covid-19
- Tourism News
Health Minister says quarantine could be reduced to 10 days, maybe eventually zero
Health officials are ready to reduce the mandatory quarantine period for foreign tourists, provided other relevant bodies agree. The current quarantine period is set at 14 days, but the Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, says this could be reduced to 10. He adds that if the reduction is successful, quarantine could be further reduced, eventually reaching a point where quarantine…
- Covid-19 News
9 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine
9 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine from people travelling from Morocco, Oman, Portugal, South Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand’s total number of confirmed cases is now at 3,709 with 3,495 recoveries and 59 deaths. 155 people are currently receiving medical treatment for the coronavirus. 3…
- World News
Up to 5,900 jobs to go as Hong Kong carrier Cathay Dragon shuts down
Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific is set to close its subsidiary, Cathay Dragon, with the loss of up to 5,900 jobs. The carrier, that used to be called Dragon Air before being absorbed by Cathay, has become yet another casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic that has decimated the aviation business. The Bangkok Post reports that 5,300 jobs are expected to…
- Transport News
10 international airlines now offer flights to Thailand
With Covid-19 travel restrictions – slowly – easing up, 10 international airlines have started selling flights to Thailand, the Ministry of Transport announced. The airlines include: Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Swissair, Austrian Airlines, Eva Air and KLM. Don’t get too excited. It’s still not easy to get into Thailand. All international arrivals must go through a…
- Tourism News
First tourists in 7 months arrive in BKK today
5pm today – that’s the time the first groups of “tourists” will arrive at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, announced the arrival of the first group of tourists to arrive in the Kingdom since borders where locked in March. He said they wouldn’t needn’t worry about the political unrest currently rocking the capital, pointing…
- Covid-19 News
50% of Thailand’s population to get Covid-19 vaccine when available – Health Minister
Half the population in Thailand will be injected with the Covid-19 vaccine once it’s released and available to the public, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says. Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca are conducting trails of the new vaccine. Thailand is planned to be the Southeast Asia production site for the new vaccine. The health minister says the vaccine…
- Covid-19 News
New Covid-19 restrictions imposed to tackle Europe’s second wave
Countries across Europe are imposing new restrictions as they grapple with a second major wave of Covid-19. Worldwide, the coronavirus has now infected more than 40 million people and been responsible for the deaths of more than 1 million. In Europe, Covid-19 deaths have surpassed 250,000, making up nearly a quarter of the coronavirus deaths in the world. Whilst there…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand to be Southeast Asia production base for Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine
Thailand is planned to be the Southeast Asia production base for Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine. The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra-Zeneca is working with Oxford to make the vaccine, if and when it is approved, globally available and Siam Bioscience will manufacture the vaccine in Thailand. Thailand is planned to be the production base for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,…
- World News
Governor halts movement of goods between Tak and Myanmar amid Covid fears
The governor of the north-western province of Tak has put a temporary stop on the transport of goods between the province and Myanmar, just across the border. The suspension comes amid increasing anxiety about the number of Covid-19 cases in the neighbouring country and is expected to remain in force until at least October 25. Governor Pongrat Piromrat called a…
- Property
Thailand’s property market waits for an end to Covid-19
The Coronavirus outbreak poses challenges for Thailand’s property market as potential Chinese condominium buyers remain stranded in China. Meanwhile, some believe that the outbreak may bring opportunities for non-Chinese buyers and in the long-run, the Chinese may be looking for an overseas refuge in the event of these types of emergencies popping up again Through all this, there will be…
- Covid-19 News
New Covid-19 test in the works, quarantine could be shortened
Thailand’s mandatory quarantine for those entering the country could be reduced from 14 days to 10 days or even less if new Covid-19 testing kits are reliable, according to Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The new Covid-19 testing kits are in the process of being developed by the Public Health Ministry. Nation Thailand didn’t report on many details about the…
- Covid-19 News
4 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, 1 apparent reinfection
4 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine with an apparent reinfection, according to the Centre of Covid-19 Situation Administration. The 4 new cases are from those arriving in Thailand from Ethiopia, Nigeria, Singapore and United Kingdom, raising the country’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 3,669. So far, 3,467 people have recovered and 143 are currently being treated…
- Phuket News
Phuket to host Cabinet meeting to review proposals for reviving local economy
Government officials are to hold a Cabinet meeting in Phuket on November 2 and 3, when they will meet with local authorities and business owners to hear their suggestions on re-igniting the province’s decimated economy. Phuket has been hit particularly hard by the country’s borders being shut since late March, with the absence of international tourists dealing a hammer blow…
- Covid-19 News
10 new Covid-19 cases in quarantine, only 1 reported symptoms
10 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine from those travelling from 6 different countries, tallying up Thailand’s total number of reported cases to 3,665, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. The cases were found in people arriving to Thailand from Myanmar, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Italy, Lebanon and the Netherlands. Only 1 patient reported symptoms. A 33 year…
- Covid-19 News
Residents in border areas accuse officials of lax control over Burmese drivers
Residents in the Mae Sot district of Tak province, bordering Myanmar, have criticised what they see as lax checking of Burmese truck drivers arriving from the Covid-hit neighbour next door. Concerned residents are calling for the Friendship Bridge to be temporarily closed in light of a surge in virus cases in Myanmar. The bridge, which spans the Moei River, connects…
- Phuket News
Phuket tax revenue plummets during pandemic – VIDEO
The Covid-19 pandemic led has tax revenue in Phuket to be cut in half. Border closures, banning international tourists, has caused the tax revenue for the popular island destination to plummet. From January to August, total tax receipts year on year fell by more than 46%, according to data from the Phuket Area Revenue Office, obtained by The Phuket News. In…
- Covid-19 News
9 new Covid-19 cases detected in quarantine, all asymptomatic
9 new Covid-19 cases were detected in quarantine in the past 24 hours. All were reported as asymptomatic and from those travelling back from India, Japan, South Sudan and the United Arab Emirates, according to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. Thailand now reports a total of 3,652 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 59 deaths. 3,457 people have recovered and 136…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand to make AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, hoped to be available by mid-2021
The experimental Covid-19 vaccine by the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is planned to be manufactured and supplied in Thailand. If the vaccine is successful, it will be available to the Thai population by mid-2021. A Covid-19 vaccine is seen as a lifeline to save Thailand’s crippled tourism dependant economy as many have said borders will not fully reopen until a…
- Covid-19 News
2 Covid vaccine trials halted in phase 3 over safety concerns
After Johnson & Johnson paused phase 3 of its Covid vaccine trials due to safety concerns, a second pharmaceutical company has followed suit. Eli Lilly has halted phase 3 trials of a lab-produced antibody treatment, 24 hours after the Johnson & Johnson decision. The Bangkok Post reports that an unspecified incident led Eli Lilly to call a temporary halt to…
- Economy News
Bangkok office rents drop for the first time in 10 years
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to take a toll on Thailand, and the region’s, economy, Bangkok office rents and occupancy rates are expected to drop after consistent growth over the past 10 years, according to Colliers International Thailand. It will be the first contraction in that sector since 2010, according to the property consultancy’s associate director of research and communication,…
- Tourism News
Domestic tourism survey indicates long road to recovery
“Entrepreneurs in the tourism industry need to adjust their strategy to suit consumer behaviour in the new normal era.” A government survey looking at the travel habits of domestic tourists indicates an uphill struggle for the tourism industry’s recovery. Pimchanok Vonkorpon, from the Commerce Ministry’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office says around a quarter of those surveyed travelled during weekends…
- Tourism News
Health officials considering more relaxed quarantine for short-term visitors
The director-general of the Health Service Support Department says Thai officials are discussing a “more flexible form of quarantine” that would allow short-term tourists the freedom to travel within designated zones in provinces that are ready to re-open. Thares Krassanairawiwong says the tourists would be permitted to travel on specially designated routes, aka. “green lanes”, during their 14 day quarantine,…
- Covid-19 News
Mobile testing units dispatched to Tak after Burmese drivers test positive
After 3 Burmese lorry drivers tested positive for Covid-19 in the northern province of Tak, officials have sent mobile testing units to the Mae Sot district to test around 4,000 Thais and Burmese in high-risk border areas. Mae Sot mayor, Thoetkiat Shinsoranan, says all residents are being told to stay home as much as possible. The Bangkok Post reports that…
- Thailand News
Border schools close for cleaning, thousands test for Covid-19 after Burmese truck drivers test positive
Nearly a dozen schools in Tak’s Mae Sot district closed today to be disinfected and around 4,000 people in the community are expected to be tested for Covid-19 after 3 Burmese cargo truck drivers tested positive for the virus after crossing through a border checkpoint. Those in communities deemed at high-risk have been told not to leave their home, unless…
- Thailand News
4 Burmese men arrested after crossing Moei River to Thailand
Tak border patrols have arrested 4 Burmese men who allegedly waded across the Moei River, crossing the natural border into Thailand illegally. Border officials have tightened their patrol since Myanmar reported a second wave of Covid-19 cases in August, and even more after this past weekend when 3 Burmese truck drivers tested positive for Covid-19 after entering Thailand through the…
- World News
UPDATE: Covid-19 visitor entry around the region
Around the region there are many countries starting to re-open their borders to allow some business or diplomatic visitors, even tourists, to enter their national borders. The situation is changing frequently and we’d urge you to contact the national embassies in your countries before making any concrete arrangements or paying money for airfares or accommodation before you clarify the situation,…
- Thailand News
74 Thais in quarantine after Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid-19
74 Thais are now in quarantine after coming in close contact with 2 Burmese truck drivers, who had since tested positive for Covid-19, in Thailand’s northwestern Tak province. According to an unnamed, female doctor’s Facebook post yesterday, all 74 Thais were given PCR tests and told to enter home quarantine for at least 14 days, and are being monitored by Thai…
- Thailand News
2 new cases, Covid-19 update (Sunday)
Thailand’s CCSA has reported 2 new cases of Covid-19 today, with a Thai soldier returning from South Sudan included in the daily report of new cases. The total of Covid-19 positive cases in Thailand sits at 3,636 with reported deaths remaining unchanged at 59. The 36 year old Thai soldier tested positive on his 4th test on Friday after returning…
- Thailand News
Burmese truck driver tests positive for Covid in Tak province
A Burmese truck driver has tested positive for Covid-19 in Thailand’s northwestern province of Tak. The driver and his assistant arrived yesterday at a market in the Thai province’s Mae Sot district, to purchase goods to deliver to clients in the Myawaddi Township, just over the border in Myanmar. The Myawaddi governor says the driver was taken to a hospital…
- Covid-19 News
6 new cases of Covid-19 in Thailand, only 1 displaying symptoms
Thailand has announced 6 new cases of Covid-19 today, with only one person showing symptoms, according to the CCSA. 2 Thais and 4 foreigners make up the positive diagnoses, raising the total number of cases confirmed in the kingdom to 3,634. The 1st case was a 57 year old Japanese employee from his home country who arrived on September 26…
