COVID

  • Covid-19 NewsAll Phuket schools closing for 2 weeks amid Covid-19 fears

    All Phuket schools closing for 2 weeks amid Covid-19 fears

    Ah, Thailand, where one city can simultaneously be reopening and reclosing. While the arrival numbers aren’t anywhere close to early predictions, the Phuket Sandbox has had relatively little Covid-19 issues and the people arriving are relatively happy. But the same cannot be said about schools in Phuket where, after numerous schools started closing due to infections, Governor Narong Woonciew announced…

  • Covid-19 NewsPreparing for Bangkok lockdown measures from today on

    Preparing for Bangkok lockdown measures from today on

    The CCSA announced yesterday sweeping new Covid-19 lockdown measures for Bangkok and surrounding provinces, as well as 4 southern provinces, and now people and businesses are scrambling to prepare before provisions go into effect from now until Monday. Airlines have quickly implemented emergency measures for domestic travellers to handle the wave of cancellations and rescheduling due to Bangkok and other…

  • Covid-19 NewsCovid UPDATE: 9,326 new infections, provincial totals

    Covid UPDATE: 9,326 new infections, provincial totals

    The provincial breakdown for Saturday which includes all the cases reported over the past 24 hours. Infographics from the NBT… Today the public health department has announced 9,326 new infections and 91 Covid-related deaths. 192 of the cases are from Thai prisons. The number, whilst only slightly higher than yesterday, is a continuation of the upward trend in cases, almost…

  • Tourism NewsSamui and Phangan reopening: bars open, 5,000 baht Covid tests

    Samui and Phangan reopening: bars open, 5,000 baht Covid tests

    Koh Samui and the surrounding islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are preparing for their Samui Plus reopening beginning July 15. The rules for the reopening are more stringent, with 3 full days of quarantine required and then 4 days of being allowed to travel only on sealed routes to specific tourist destinations before finally being allowed to travel…

  • Covid-19 News1 million AstraZeneca vaccines from Japan for elderly in Bangkok

    1 million AstraZeneca vaccines from Japan for elderly in Bangkok

    Japan recently donated just over 1 million AstraZeneca vaccines to Thailand in hopes of battling the surging Covid-19 outbreaks hammering the country, and today the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration announce plans to give those vaccines to the elderly in Bangkok. The 1.05 million vaccines that arrived today from Japan will be earmarked for senior citizens, both Thai nationals and…

  • Covid-19 NewsSinovac not effective against Delta variant, AstraZeneca is

    Sinovac not effective against Delta variant, AstraZeneca is

    A new study released today seems to have confirmed what many have feared: the Sinovac vaccine has little effectiveness in stopping the Covid-19 Delta variant. The Delta strain, first identified in India, is particularly dangerous as it has found to be much more contagious and is spreading rapidly throughout Thailand. It has been predicted that the variant will be the…

  • Covid-19 NewsLawyers Association accuse DDC failure over Sinovac

    Lawyers Association accuse DDC failure over Sinovac

    The chairman of the Lawyers Association of Thailand has said the government has failed its duty to protect the health of the Thai people by ordering more Sinovac vaccines instead of pursuing brands more effective against the Delta variant of Covid-19 fast becoming the dominant strain in Thailand. The accusation comes as the Department of Disease Control defends Thailand’s Cabinet’s…

  • Bangkok NewsBREAKING: Stay at home orders, travel restrictions in Bangkok and 9 other provinces

    BREAKING: Stay at home orders, travel restrictions in Bangkok and 9 other provinces

    Tight restrictions limiting travel and ordering residents to stay at home are being set in Bangkok and 9 other “dark red” provinces to control the spread of Covid-19 as the Delta variant of the virus becomes more prevalent. Many have been calling it a “lockdown,” but the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration has been avoiding the word to describe the…

  • Bangkok NewsBreaking: Travel restrictions and curfew to be set in Bangkok, “dark red” provinces

    Breaking: Travel restrictions and curfew to be set in Bangkok, “dark red” provinces

    UPDATE: The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily press briefing has been rescheduled to 4pm today. More details will be reported following the briefing. Travel restrictions and a nightly curfew will be set in Bangkok and provinces classified as “dark red” zones for the high rates of Covid-19 infections, the government’s news bureau confirmed today. In this morning’s Centre for…

  • Thailand NewsIsolation centres being set up in Bangkok to provide basic care to Covid-19 patients

    Isolation centres being set up in Bangkok to provide basic care to Covid-19 patients

    To help reduce overcrowding in Bangkok hospitals, Thai authorities have decided to allow Covid-19 patients with mild symptoms, or who are asymptomatic, to stay at home or at a community isolation centre rather than a hospital or field hospital. Public hospitals in the capital have been at capacity and Covid-19 cases are expected to continue to rise due to the…

  • Covid-19 News12 Sandbox travellers in quarantine request to leave Thailand

    12 Sandbox travellers in quarantine request to leave Thailand

    The strict rules and closed entertainment venues have discouraged many potential tourists from coming to the Phuket Sandbox just yet, but many who have arrived have expressed happiness to be enjoying the beauty of Thailand, even with the complex process and limitations on the ground. But predictably, one group of Sandboxers who have are in quarantine after one traveller tested…

  • 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 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 NewsUPDATE: PM calls for urgent meeting, expected to discuss “lockdown” measures

    UPDATE: PM calls for urgent meeting, expected to discuss “lockdown” measures

    UPDATE: The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting set for 10am tomorrow will address the “worsening situation” in Thailand, according to spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the daily CCSA meeting in English. Natapanu says the media has been “predicting the results” of the meeting, but he assures the public that there will not be…

  • 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…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Sandboxer infected, record community Covid cases, new Boss probe | July 7

    Thailand News Today | Sandboxer infected, record community Covid cases, new Boss probe | July 7

    A man who arrived in Thailand under the Phuket “Sandbox” 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. The Federation of Thai Industries is calling on the government to move factories away from residential neighbourhoods, following the devastating explosion and blaze in Samut Prakan,…

  • 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 over 2000 arrivals; 1 Covid-19 infection

    Phuket Sandbox over 2000 arrivals; 1 Covid-19 infection

    On day 7 of the Phuket Sandbox, international arrivals have surpassed 2,000 people, the first Covid-19 infection from abroad has been found, and a few hiccups have been addressed. Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew says the reopening is definitely benefiting the economy, but plenty of improvements are to be made. Government officials have been pleased to announce that with their strict…

  • 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 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 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 NewsThailand’s CCSA warns against domestic travel as Covid wave hits record high

    Thailand’s CCSA warns against domestic travel as Covid wave hits record high

    With the number of Covid-19 patients now at a record high, and the fast-spreading Delta variant becoming more prevalent, health officials are urging people not to travel. During the daily press briefing by Thailand’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, a spokesperson said “the CCSA would like to urge everyone to avoid trans provincial travel at all costs.” “And, if travel…

  • Phuket NewsPM in self-isolation after close contact with Covid-19 at “Sandbox” reopening

    PM in self-isolation after close contact with Covid-19 at “Sandbox” reopening

    A public official who attended Phuket’s official reopening under the “Sandbox” model last week, and took a “selfie” with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, later tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to his home province. The prime minister, who is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, tested negative for Covid-19, but will be in self-isolation for 14 days as a precaution, Thai media…

  • 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…