covid-19
- 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…
- Covid-19 News
Global Covid-19 infections soar past 25 million
Covid-19 infections around the world surpassed 25 million today, with India setting a grim new record for the highest single-day rise in cases, 78,761. Roughly a million new cases have been detected globally every 4 days since mid-July, according to an AFP tally. The surge in India, a country of 1.3 billion people, comes as the government further eased lockdown…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 update: 1 new imported case, no deaths (29 August)
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported a single coronavirus today – an asymptomatic returnee from the Netherlands in state quarantine – bringing the total in Thailand to 3,411 since the outbreak began. A CSSA spokesperson said said the new case is 30 year old employee who arrived in Thailand on August 15 and stayed at a state quarantine facility…
- 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.…
- 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
Officials say no cause for alarm as 2 Thai women test positive for Covid
Health officials are downplaying any risks following reports that 2 Thai women have tested positive for Covid-19. It’s understood both women were sent home after completing 14 days’ quarantine following their repatriation from the United Arab Emirates. One woman, a 34 year old from the north-eastern province of Chaiyaphum, was tested on June 5 and returned an “inconclusive” result, indicating…
- 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…
- Politics News
Education commission says students can protest, but must remain vigilant over Covid risks
After students at a number of high schools around the country used the flag-raising ceremony to flash a 3 finger salute in solidarity with political protesters, the Office of the Basic Education Commission is weighing in on the matter. OBEC is writing to schools at the request of Anek Laothamatas, the Minister for Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. The…
- 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…
- Phuket News
Soi Dog Foundation is looking for flight volunteers
One of Thailand’s favourite charities, the Soi Dog Foundation, has put out the call for any foreign nationals from European and North American destinations who are heading to those destinations soon to come forward as potential flight volunteers to help adopted pets arrive at new overseas homes. Over 100 adopted animals are currently waiting patiently at the shelter in Phuket…
- Phuket News
Phuket eyes October 1 as launch date for “Safe and Sealed” tourism plan
The Tourism and Sports Minister, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, says his ministry hopes to kick-start a careful and limited re-opening to international tourism from October 1, beginning with the southern province of Phuket. According to a report in the Bangkok Post, Phiphat’s ministry will meet with the Public Health, Interior, Foreign and Transport ministries on August 27 to discuss the introduction of…
- World News
Malaysian man in Bangkok tests positive for coronavirus
Just short of 2 weeks after a trip to Bangkok, a man returned home to Malaysia and then tested positive for the coronavirus. Thai health officials are investigating to determine who was in contact with the man while he was in the country and if there are any local infections. Deputy director-general of the Disease Control Department Tanarak Plipat said the…
