078 new cases; provincial totals

    22 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,098 with 400 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 8,078 new Covid-19 cases and 6,595 recoveries. There are now 82,760 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…

  • Covid-19 News

    First Pfizer doses for children arrive, vaccination starts Monday

    The Department of Disease Control has confirmed the arrival of the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines to be administered to children aged 5 to 11. The lot of 300,000 Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Thailand today, with vaccinations scheduled to begin on January 31. The first round of vaccines will be given to those children considered high-risk due to having one…

  • Covid-19 News

    BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron in Thailand reaches 14, 1 death

    After earlier reports that 9 cases of the new sub-strain of Omicron, the BA.2 sub-variant, had been identified in Thailand so far, that total has already increased to 14. The infections in Thailand involve both Thai nationals and international travellers. It was also confirmed that the first death in Thailand from the Omicron variant reported earlier this month was in…

  • Phuket News

    Venues in Phuket selling alcohol must apply for new permit

    First, they shut all the bars and entertainment venues selling alcohol in Thailand. Then they said those venues could reopen, but not as a boozy bar, rather as restaurants, who eventually were allowed to sell a bit of alcohol again, now until 11 pm. But now in Phuket, entertainment venues that were originally licenced to sell alcohol but then got…

  • Tourism News

    Thailand’s Test & Go registration opens on February 1

    Registration for Thailand’s (almost) quarantine exemption program known as Test & Go, part of the broader Thailand Pass online re-entry process, is reopening next week after being closed for the past month. Starting at 9am on February 1, fully vaccinated travellers from any country can apply for a Thailand Pass QR code to enter with (almost) quarantine-free travel, but there…

  • Covid-19 News

    Tuesday Covid Update: 6,718 new cases; provincial totals

    12 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 22,057 with 359 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 6,718 new Covid-19 cases and 7,659 recoveries. There are now 81,532 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…