covid-19

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Covid-19 over 3000 total, nearly 900 this week, 189 today

    Phuket Covid-19 over 3000 total, nearly 900 this week, 189 today

    Today’s Covid-19 numbers in Phuket push the overall total above 3000, bring the weekly total to just about 900 (10 times the original threshold for reevaluating the Phuket Sandbox), and sets yet another daily record. 189 new domestic cases of Covid-19 were reported yesterday, making the count for 6 of the last 7 days over 100 infections. 3 new Sandbox…

  • Covid-19 NewsUNICEF says ongoing closure of schools is affecting child development

    UNICEF says ongoing closure of schools is affecting child development

    The United Nations Children’s Fund says many young children are missing the milestone of their first day at school as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a Bangkok Post report, UNICEF says ongoing school closures risk harming children’s development and mental health. UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore says countless children have already missed out on months of face-to-face…

  • Covid-19 NewsFigures show Covid-related deaths 2.5 times higher among pregnant women

    Figures show Covid-related deaths 2.5 times higher among pregnant women

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says Covid-related deaths in Thailand are 2.5 times higher in pregnant women. Assistant spokesperson Apisamai Srirangsan says the deaths are mainly caused by respiratory failure. Thai PBS World reports that findings from December to August 11 show that the deaths of pregnant Covid-19 patients accounted for 0.43% of all Covid-related fatalities. The Royal College…

  • Covid-19 NewsRestaurant operators accept rules for re-opening dine-in services

    Restaurant operators accept rules for re-opening dine-in services

    Restaurant operators are happy to accept new rules for re-opening as laid out by the Public Health Ministry, if it means they can get back to business. The measures are strict and include the need for all customers to show proof of full vaccination. According to a Bangkok Post report, the re-opening of dine-in services would be done under a…

  • Bangkok NewsBangkok Sandbox: open businesses to vaccinated customers

    Bangkok Sandbox: open businesses to vaccinated customers

    Perhaps feeling a bit jealous of more easily isolated tropical islands with their Sandboxes, who are reopening despite their own rising Covid-19 infections, the private sector has proposed its own reopening in the capital they are calling the Bangkok Sandbox. A “Factory Sandbox” has already been put into use in the industrial sector that maintains safety and confidence in the…

  • Covid-19 NewsAustralia and New Zealand consider just living with Covid-19

    Australia and New Zealand consider just living with Covid-19

    With Covid-19 on the rise in Australia and New Zealand, officials in both countries have hinted at moving away from a strategy of eliminating the virus and instead learning to live with it. Australia has daily infection numbers nearing 1,000, setting new records each day and, while New Zealand had long avoided Covid-19 outbreaks, today the country reported 62 new…

  • World NewsWorldwide Covid-19 infections may be levelling off again

    Worldwide Covid-19 infections may be levelling off again

    The World Health Organisation said this week that Covid-19 may be plateauing worldwide after 2 months of steady increases. The global Covid-19 totals saw 4.5 million new infections and 68,000 new deaths this week, stats that reveal only a marginal increase over last week’s totals of 4.4 million infections and 66,000 deaths. According to the WHO’s epidemiological update, the worldwide…

  • Covid-19 NewsRecord 156 Covid-19 infections as Phuket edges near 800 a week

    Record 156 Covid-19 infections as Phuket edges near 800 a week

    The number of weekly rolling Covid-19 infections in Phuket is poised to pass 800, as 5 of the last 7 days have seen infections of over 100 people and the 7-day total now stands at 798 new local Covid-19 infections. According to the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, yesterday marked a new daily high of 156 new infections and one…

  • Covid-19 NewsWednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases; provincial totals

    Wednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases; provincial totals

    18,417 new Covid-19 cases and 297 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,102,368 Covid-19 cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 1,073,505 of those cases. 10,085…

  • Transport NewsPhuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today

    Phuket-Samui flights on Bangkok Airways resume from today

    Flights between Phuket and Koh Samui that had originally been cancelled until the end of the month have now resumed nearly a week early as Bangkok Airways relaunched the flight route with limited service. From today, the Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus schemes will be reconnected as part of the Sandbox 7+7 Extension, allowing people to arrive in Phuket, spend…

  • Covid-19 NewsCovid-19 controls ramped up at Thailand’s wet markets amid rise in infections

    Covid-19 controls ramped up at Thailand’s wet markets amid rise in infections

    Thailand’s Health Department is ramping up screening measures and Covid-19 controls at wet markets across the country amid a rise in infections linked to the venues. Thai PBS World reports that 14,678 infections have been detected at 132 markets across 23 provinces between April 1 and August 10 this year. As a result, officials are using antigen test kits to…

  • Covid-19 NewsEfficacy of mRNA vaccines drops to 66% against Delta variant – US study

    Efficacy of mRNA vaccines drops to 66% against Delta variant – US study

    A large study carried out by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the efficacy of mRNA vaccines drops from 91% to 66% against the Delta variant. The study involved thousands of healthcare staff and other frontline workers across 6 states. Participants were tested once a week and tested again if they developed Covid-19 symptoms, thereby allowing…

  • Covid-19 NewsWednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases and 297 deaths

    Wednesday Covid Update: 18,417 new cases and 297 deaths

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 18,417 new Covid-19 cases and 297 coronavirus-related deaths today. The CCSA also reported 21,186 more recoveries over the past 24 hours. In the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has recorded a total of 1,073,505 cases. There are now 189,268 people being treated for…

  • Covid-19 NewsVaccine update: Pfizer available to American veterans, foreigners in Pattaya

    Vaccine update: Pfizer available to American veterans, foreigners in Pattaya

    The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is now available to American veterans living in Thailand as well as foreign residents in Pattaya who are in the “at risk” groups, according to Democrats Abroad Thailand. The vaccine doses were donated to Thailand from the United States. Two doses of the vaccine are free under the Thai government’s mass immunisation campaign. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya…

  • Covid-19 NewsTuesday Covid Update: 17,165 new cases; provincial totals

    Tuesday Covid Update: 17,165 new cases; provincial totals

    17,165 new Covid-19 cases and 226 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Another 20,059 patients were marked as “recovered” in the 24-hour period since the last count. There are now 192,334 active Covid-19 cases in Thailand. The number has been on a downward trend over the past several days as the daily count for…

  • Pattaya NewsPfizer vaccine being administered to eligible foreign residents in Pattaya

    Pfizer vaccine being administered to eligible foreign residents in Pattaya

    Qualifying foreign residents in Pattaya are receiving the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine this week, as part of the rollout in the eastern province of Chon Buri. The Pattaya News reports that administration of Pfizer kicked off this week, but that many Pattaya residents have criticised the slow pace of inoculation. Yesterday, health officials continued to administer vaccines at Central Festival Pattaya…

  • Phuket NewsPhang Nga hopes to welcome 30,000 visitors under 7+7 travel scheme

    Phang Nga hopes to welcome 30,000 visitors under 7+7 travel scheme

    Tourism officials in the southern province of Phang Nga hope to welcome 30,000 foreign tourists in the last quarter of the year. Such numbers should generate around 2.5 billion baht in revenue, according to a Bangkok Post report. The Tourism Authority of Thailand says that after the opening of Certificate of Entry registration for the 7+7 extension scheme, over 700…

  • Covid-19 NewsTuesday Covid Update: 17,165 new cases and 226 deaths

    Tuesday Covid Update: 17,165 new cases and 226 deaths

    17,165 new Covid-19 cases and 226 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Another 20,059 patients were marked as “recovered” in the 24-hour period since the last count. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 1,055,088 Covid-19 cases.…

  • Tourism NewsCovid-19 task force to debate partial re-opening of Thailand in line with PM’s pledge

    Covid-19 task force to debate partial re-opening of Thailand in line with PM’s pledge

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration is expected to debate a plan to re-open the country before the end of the year, in line with the PM’s pledge last June. Back then, Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to re-open the country within 120 days, but Covid-19 infections have risen significantly since those words were uttered. Despite this, the Bangkok Post reports that…

  • Covid-19 NewsMonday Covid Update: 17,491 new cases; provincial totals

    Monday Covid Update: 17,491 new cases; provincial totals

    17,491 new Covid-19 cases and 242 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, 22,134 recoveries from Covid-19 have been reported. There are now 195,454 people being treated for the coronavirus. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported 1,066,786 Covid-19 infections. The latest and most…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya re-opening threatened by rise in infections, slow vaccine rollout

    Pattaya re-opening threatened by rise in infections, slow vaccine rollout

    The Tourism Authority of Thailand says the eastern tourist spot of Pattaya has a number of challenges to overcome in order to re-open to foreign tourism. Chief among them is the fact that standard operating procedures submitted to the provincial health office are still awaiting approval. Meanwhile, Covid-19 infections are rising and the vaccine rollout is sluggish. According to a…

  • Covid-19 NewsMonday Covid Update: 17,491 new cases and 242 deaths

    Monday Covid Update: 17,491 new cases and 242 deaths

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration recorded 17,491 new Covid-19 cases today and 242 coronavirus-related deaths. A total of 1,037,923 people have tested positive for Covid-19 since April 1, the start of the latest and most severe wave of the coronavirus in Thailand. There are now 195,454 people being treated for Covid-19. The number of active cases has been on…

  • Covid-19 NewsAge of latest Covid-19 fatalities ranges from 7 months to 101 years old

    Age of latest Covid-19 fatalities ranges from 7 months to 101 years old

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has reported a wide age range in the latest Covid-related fatalities, with the youngest being a 7 month old baby. Among the 233 deaths reported yesterday, there were also 2 pregnant women, an 88 year old doctor, and a patient who was 101 years old. According to a Bangkok Post report, 155 deaths were…

  • Koh Samui News2 Samui partygoers have Covid-19, raiding police quarantine

    2 Samui partygoers have Covid-19, raiding police quarantine

    Following the raid and breakup of a party at a luxury villa in Koh Samui 2 nights ago, it was revealed that 5 of the people in attendance at the party had previously had Covid-19, likely from the Black Bamboo Club cluster resulting from another illegal party. Now at least 2 of the party attendees have tested positive for Covid-19,…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen

    Pattaya reopening plan for September 1 unlikely to happen

    Chiang Mai, which recently reported that, due to the Covid-19 situation and slow vaccination, they will delay their planned September reopening to October at the earliest, like many tourism areas that have seen plans to welcome back international tourists dashed by the intensity of the pandemic in Thailand. Now Pattaya has also acknowledged that their plan for reopening on September…

  • Chiang Mai NewsCharming Chiang Mai plan to reopen pushed to October or later

    Charming Chiang Mai plan to reopen pushed to October or later

    With Covid-19 still running rampant in Thailand, several tourist locations that were anticipating reopening in August or September are revising their plans to push back until October or later. Officials say that Chiang Mai will now delay their plans to reopen to international tourists due to Covid-19 issues. The deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand announced yesterday that…

  • Covid-19 NewsNew Covid-19 team aims to correct bad information, not censor it.

    New Covid-19 team aims to correct bad information, not censor it.

    A special media team the government created to try to tackle the epidemic of fake news regarding Covid-19 in Thailand has been met with suspicion they will serve a broader censorship role. The team denies the idea that the team will suppress free speech and dissent, claiming that their focus is on getting factual information disseminated about the public health…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket sees third consecutive day over 100 Covid-19 infections

    Phuket sees third consecutive day over 100 Covid-19 infections

    For the third day in a row, new Covid-19 infections in Phuket had topped 100 people as 126 new local infections were identified in the province yesterday. 2 new infections were found in Phuket Sandbox travellers as well. There were no new deaths reported yesterday, and the total remains at 17 fatalities from Covid-19’s third wave. The rolling weekly total…

  • Covid-19 NewsChina eyes booster shots to hit herd immunity by year’s end

    China eyes booster shots to hit herd immunity by year’s end

    If they can achieve over 80% vaccination rate, China may reach herd immunity by the end of the year, according to the country’s top respiratory disease expert. He believed that booster shots would make up for the loss of efficacy after 6 months of vaccines from China and others used in the country. Officials in China believe that they will…

  • Koh Samui News24 arrested at illegal party in Koh Samui luxury villa

    24 arrested at illegal party in Koh Samui luxury villa

    Perhaps people are getting fed up with Covid-19 restrictions keeping them isolated and unable to socialize and party. Or maybe the police are cracking down more on the illegal parties that often become Covid-19 clusters or superspreader events. Either way, stories of private parties in violation of Covid-19 Emergency Decree restrictions being busted seem to be cropping up more and…