covid-19

  • Covid-19 News

    7 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine

    7 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 4,039 with 3,882 recoveries and 60 deaths. 147 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. A 35 year old Indian man tested positive for Covid-19. He arrived on November 11 and tested…

  • Tourism News

    4 years until tourism industry gets back to pre-pandemic levels – Finance Ministry

    It could take 4 years for Thailand’s tourism industry to recover after being battered by the lack of travel due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government’s reaction and the economic fallout, according to the Finance Ministry. While local and international experts project Thailand’s economy will continue to recover over the next 2 years, the tourism industry, which directly contributes 12-15%…

  • World News

    2 infected Thai women took domestic flights after illegal crossing from Myanmar

    2 Thai women, both infected with Covid-19, took domestic flights after entering the Kingdom illegally from Myanmar and bypassing health checks and quarantine. It’s understood that a total of 10 Thai women have now crossed illegally from Myanmar, without undergoing any health checks or carrying out mandatory quarantine. All 10 have tested positive for Covid-19, with several having worked in…

  • Visa Information

    Government to raise 5-year Elite visa fee by 20%, as foreigners flee Covid countries

    As more foreigners opt for one of Thailand’s “elite” visas, allowing stays of between 5 and 20 years, and costing anything from 500,000 baht to 2 million, the most popular version is in for a price hike. The cost of the 5-year “Easy Access” visa will go up by 20% from January, to 600,000 baht. It’s understood there were a…

  • Economy News

    Cabinet approves extension, upgrade of stimulus measures, welfare payments

    The government has given the green light to the extension and refinement of a number of economic stimulus schemes and welfare payments. 43.5 billion baht has been set aside to fund an extension of the current co-payment scheme and the welfare card program. It’s understood 22.5 billion baht will go to phase 2 of the co-payment scheme, with 21 billion…

  • Covid-19 News

    6 more Thai women test positive for Covid-19 after returning from Myanmar, skipping quarantine

    6 more Thai women, who crossed the Myanmar border into Chiang Rai, have tested positive for Covid-19, according to the Public Health Ministry. 4 other Thai women in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai recently tested positive after returning from Myanmar’s Tachileik district. All 10 women evaded the mandatory 14 quarantine. Some cases trace back to the 1G1 hotel and entertainment…

  • Covid-19 News

    17 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine

    17 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 4,026 with 3,822 recoveries and 60 deaths. 144 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. A 56 year old Thai woman travelling from Turkey tested positive for Covid-19. She arrived on November…

  • World News

    United Kingdom approves new Covid-19 vaccine, first jabs start next week

    The United Kingdom approved the new Covid-19 vaccine by Pfizer-BioNTech for emergency use and will start injections next week. The UK became the first country in the world to license the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which Pfizer says marks a historic moment in the fight against the coronavirus. The UK purchased 40 million doses of the vaccine and 800,000 doses will be…

  • Covid-19 News

    Fourth local Covid-19 case reported in Chiang Rai, Thai returnee evaded quarantine

    A fourth local Covid-19 case was reported in Chiang Rai today. The patient is a 25 year old Thai woman who recently returned to Thailand from Myanmar by using an unofficial land crossing to avoid quarantine. The woman travelled to Myanmar’s Tachileik district earlier this month to work at a hotel, she told officials. 3 other infected Thai women also…

  • Covid-19 News

    Health minister pushes to press charges on Covid-19 infected women who dodged quarantine

    The 3 Thai women who tested positive for Covid-19 after crossing the Thai-Myanmar border without being screened or undergoing the mandatory 14 day quarantine might face charges. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says he has asked authorities to prosecute “to the fullest extent of the law.” Not only could the women face charges for illegal entry, they could also be…

  • Covid-19 News

    10 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, all asymptomatic

    10 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine including a 7 month old boy, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 4,008 with 3,811 recoveries and 60 deaths. 137 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. 3 people travelling from the United States tested positive for Covid-19.…

  • Covid-19 News

    No lockdown in Chiang Mai after local Covid-19 case

    There will be no lockdown in Chiang Mai after the recent Covid-19 case where a woman tested positive at a local hospital after returning from Myanmar. Director general of the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Disease Control, Opas Karnkawinpong, says the locals in Chiang Mai are taking health precautions and he doubts the case will cause an outbreak. “Widespread Covid-19…

  • Crime News

    12 people arrested for allegedly illegally crossing Thai-Myanmar border

    12 Thais were arrested by Chaing Rai Immigration Police for allegedly illegally crossing the Myanmar border back into Thailand. The arrests follow a small coronavirus outbreak in Northern Thailand while Myanmar reports hundreds of new Covid-19 cases each day. Over the weekend, a 29 year old Thai woman tested positive for Covid-19 in Chiang Mai after visiting the hospital with…

  • Covid-19 News

    19 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, 2 apparent reinfections

    19 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine with 2 apparent reinfections, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 3,998 with 3,803 recoveries and 60 deaths. 135 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. A 20 year old Thai woman travelling from Switzerland tested positive for Covid-19.…

  • World News

    2 more cases identified in the northern Thailand Covid-19 mini outbreak

    2 more people have been confirmed as infected with Covid-19 in the current mini-outbreak in Northern Thailand. In this case both women had crossed the Thai/Myanmar border and worked at the same bar in Myanmar as the original patient, feared to be a potential super-spreader. The 29 year old is now being treated at a hospital in Chiang Mai. Chiang…

  • Covid-19 News

    Singaporean woman gives birth to baby with Covid antibodies in system

    A Singaporean woman has given birth to a baby with Covid antibodies in its system, giving new clues into whether Covid can be transferred from mother to child. The woman, Celine Ng-Chan, was infected with the virus in March during her pregnancy, and gave birth this month to her Covid-free baby. “My doctor suspects I have transferred my Covid-19 antibodies…

  • Covid-19 News

    No vaccine, no entry – the next Covid challenge

    OPINION UPDATE: Australia’s national airline Qantas has already said it will impose “proof of vaccine” on all inbound and outbound international flights, a situation that IATA says they will follow. Read more HERE. ORIGINAL POST: The approval of a reliable Covid-19 vaccine will be a game-changer. Over the past 2 weeks there has been several announcements, and a few bumps,…

  • Covid-19 News

    Health Ministry teams up with Agoda to offer quarantine hotel packages

    Anyone planning a visit or a return to Thailand can now book their quarantine stay through Agoda, following a deal between the Public Health Ministry and the hotel booking platform. Deputy Public Health Minister Satit Pitutecha announced the agreement yesterday, at a launch event at the Mövenpick Hotel BDMS Wellness Resort in Bangkok, in the company of Tares Krassanairawiwong from…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket workshop helps residents cope with high stress brought on by the economic crisis

    Hundreds of residents in Phuket’s Wichit subdistrict attended a workshop focused on reducing stress from to the pandemic-induced economic crisis. A psychologist was even on site to help those who had extreme mental stress and a Buddhist monk taught meditation techniques to reduce physiological effects of stress. The event was planned in response to an online survey conducted by the…

  • Covid-19 News

    19 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine

    19 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is raised to 3,961 with 3,790 recoveries and 60 deaths. 111 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. 4 Thai nationals travelling from Saudi Arabia, including a 40 year old teacher and 3 students ages…

  • Tourism News

    International travel in 2021 is unpredictable – Tourism Authority of Thailand

    The future of Thailand’s travel industry is “opaque”, according to Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn. For once the usually over-optimistic TAT has made a completely honest assessment of the current situation. “There are unpredictable factors that come into play when trying to determine how 2021 will pan out, like the availability of a Covid-19 vaccine, the number of…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thai government to sign vaccine contract with Oxford University, AstraZeneca, today

    The Thai PM, Prayut Chan-o-cha, has confirmed that Thailand will today sign a contract with Oxford University and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, for the procurement of their Covid-19 vaccine. The PM says the agreement will mean Thais can access the vaccine once it goes into production. This contract is in addition to the agreement signed for the transfer of vaccine technology…

  • Tourism News

    Former WTO director cautions against re-opening Thailand too quickly

    The former director general of the World Trade Organisation has issued a caution against Thailand throwing open its borders too early. Supachai Panitchpakdi says Covid-19 is still very much a threat, pointing to other countries that appear trapped in a cycle of easing restrictions, followed by renewed lockdowns. His comments come as England emerges from a national lockdown, only for…

  • Covid-19 News

    16 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine

    16 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand is raised to 3,942 with 3,788 recoveries and 60 deaths. 94 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. 9 Thai nationals travelling from Turkey tested positive for Covid-19. They arrived to Thailand on November…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thailand eyes first half of 2021 for production of AstraZeneca vaccine

    Thailand hopes to begin production and administration of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine during the first 6 months of 2021. As part of a technology-transfer agreement signed by the Thai government, Siam Bioscience will be provided with the information for vaccine production. It then hopes to register the vaccine with Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration within the next 6 months. The pharmaceutical…

  • Tourism News

    No vaccine, no flight – Qantas will require international travellers to be vaccinated

    Qantas, Australia’s national airline, is announcing a new requirement that all international travellers will need to have a vaccination against Covid-19 in a move that could become the norm for the world’s airline industry. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says the Australian flag carrier would implement the measure once a coronavirus vaccine was made available to the public. “We are looking…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand may have to wait for US vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna

    As news that US may acquire its first shipment of Covid vaccines in mid-December, Thailand may have to wait to share the vaccines as they will likely be made available to the US and Japan first, before the rest of the world. Pfizer and Moderna recently announced their vaccines were about 95% effective, with some countries starting to preorder the…

  • Covid-19 News

    2 Thai Covid-19 vaccines to proceed to human testing

    Out of Thailand’s 7 potential Covid-19 vaccines, 2 have successfully completed the animal testing stage and will proceed to human testing. Dr Nakorn Premsri from the National Vaccine Institute says the 2 vaccines are the mRNA vaccine from the Chula Vaccine Research Centre and BioNet-Asia’s DNA vaccine. The Chula VRC candidate vaccine is expected to begin human trials in April…

  • Covid-19 News

    China imposes community lockdowns in 3 cities with small Covid outbreaks | VIDEO

    Millions of people are now being tested in China, with new lockdowns and some districts shutting down schools. On Sunday there were 11 new cases, yesterday another 22 across the country. After a relatively low number of local transmissions for several months now, locally transmitted Covid-19 cases are popping up in 3 cities across the country – Tianjin, Shanghai and Manzhouli.…

  • Thailand News

    7 new imported cases of Covid in Thailand today, 0 new deaths

    Today, the government is reporting 7 new imported cases of Covid, bringing the total to 3,920 in Thailand with no new deaths. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration says all 6 cases were asymptomatic Thai returnees, with the other being a man from Syria. The Thai cases include a woman who returned from Germany on November 7, and tested positive…