covid-19
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 now just flu-ing under the radar, says Thai virologist
Covid-19 is officially being treated like any run-of-the-mill respiratory illness, claims Dr Yong Poovorawan, a leading virologist from Chulalongkorn University. This dramatic shift comes as case numbers tumble and symptoms become milder. In a Facebook post yesterday, Dr Yong revealed that this year’s Covid-19 cases are on a clear downward trajectory. At the start of the rainy season, Covid-19 made…
- Politics News
Thai PM Srettha Thavisin tests positive for Covid-19
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has taken sick leave after testing positive for Covid-19. The announcement came yesterday evening through his Facebook page, where he revealed experiencing fatigue and a slight fever, which led him to undergo testing. Government spokesperson Chai Wacharonke reported that the Bangkok-born prime minister consulted a doctor last Friday upon noticing the symptoms. The test results confirmed…
- Thailand News
AstraZeneca vaccine linked to blood clots in 7 Thai recipients
The Department of Disease Control announced that out of the 20 million Thai citizens who received the AstraZeneca vaccine, seven developed blood clots, with two resulting in fatalities. These adverse effects were confirmed to occur within 42 days post-inoculation. Today the Director-General of the Disease Control Department, Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, spoke about the vaccine’s side effects, emphasising that the incidences of…
- Thailand News
Rising risk of influenza and dengue amid Covid-19 warns DDC
The Department of Disease Control (DDC) issued an alert about the escalating risk of influenza and dengue fever this year, amidst the persisting threat of Covid-19. The department’s recent communicable diseases report highlights the significance of these health risks. The department’s spokesperson, Dr Jurai Wongsawat, disclosed that the beginning of the year saw substantial clusters of influenza in schools, prisons,…
- Thailand News
Party on: Health Ministry debunks new year cancellation over XBC Covid variant scare as fake news
The Ministry of Public Health dismissed the cancellation of new year celebrations in Thailand due to the purported spread of a new Covid-19 variant, XBC, as fake news. No unusual outbreaks or dangerous variants have been reported. A Thai Facebook user recently reported that the government was planning to cancel all new year holiday events due to the spread of…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 survivors have 24% higher risk of developing Type-2 diabetes
In an announcement made yesterday, research revealed that people who test positive for Covid-19 are at an increased risk of developing Type-2 diabetes. The disclosure came from Dr Thira Woratanarat of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine, who referred to a study recently unveiled on the MedRxiv.org portal. This research incorporated a sample size of 15 million people from the United…
- Thailand News
Uncaring boss berates employee for Covid-19 sick leave
A compelling online controversy has ignited following an exchange of conversation between a female employee who requested sick leave because of Covid-19 and her uncompassionate boss. This incident, disclosed by TikTok user lilich_pch in a video clip, has amassed substantial attention across the Internet. @lilich_pch♬ เสียงต้นฉบับ – Fraremn In the shared video, lilich_pch reveals a chat message conversation with her…
- Thailand News
Germany’s vaccine donation: A million Pfizer doses to strengthen Thai Health Ministry
Germany has made a vaccine donation of almost one million doses of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine to the Thai Ministry of Public Health, planning to distribute this significant stockpile to Thai hospitals in the forthcoming weeks. This considerable vaccine donation was welcomed by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul during an official handover ceremony at the German embassy yesterday. The ceremony…
- Covid-19 News
Hong Kong sees almost double fatal and severe Covid-19 cases in a week
The number of fatal and severe Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong saw a significant increase last week, nearly double the amount of the previous week, according to health authorities. Despite the rise, experts emphasised that the death rate remains small when compared to the potential daily number of infections. The news coincided with the death of a 13 year old…
- Thailand News
NHSO seeks funds for additional flu vaccine doses amid rising Covid-19 cases
The National Health Security Office (NHSO) plans to purchase an additional 860,000 influenza vaccine doses, increasing the stockpile to 5.26 million doses to protect vulnerable groups. To expand people’s access to the vaccine, the NHSO is requesting a budget of 105.2 million baht for the supplementary 860,000 doses, according to Secretary-General Jadet Thammathat-aree. Referring to individuals over 60 years old…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand collaborates with US Vaccine Research Centre on tuberculosis vaccines
Thailand’s National Vaccine Institute (NVI) has formed a partnership with the US Vaccine Research Centre (VRC) to develop vaccines against tuberculosis, including those utilising Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. The collaboration was announced following a visit by senior officials from Thailand’s Public Health Ministry to the VRC on April 20. The VRC is a leading global organisation in vaccine research and…
- Thailand News
Annual Covid-19 booster shots planned for Thailand this year
The Public Health Ministry in Thailand aims to make this year the first in which individuals receive annual Covid-19 booster shots, akin to the seasonal flu vaccine. Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek stated yesterday that Thailand must continue to monitor Covid infections, particularly after cases spiked twice last week due to the global spread of XBB.1.16, a substrain of the…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand launches “The Big Catch-Up” campaign to boost child immunisation rates
The Public Health Ministry in Thailand is ramping up the rollout of essential vaccines, including polio and measles, to children nationwide. This comes after a recent study revealed that the immunisation rate among Thai children has declined to around 80%. In statements made to commemorate World Immunisation Week, the Director-Generals of the Department of Disease Control, Tares Krassanairawiwong, and the…
- Thailand News
Thailand detects 6 new cases of Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant and one XBB.1.16.1
Thailand‘s Department of Medical Sciences announced yesterday that it has identified six new cases of the Omicron XBB.1.16 subvariant, as well as one case of the closely related XBB.1.16.1 subvariant. This brings the total number of people in the kingdom infected with the XBB.1.16 subvariant to 34. The department’s director-general, Supakit Sirilak, confirmed that XBB.1.16 is responsible for 9.8% of…
- Covid-19 News
Daily Covid-19 cases in Bangkok spike
Bangkok‘s daily number of Covid-19 cases has experienced a significant spike, nearly doubling from 400 to 700 in the wake of the city’s recent Songkran festival. This has led to growing concerns among local authorities, who fear that the true extent of the situation might not yet be fully understood. The deputy City Clerk at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA),…
- Thailand News
Temporary Covid-19 surge may result in 10,000 daily cases
A new wave of Covid-19 infections is expected to bring daily cases to 5,000-10,000, but a swift decline in numbers is predicted thereafter, according to Dr Nitipatana Chierakul, Head of the Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis Division at the Faculty of Medicine in Siriraj Hospital. In a statement on his Facebook page, Dr Nitipatana noted a rise in infections caused by…
- Thailand News
Adapting DDC’s vaccination strategy to address increasing Covid-19 cases
Amidst concerns over a sudden surge in Covid-19 infections, the Ministry of Public Health is altering its vaccination strategy, aiming to handle the increasing numbers connected to the Songkran festivities. The Department of Disease Control (DDC) unveiled the alteration yesterday in response to the spiking rate of new Covid-19 cases experienced last week. According to DDC Director-General Dr Thares Krassanairawiwong,…
- Covid-19 News
China finally reveals results of Wuhan wet market Covid-19 investigation
China finally answered calls to reveal and publish an analysis of samples taken from animals at a wet market in Wuhan linked to the outbreak of Covid-19 and guess what? Definitive proof of how the outbreak started still remains inconclusive. The Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market in Wuhan, China has been a key focus in the search for the origin of Covid…
- China News
China eases visa restrictions coming out of Covid
China is relaxing some of its pandemic travel restrictions again. On Wednesday, the mainland will begin issuing a range of visas to foreign nationals, according to the country’s foreign ministry. The move inches China closer to full reopening, marking a departure from the zero-Covid strategy they had held tightly to up until a few months ago. A social media account…
- Covid-19 News
WHO makes Covid-19 pandemic plea
The World Health Organisation (WHO) made a plea to those who know about the origins of the pandemic to come clean so they can conclude their report after the debate turned into a geopolitical football that continues to be kicked around. The WHO made the plea on the back of new accusations by FBI Director Christopher Wray who stated that…
- Covid-19 News
FBI director says Covid-19 started in a Chinese lab, but provides no evidence
Three years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and it appears the experts are no closer to nailing the source of the outbreak, although an FBI director reckons the virus was “likely” leaked from a lab. FBI Director Christopher Wray guesses that a laboratory in Wuhan, China, is the source of the outbreak although he failed to provide any…
- Songkran News
Songkran returns to Pattaya amid Covid concerns
Pattaya is set to welcome back Songkran after a four-year absence due to pandemic restrictions. The festival, which is known for being the biggest and wettest party in Pattaya, will culminate on April 19 with Wan Lai, or the “Big Day.” However, health officials fear that the unbridled celebration could also bring a new spike in Covid-19 infections, as it…
- China News
China declares Covid-19 pandemic is over after ‘miracle’ exit from Zero-Covid policy
China is victoriously declaring that the Covid-19 pandemic has ended after a “miracle” exit from its previous Zero-Covid policy. Liang Wannian, head of the National Health Commission’s Covid-19 expert response team, commented on the revelation. “The pandemic still exists from a global perspective and the harm of the disease still exists, but we can say our country has achieved a…
- World News
Singapore sees first Covid vaccine death
The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Singapore announced the death of a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man, likely related to a Covid-19 vaccine. He died away 21 days after receiving the Moderna/Spikevax vaccine. The State Coroner has confirmed that the cause of death was myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. The MOH has also stated that the man’s death was a “medical…
- Technology News
Three crucial lessons learnt while building a lending start-up during Covid-19
Press Release Without a doubt, starting a business from scratch is a crazy leap of faith, and doing so during a global pandemic is sheer insanity. To this day, Amir, my business partner and co-founder, and I have never even met. We took a chance and discarded the conventional “dating process” for founders in favour of a more modern approach.…
- Covid-19 News
Ready-to-move-in condos in Thailand attracting Chinese buyers
The Covid-19 pandemic has driven many Chinese nationals to speed up their relocation to Thailand, with the majority looking to buy ready-to-move-in condos. Kashif Ansari, the CEO of Juwai IQI Group, a real estate marketing firm in China, reckons that Chinese buyers are in a rush to make their move to Thailand right away, instead of waiting for two years.…
- Covid-19 News
Covid cases down, international arrivals up
Good news for tourism, bad news for Covid-19: international travellers have surged while infection figures have actually declined. After Thailand relaxed its immigration measures, the number of tourists visiting has seen a steady increase. With extra fears due to Chinese tourism reopening amidst a major Covid wave there, the number of new cases in Thailand has been going down. According…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 vaccines available throughout Thailand, plans for vaccination centres in every province
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry says Covid-19 vaccines are available throughout the country for foreign tourists and ex-pats. The Ministry says that although tourists would have to pay for the jabs, ex-pats can get them for free. The Ministry is also planning to ensure that every province has a vaccination centre to accommodate tourists who visit smaller areas in the kingdom.…
- China News
Beijing doctor says hospital discourages writing Covid-19 on death certificates
An unnamed Beijing doctor says he and others are being discouraged from writing Covid-19 on death certificates. According to Reuters, the doctor says he saw a printed notice in the emergency department that said “try not to” write Covid-induced respiratory failure on patients’ death certificates. Instead, he says he was told to name any underlying diseases that the patients had…
- Events
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A photo exhibition reliving 2 years of the Bangkok Community Help Foundation
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is a photography exhibition reliving the work of the Bangkok Community Help Foundation over the past two years, opening tomorrow at 6pm. The exhibition will be held at Wat That Thong School in near Ekkamai BTS Station. Opening Night: Saturday, January 14, 6pm – 9pm Walk-in: Sunday, January 15 – Saturday, January 21 10am – 6pm…
