COVID
- Covid-19 News
Confirmed, expats in Phuket will receive Covid-19 vaccines
(Links to registration forms below) Officials confirmed yesterday that expats in Phuket will be included and receive Covid-19 vaccines as part of the Thai government’s vaccination scheme. The Phuket Communicable Disease Committee enacts all Coronavirus policy locally, and an important member, Dr Chalermpong of Vachira Phuket Hospital, announced today that foreigners will also receive the Covid vaccines. A new online…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand’s 4-phase reopening, starting today
This is not an April fool’s joke. Thailand has set a tentative 4-phase plan starting April 1 for reopening the borders, lifting restrictions, and relaxing quarantine periods, allowing international travel to recommence in a safe manner. As always, this a currently a PLAN and has not been confirmed by the Thai government at this stage. The planned rollout has a…
- World News
Covid cluster on China-Myanmar border locked down
A city on the China-Myanmar border has gone into lockdown today, citing 9 Covid infections including several Burmese citizens. Ruili, a Chinese city in the Yunnan province in the far southwest of the country has been locked down with all residents being instructed to stay home for a week. The 9 newly confirmed Coronavirus infections included 6 symptomatic cases, along…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: ASQ cook causes Covid-19 cluster
Health officials say a cook at an Alternative State Quarantine hotel in Bangkok is the source of a new Covid-19 cluster of infections in Samut Prakan, just southeast of the capital. The Bangkok Post called the 28 year old cook “careless.” The woman, who worked as for the catering department of an ASQ hotel, sometimes did not wear gloves and…
- Tourism News
11 countries must still do full 14 day ASQ quarantine when travelling to Thailand
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has announced the names of 11 countries that have been deemed to be carrying new Covid-19 mutations. Any people arriving from these countries will still be required to do the full 14 day quarantine quarantine when they arrive in Thailand. From 1 April the quarantine period will be reduced, but with some restrictions remaining. Read…
- Covid-19 News
First death after Covid-19 vaccine reported in Thailand, death not linked to vaccine, health official says
Thailand has reported its first death of a Covid-19 vaccine patient. An investigation has been launched by the Public Health Ministry, but health officials suspect the death is not related to the vaccine and that the death is from natural causes. 10 days after being injected with the vaccine, a 60 year old patient had an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which…
- Tourism News
Accelerated vaccination plan for Phuket, Koh Samui recommended by tourism sector
Those in Thailand’s tourism and airline industries are pushing for an accelerated vaccination plan for Phuket and Koh Samui as well as for those in those in the tourism sector. With Phuket set to reopen under the “sandbox” model in July, tourism and airline representatives also ask for a clear timeline for reopening the country to foreign travellers. In a…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 69 new Covid-19 cases, most in Bangkok
69 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 1,381 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic, the CCSA has reported a total of 28,346 coronavirus infections and 92 deaths. Most of the cases were found in Bangkok, according to the deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foriegn…
- Thailand News
Soi Cowboy bar owner says the business has survived the pandemic, but revenue has fallen by 70%
Bangkok’s notorious red light district Soi Cowboy has survived the pandemic, but barely. An owner of a bar along the street said the business is only earning enough to cover operating costs. Bars and nightclubs were hit hard by disease control restrictions with the government banning alcohol, shutting down the venues and limiting operating hours during peaks in the pandemic.…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Fallout from weekend protest violence, Samut Prakan Covid cluster | March 22
We apologise for some poor patches of sound in the opening of today’s Thailand News Today… the fallout from the weekend’s protests in Bangkok and the violence that followed, the latest from the Samut Prakan Covid cluster, next door to Bangkok, and a wind-fall for a couple in Nakhon Si Thammarat digging around their backyard. The Thaiger is unable to…
- Tourism News
“Samui Wonder Island” safe and sealed travel scheme to launch in July
Under the new safe and sealed foreign travel campaign “Samui Wonder Island,” foreign visitors will be able to visit Koh Samui under disease control measures starting in July. Travellers will undergo a rapid Covid-19 swab test on their second or third day at the alternative state quarantine hotel or resort. The results will come back within 3 hours. If the…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 73 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death
73 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 1,122 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA reported a total of 27,876 coronavirus infections and 91 deaths. A 60 year old Thai man in Bangkok died after testing positive for Covid-19. He…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 100 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death, Emergency Decree extended
100 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. The Emergency Decree was also extended for the 11th time at today’s CCSA meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha. The decree will now be in place until May 31. Interagency cooperation and integration under the decree is still necessary to help…
- Thailand News
CCSA approves shorter quarantine for visitors travelling from certain countries
The mandatory quarantine period for foreign arrivals will be shortened 7 days for those vaccinated against Covid-19 and 10 days for those who have not had the vaccine, unless they are travelling from a country where the virus has mutated. In today’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration meeting chaired by PM Prayut Chan-o-cha, officials decided to relax international travel measures…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 92 new Covid-19 cases, 1 death
92 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 1,028 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 27,494 coronavirus infections and 89 deaths. A 65 year old cancer patient in Samut Sakhon died after testing positive…
- Expats
TAT says expats are confident in living a “new normal” life in Thailand – VIDEO
Expats are confident in living a “new normal” life in Thailand, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. In their recent “Trusted Thailand Report” titled “Expat Life in Thailand,” the authority highlighted popular areas in the country among foreigners and spoke to some expats about life in Thailand during the Covid-19 pandemic. Bangkok’s Sukhumvit Road is the most popular place…
- Covid-19 News
6,000 people to be vaccinated in Bangkok’s Bang Khae after cluster of infections
Following the recent cluster of Covid-19 infections in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district, city officials plan to vaccinate 6,000 people in the area who are at risk of infection. Starting tomorrow, 500 to 600 people in the district will be vaccinated against the coronavirus each day, according to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spokesperson Pongsakorn Kwanmuang. Inoculations will take place at hospitals and…
- Covid-19 News
China to facilitate visas for foreigners inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccine
China will issue visas to foreigners who have been inoculated with Chinese-made Covid-19 vaccines. Chinese embassies in various countries including the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom released a statement yesterday saying they would facilitate visas for applicants who have been vaccinated with Chinese-made jabs. Only those who are travelling to China for work, or those who have family…
- Thailand News
Government opening up another round of welfare registration to include more recipients
The Thai government is opening up another round of welfare card registration, with the possibility of more people being eligible for financial help. The Finance Ministry says it expects the latest round of recipients will outnumber the previous round, due to increasing unemployment rates. An unnamed source told Bangkok Post that the inclusion of more recipients is due to the…
- Covid-19 News
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha gets the first AstraZeneca jab in Thailand
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha got the first AstraZeneca jab in Thailand this morning after a short delay due to safety concerns. A government spokesperson called the prime minister’s inoculation “historic.” The jab kicks off Thailand’s AstraZeneca vaccination programme. Prayut’s vaccination plans were suddenly postponed last Friday and the country’s rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine was put on pause due to concerns…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: New Covid-19 death, rise of cases in Bangkok
78 new Covid-19 cases and 1 death were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 684 active Covid-19 cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 27,005 coronavirus infections and 87 deaths. An 88 year old Thai man died after testing positive for Covid-19. The…
- Covid-19 News
Suspension of AstraZeneca jab delays Thailand’s planned vaccination drive
With Thailand joining several European countries in suspending use of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine amid blood clot concerns, the Kingdom’s vaccine rollout now faces more delays. Thailand only has a limited supply of 1 other vaccine – China’s Sinovac. Thailand had chosen AstraZeneca as the primary vaccine for those over the age of 60 (including the PM), signing a deal…
- Technology News
Uh oh: Netflix may stop allowing the sharing of passwords
Netflix is announcing that it may stop allowing users to share passwords with others who live elsewhere, in a worrying move for those who love to freeload off of their friends. Some free loaders took to Twitter to share the news of an apparent ban on sharing passwords as they say they were notified that they needed to be subscribers…
- Covid-19 News
American has false negative Covid-19 test result in Thailand, positive result after returning to the US
An American, who recently travelled to Phuket and Bangkok, tested positive for Covid-19 after returning to the United States. The man was tested prior to leaving Thailand and Thai health officials now say that result was a false negative. Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences reviewed the man’s Covid-19 test that was taken right before leaving Thailand and now say the…
- Covid-19 News
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha postpones AstraZeneca jab after some European countries suspended the vaccine
Thailand’s prime minister cancelled plans to get injected with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine today after reports that some European countries suspended the jab due to the possibility that the vaccine could be linked to an increased risk of blood clots. Some people developed blood clots after receiving the vaccine. In a case in Denmark, a person died. After some European…
- Thailand News
Thailand tourism officials talk of potential travel bubble with China
With restrictions in Beijing easing and plans to issue digital Covid-19 vaccination certificates to Chinese nationals, there may soon be a travel bubble between Thailand and China, allowing those vaccinated against the coronavirus to travel between the countries without quarantine. Just yesterday, the Chinese government announced it would issue the digital certificates to help citizens travelling overseas, a move that…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA Update: 58 new Covid-19 cases
58 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. Thailand now has 513 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 26,598 coronavirus infections and 85 deaths. Out of the 58 in cases, 17 were exposed to the virus while visiting high risk areas…
- Phuket News
Phuket aims for mass Covid-19 immunisation by October
The Phuket government is pushing for more Covid-19 vaccines with the hopes to hit mass immunisation by October. So far, just under 2,000 people on the island province have been injected with China’s Sinovac vaccine. The local officials say they will file a request to get enough doses to vaccinate roughly 78% of the population by October. With the Phuket…
- Covid-19 News
Second batch of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine to arrive in Thailand on March 25
A second order of China’s Sinovac Covid-19 vaccines are expected to arrive on March 25, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced today. 800,000 doses are set to be sent to Thailand later this month. Along with informing the Thai government on the expected arrival date for the vaccines, Chinese officials also asked that the Thai government consider vaccinating Chinese nationals…
- Covid-19 News
Travellers undergoing yacht quarantine to wear wristbands to track location and monitor health
Foreign tourists travelling to Thailand by yacht and undergoing the mandatory quarantine period onboard the vessel will be asked to wear a smart wristband to monitor their health and track their location. The Digital Economy Promotion Agency teamed up with Advanced Info Service, known as AIS, and Phuket tourism operators to launch the so-called “Digital Yacht Quarantine” programme. Apparently, tourist…
