COVID
- World News
Vietnam Covid-19 surges, Ho Chi Minh enters lockdown Monday
With soaring Covid-19 infections, Ho Chi Minh City has issued a stay-at-home order enacting a strict lockdown that bans people from leaving their home starting Monday. The megacity of 9 million people has accounted for a full 80% of all Covid-19 deaths and 50% of Covid-19 infections in Vietnam and less harsh lockdown restrictions aren’t making headway. The deputy head…
- Covid-19 News
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 News
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…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA predicts that Covid-19 infections may have peaked
Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration officials are saying that there are encouraging signs that Covid-19 infections are levelling off and have peaked. The news comes despite some doctors predicting up to 400,000 new cases, or even, as one doctor suggested, half the Thai population having or having had Covid-19 by the end of the next 100 days without mass vaccination.…
- Covid-19 News
Friday Covid Update: 19,851 new cases; provincial totals
Thailand’s total Covid-19 case count since the start of the pandemic has surpassed 1 million. The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 19,851 new Covid-19 cases and 240 coronavirus-related deaths today. Out of the 1,009,710 Covid-19 cases reported since the start of the pandemic last year, 980,847 have been reported in the latest and most severe wave, first recorded on…
- Covid-19 News
Friday Covid Update: 19,851 new cases and 240 deaths
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 19,851 new Covid-19 cases and 240 coronavirus-related deaths today. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, there have been 980,847 confirmed Covid-19 infections. Over the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 20,478 recoveries from Covid-19. There are now 205,079 people…
- Covid-19 News
Village under Covid-19 lockdown after old woman lies
The dishonesty of an old woman led to an entire village in Buriram being sealed off on lockdown due to a Covid-19 outbreak she created. The woman lied about her visiting daughter and son-in-law to avoid the 14-day quarantine set in place to allow enough time to avoid a Covid-19 outbreak. The 75 year old woman lives in the village…
- Covid-19 News
Army pursues those claiming they brought Covid-19 to Thailand
The Royal Thai Army is fighting on a very different battleground today as they vowed to take action against a rumour online that they were responsible for letting Covid-19 into Thailand. The allegations are being made on Thai social media that an army medical research facility first brought the Coronavirus into the country and it spread from there. Channel 7…
- Covid-19 News
Thursday Covid Update: 20,902 new cases and 301 deaths
20,902 new Covid-19 cases and 301 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA has recorded 22,208 recoveries. There are now 205,946 people receiving treatment for Covid-19. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA…
- Phuket News
Phuket Town lockdown lifted except Downtown Market, Market 2
After active Covid-19 testing revealed a reasonably low number of infections, the majority of last week’s lockdown in the centre of Phuket Town has now been lifted, aside from the market. The municipality fresh market at the heart of the lockdown will still remain closed for several more days. Several other market areas will remain shuttered for the duration of…
- Covid-19 News
Wednesday Covid Update: 20,515 new cases; provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 20,515 new Covid-19 cases and a record high of 312 coronavirus-related deaths. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 968,967 confirmed Covid-19 infections and 8,285 coronavirus-related fatalities. There are now 207,553 people in Thailand receiving treatment for the coronavirus, a decline over the past few…
- Covid-19 News
Wednesday Covid Update: 20,515 new cases and 312 deaths
20,515 new Covid-19 cases and 312 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA has reported a total of 940,094 Covid-19 cases. There are now 207,553 active cases, a decline over the past several days. Since yesterday’s count, there have been…
- Covid-19 News
Tuesday Covid Update: 20,128 new cases and 239 deaths
20,128 new Covid-19 cases and 239 coronavirus-related deaths were reported today by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration. 20,791 people have recovered from a Covid infection in the 24 hours since the last report. There are now 210,032 active Covid-19 cases. In the latest and most severe wave of the virus in Thailand, first recorded on April 1, the CCSA…
- Covid-19 News
Zoning, restrictions extended until Aug 31; CCSA discusses “Covid Pass”
The order outlining disease control restrictions and the colour-coded provincial zoning based on Covid-19 infection rates has been extended until August 31 and a slight revision has been made to the order. Along with approving the extension, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration also discussed initiatives to contain the virus and a potential “Thai Covid Pass” for vaccinated residents, with…
- Thailand News
Monday Covid Update: 21,157 new cases; provincial totals
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 21,157 new Covid-19 cases and 182 coronavirus-related deaths. There are now 210,934 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has recorded a total of 928,314 Covid-19 cases. The latest and most severe wave of infections, first recorded on April 1, has accounted for 899,451 of those infections.…
- Thailand News
OPINION: Why restaurants are so f**ked
Article by Guest Blogger Joelle Parenteau (This article contains some strong language that may offend some people) Covid 19 is about to kill restaurants by the thousands. This pandemic is the ultimate pressure test and restaurants are failing hard. Think about it: when we come out of this, your favourite food spots might not be there any more. Why are…
- Phuket News
Phuket Covid-19 infections break 100 for the second time
The Phuket Sandbox originally planned to suspend or revise the programme if ever Covid-19 infections reached over 90 in a week, but that ideal has been abandoned as daily infections hit triple digits for the second time in a week. Local infections hit a new record today of 109, topping the August 11 record of 104 by 5 people as…
- Politics News
Opposition party suing government for Covid-19 failure
The Move Forward Party has announced that it is suing the government for its alleged mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic now ravaging Thailand. They plan on launching a class-action lawsuit in the coming week to demand compensation for the government’s failure to sufficiently address Covid-19 as the third wave causes record infections and deaths every day. The MFP is a…
- Thailand News
Phuket restrictions to stay in place until at least the end of the month, exemptions apply
Phuket’s restrictions will stay in place until at least the end of the month. This includes closing off the island to visitors, with exceptions. This move is in response to the rising Covid cases in the region. The exception to the rule is Phuket residents and visitors associated with the “Sandbox” scheme. Also, people who have had 2 doses of…
- Covid-19 News
Doctor whose family died of Covid-19 urges private import of vaccines
Dr Sitthiphong Lapanich has lost a lot to Covid-19 and now he’s calling for others besides the government to import vaccines. The doctor has seen the effects of Covid-19, and the lack of effective vaccines, after losing both his parents and his sister to the virus, and is fighting to push the government to allow independent groups to directly import…
- Covid-19 News
Medics want ban on vaccine exports, legal experts warn against it
As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on in Thailand with growing numbers of infections and deaths, more and more medical experts are pushing for the government to intervene to stop Siam Bioscience from exporting AstraZeneca vaccines as the country experiences a shortage of vaccines to fight Covid-19 domestically. But legal experts are warning that this is a bad idea. A member…
- Thailand News
Widow of former Prime Minister dies of Covid-19
The widow of former Prime Minister Chatichai, Thanpuying Boonruen Choonhavan, has died early this morning of illness connected to Covid-19. Details around the death of the 101 year old widow are vague, but the announcement was made on Facebook today by her granddaughter. Thanpuying had one daughter who survived her, Vanee, and a son Kraisak who died last year in…
- Covid-19 News
Canada mandates domestic travellers must be vaccinated
A sweeping new announcement from Canada’s Transport Minister at a virtual press conference yesterday declared that most passengers travelling commercially in Canada will be required to be vaccinated by this fall. The new requirement will apply to anyone travelling by plane, interprovincial train, and cruise ships or other ” large marine vessels with overnight accommodations”. Canada has 71% of people…
- Covid-19 News
Almost 1 million Favipiravir pills are taken daily in Thailand
According to the Ministry of Public Health, Covid-19 patients in Thailand are taking almost a million Favipiravir pills each day as infection numbers surge around the country. The daily Covid-19 infection rates have now crossed over the 20,000 mark and with so many new cases, the demand for the antiviral tablets is skyrocketing. The Government Pharmaceutical Organisation has been called…
- World News
Former Burmese junta leader Than Shwe infected with Covid-19
As the current Burmese military junta, mired with mass civil unrest stemming from their coup February 1, struggles with the increasingly rampant Covid-19 pandemic, Than Shwe, leader of the previous military junta has been hospitalised with Covid-19. The former strongman leader, now 88 years old, is said to be in stable condition after being diagnosed with the virus. Than Shwe…
- Thailand News
Thai Hotels Association urges attention for domestic tourism
Doubting PM Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pledge to reopen Thailand fully to international tourists by mid-October, the Thai Hotels Association is calling on the government to focus on plans to boost domestic tourism. The association says that the Thai government is laser-focused on international tourism and on achieving the reopening goal, but a backup plan is needed to encourage domestic tourism if…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19 plan recruits 2,000 pharmacies in Bangkok to assist
A new plan has recruited 2,000 pharmacies to aid in Bangkok’s home isolation programme in order to assist in Covid-19 diagnosis and treatment. The Pharmacy Council of Thailand brought in pharmacies across the city to provide service for people isolating at home due to Covid-19 infections. The plan was put in place hinging on the purchase of 8.5 million antigen…
- Covid-19 News
GPO pauses antigen test kits deal after skimping accusations
After a scathing letter from the Rural Doctors Society accusing the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation of basing their decision solely on price with no concern for quality or accuracy, the GPO walked back their plan to buy 8.5 million antigen test kits from Lepu Medical Technology of China. The purchase will be delayed in order to test the quality of the…
- Transport News
Ferry between Pattaya and Hua Hin permanently cancelled
With travel restrictions for dark red zones limiting flights and bus services, ferries are not immune from the economic damages of Covid-19 either. The ferry service running between Hua Hin and Pattaya hasn’t been operating since last year due to Covid-19, but it now appears it will not ever restart. Royal Passenger Liner Co was operating as the sole operator…
- Phuket News
Phuket Town Fresh Market closed for 1 week for Covid-19
Following an outbreak of Covid-19 infections, officials have closed down the Phuket Town Fresh Market 1 and surrounding area for 1 week as well as the Downtown Plaza market for 11 days until August 22. The decision to close the markets stems from a cluster last Wednesday where 27 Covid-19 infections were uncovered at the market, which pushed Phuket to…
