covid-19

  • Covid-19 NewsFriday Covid Update: 9,276 new infections and 72 deaths

    Friday Covid Update: 9,276 new infections and 72 deaths

    9,276 new Covid-19 cases and 72 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. With the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, the CCSA expects daily cases to soon hit 10,000. While today’s case count is an uptick over the past several weeks. Thailand hit a record high in new cases in mid-May with 9,635…

  • Covid-19 NewsBangkok’s Bumrungrad Hospital opens registration for Moderna vaccine

    Bangkok’s Bumrungrad Hospital opens registration for Moderna vaccine

    Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok has opened an online booking system for the Moderna vaccine, with priority going to healthcare workers and people who remain unvaccinated. The Bangkok Post reports that the vaccine will cost 1,650 baht per dose. Chief Executive Artirat Charukitpipat says the hospital has not been able to receive the number of vaccines it would have liked and…

  • Economy NewsJP Morgan includes Thailand in 5 economies most at risk from Delta variant

    JP Morgan includes Thailand in 5 economies most at risk from Delta variant

    The investment banking firm JP Morgan says there are 5 emerging economies that are most vulnerable to the Delta variant – and Thailand is one of them. According to a Reuters report, the others are South Africa, Colombia, the Philippines, and Peru. The primary reason given for these findings is the low rate of vaccination, with analysts comparing the pace…

  • Covid-19 NewsStricter Covid restrictions likely for Bangkok, other “at-risk” provinces

    Stricter Covid restrictions likely for Bangkok, other “at-risk” provinces

    The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meets today to consider a number of tougher restrictions aimed at flattening the curve of new infections in Bangkok and a number of other provinces. Yesterday, cases reached a record high of 7,058, with 75 Covid-related deaths. According to a Bangkok Post report, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says the government, which is still resisting the…

  • Covid-19 NewsThursday Covid Update: Record high of 75 deaths; new infections in all 77 provinces

    Thursday Covid Update: Record high of 75 deaths; new infections in all 77 provinces

    A record high of 75 Covid-related deaths was reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 2,462. An uptick of 7,058 new Covid-19 infections was recorded today with new cases in all of Thailand’s 77 provinces. The latest and most severe wave of the virus continues to rise due to the spread…

  • Thailand NewsLaos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand

    Laos Covid-19 cases rise as migrant workers return from Thailand

    Covid-19 cases in Laos has spiked, reportedly due to migrant workers returning home from Thailand, bringing the virus with them. In Thailand’s latest wave of infections over the past several months, many of the workers had lost their jobs while others returned to their home country to flee from lockdown restrictions at construction camps and factories, primarily in Bangkok. Covid-19…

  • Thailand NewsPathum Thani governor donates 3 months’ salary to help residents during pandemic

    Pathum Thani governor donates 3 months’ salary to help residents during pandemic

    The governor of Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok, is donating 3 months of his salary to support the community as Covid-19 cases rise. An announcement was recently made on a Facebook page run by the provincial government saying governor Chaiwat Chuenkosum donated his salary to help Pathum Thani residents. A Covid-19 hotline has been set up to help those…

  • Covid-19 NewsForeign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern

    Foreign Covid-19 case had Sinopharm, domestic infections bigger concern

    More information is coming out now about the first Phuket Sandbox traveller to be infected with Covid-19 yesterday. The man from the United Arab Emirates was fully vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine more than 7 months ago and had tested negative before boarding his flight to Phuket. But while infections from abroad make headlines, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office…

  • Covid-19 NewsWoman infected with Covid-19 dies at home after waiting 6 days for hospital treatment

    Woman infected with Covid-19 dies at home after waiting 6 days for hospital treatment

    A 50 year old woman infected with Covid-19 died at her home in Bangkok’s Huai Khwang district after waiting for nearly a week for a hospital bed to become available. She died at 3am yesterday morning, just hours before an ambulance was scheduled to take her and her infected family members to the hospital, a source told the Bangkok Post.…

  • Covid-19 NewsOver 200,000 sign petition calling for mRNA vaccines

    Over 200,000 sign petition calling for mRNA vaccines

    Over 200,000 people, including prominent Thai doctors and medical practitioners, have signed a petition demanding the government purchase more effective vaccines and administer them for free. A petition from the Mor Mai Thon (Doctors Won’t Tolerate It) group has been signed by 215,409 medical practitioners, calling on the government to purchase mRNA vaccines. The Bangkok Post reports that the campaign was run…

  • Covid-19 NewsThursday Covid-19 update: 7,058 new infections, 75 deaths

    Thursday Covid-19 update: 7,058 new infections, 75 deaths

    Thailand records a depressing new high today, with a record 7,058 new infections and 75 Covid-related deaths. 68 infections are from Thai prisons. This is the highest number of new cases and deaths this month, as concern grows over the highly contagious Delta variant, which is expected to become the dominant strain in the Kingdom by the end of the…

  • Koh Samui NewsKoh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening

    Koh Samui hopes to attract 2,000 tourists in first month of re-opening

    The president of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui is paying great attention to how the Phuket sandbox scheme unfolds and hoping it succeeds. According to a Bangkok Post report, Ratchaporn Poolsawadee says the Samui Plus scheme could attract 2,000 guests in its first month if some rules can be eased. “Besides the virus situation on our islands and the…

  • Covid-19 NewsNew terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport to be field hospital

    New terminal at Suvarnabhumi Airport to be field hospital

    A new plan will have Bangkok residents heading to the airport, but not in a good way, as authorities have decided to convert Suvarnabhumi Airport’s new terminal into a field hospital. The recently built Satellite 1 facilities are large enough to house a minimum of 5,000 beds for Covid-19 infected patients as outbreaks surge in the capital city. With 216,000…

  • Covid-19 NewsVaccine Update: With limited doses, Thai government focuses on “at-risk” groups

    Vaccine Update: With limited doses, Thai government focuses on “at-risk” groups

    With limited doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, along with the rapid spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant, the Thai government’s mass immunisation campaign will first focus on using those doses to inculcate “at-risk” groups, starting with those in Bangkok, the epicentre of the latest wave. This month’s order of AstraZeneca vaccine doses was cut in half from 10 million to…

  • Thailand NewsDaily new Covid-19 cases could double in the next 2 weeks – CCSA

    Daily new Covid-19 cases could double in the next 2 weeks – CCSA

    With the rapid-spreading Delta variant of the virus becoming more prevalent in Thailand, the CCSA says they expect the average number of daily new Covid-19 cases to double in the next few weeks. Health officials are now preparing for daily new cases to hit 10,000. With the emergence of the highly transmissible mutated strain in Thailand, not only has the…

  • Covid-19 NewsWednesday Covid-19 Update: 6,519 new cases; provincial totals

    Wednesday Covid-19 Update: 6,519 new cases; provincial totals

    6,519 new Covid-19 cases and 54 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 301,172 total cases. The latest and most severe wave of the virus has accounted for 272,309 of those infections. Thailand now has 67,614 active Covid-19 cases. Of the patients being…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket “Sandbox” traveller infected with Covid-19, tour group now in quarantine

    Phuket “Sandbox” traveller infected with Covid-19, tour group now in quarantine

    A man who arrived in Thailand under the Phuket “Sandbox” reopening scheme has tested positive for Covid-19. The man is the first so-called “Sandboxer” to test positive for the virus since the island’s reopening last week under the scheme which allows travellers from overseas, who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, to enter the island province without undergoing quarantine. A Covid-19…

  • Covid-19 NewsCabinet approves Pfizer purchase, plus another 10.9 million Sinovac doses

    Cabinet approves Pfizer purchase, plus another 10.9 million Sinovac doses

    The Thai Cabinet has given the go-ahead for the purchase of 20 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, along with another 10.9 million doses of Sinovac. According to a Bangkok Post report, the PM’s spokesman Anucha Burapachasri says the budget for the Sinovac purchase would come from the executive decree loan and would not exceed 6.1 billion baht. The…

  • Covid-19 NewsGrowing calls for healthcare workers to get Pfizer booster

    Growing calls for healthcare workers to get Pfizer booster

    A leaked document, which details the minutes of a meeting in which officials discussed how they would allocate the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, has caused uproar and led to calls for healthcare workers to be prioritised. The Bangkok Post reports that the meeting took place on June 30 and discussed the administration of 2 batches of the Pfizer vaccine. The first…

  • Covid-19 NewsWednesday Covid update: 6,519 new infections+, 54 deaths

    Wednesday Covid update: 6,519 new infections+, 54 deaths

    Today, Thailand records another bleak milestone in its ongoing battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The 6,519 new cases reported today are the highest number of daily infections since May 17, when over 9,000 cases were reported. The big difference is that the vast majority of those were in Thai prisons. Just 55 of today’s new cases are from Thai prisons.…

  • Covid-19 NewsGovernment shifts focus in vaccine rollout after rise of elderly Covid patient deaths

    Government shifts focus in vaccine rollout after rise of elderly Covid patient deaths

    With the rise of Covid-related deaths involving elderly patients, the Thai government has revised its plan for the next stages of the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination campaign to focus first on those in Bangkok who are at a high risk of severe infection if they contract the coronavirus. Those who are at least 60 years old or who have certain underlying…

  • Covid-19 NewsTuesday Covid Update: 5,420 new cases; provincial totals

    Tuesday Covid Update: 5,420 new cases; provincial totals

    Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 5,420 new cases and 57 coronavirus-related deaths, raising the total case count since the start of the pandemic last year to 294,653 and the Covid death toll to 2,333. The latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 265,790 of the total confirmed…

  • Covid-19 News1.5 million Pfizer doses donated by US to go to senior citizens, pregnant women

    1.5 million Pfizer doses donated by US to go to senior citizens, pregnant women

    The Thai government plans to administer 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine to people over the age of 60 and to pregnant women. Priority will be given to those in areas with high rates of infection. The doses have been donated to Thailand by the US government. According to a Nation Thailand report, a leaked memo shows that…

  • Covid-19 NewsTuesday Covid Update: 5,420 new cases and 57 deaths

    Tuesday Covid Update: 5,420 new cases and 57 deaths

    5,420 new Covid-19 cases and 57 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 in Thailand, 265,790 infections have been recorded by the CCSA since April 1. Out of the new cases confirmed today, 37 were found in correctional facilities. The current wave spread to Thailand’s overcrowded…

  • Covid-19 NewsMedic warns that Delta variant will be dominant in Thailand by end of July

    Medic warns that Delta variant will be dominant in Thailand by end of July

    More than half the Covid-19 infections in Bangkok are the Delta variant, with a prominent doctor warning it will become the dominant strain in the Kingdom within weeks. According to a Bangkok Post report, Supakit Sirilak from the Department of Medical Sciences says the Delta variant, first reported in India, is set to replace the Alpha variant by the end…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket reports 7,347 “sandbox” hotel bookings for July

    Phuket reports 7,347 “sandbox” hotel bookings for July

    There have been 7,347 hotel bookings made for the southern island of Phuket as its “sandbox” re-opening continues. In the first 4 days of the scheme, the island has welcomed 1,416 international arrivals, most of whom are foreign nationals. Below is the breakdown: Day 1: 479 (303 foreign nationals, 176 Thais) Day 2: 544 (467 foreign nationals, 77 Thais) Day…

  • Thailand NewsThailand low on Covid-19 vaccines, priority given to at-risk groups

    Thailand low on Covid-19 vaccines, priority given to at-risk groups

    Thailand is running low on vaccines, the spokesperson for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration acknowledged today. With the most severe wave of Covid-19 continuing to rise, and the emergence of the more transmissible Delta variant, health officials are giving priority to those most at risk of a severe infection. The elderly and those with certain underlying health conditions, particularly…

  • Covid-19 NewsMonday Covid Update: 6,166 new cases, Delta variant on the rise, provincial totals

    Monday Covid Update: 6,166 new cases, Delta variant on the rise, provincial totals

    The latest and most severe wave of Covid-19 continues to rise with 6,166 new Covid-19 cases and 50 coronavirus-related deaths 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 289,233 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 2,276 virus-related deaths. Of those numbers, 260,370 cases and 2,182 were…

  • Covid-19 NewsMonday COVID update: 6,166 cases & 50 deaths

    Monday COVID update: 6,166 cases & 50 deaths

    Today, Thailand has reported another 6,166 new Covid-19 cases and 50 deaths. 84 of the new infections are in prisons. More news on those figures coming later. Provincial totals will be available early afternoon. • The Chulabhorn Royal Academy says there will be enough Sinopharm vaccine as long as, “no one exceeds their allocation or jumps the queue”. Millions of doses…

  • Covid-19 NewsSouth Korea launches Sandboxesque reopening

    South Korea launches Sandboxesque reopening

    Vaccinated travellers can avoid 14-day quarantines as long as they have proof of World Health Organisation-approved vaccination, a negative Covid-19 test, are not travelling from a high-risk country, and get advance approval before travelling. Wait, wait! Before you click away, this isn’t yet another Phuket Sandbox story; this is the strikingly similar reopening plan enacted by South Korea that also…