face masks
- Thailand News
Surge in Covid-19 cases prompts advice for public to wear masks
A respiratory expert issues a warning as Covid-19 cases soar, surpassing even the flu. Renowned respiratory specialist, Dr Manoon Leechawengwongs, dropped a bombshell on social media, sounding the alarm on the escalating Covid crisis. Hailing from Vichaiyut Hospital in Bangkok, he disclosed a staggering 545 cases in November alone, divulging the unsettling statistics in a Facebook post yesterday, December 7.…
- Environment News
Chiang Mai residents to get free face masks as dangerous air pollution soars
Chiang Mai residents are getting free face masks as dangerous air pollution in the province soars. Authorities say they will hand out the masks to the public as forest fires continue to pollute the air. The fires have been a problem for years as farmers continue to set ablaze fields to clear the way for the next crop cycle. Several…
- Events
Covid precautions for New Year’s Eve in Bangkok
Nobody wants to hear it, but Covid-19 numbers are on the rise in Thailand, stoking governmental fears around the approaching New Year’s Eve festivities. Officials in Bangkok announced that New Year’s Eve countdown parties will be allowed to be thrown as planned, but face masks will be required wherever crowds gather. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will be laying out clear guidelines…
- Covid-19 News
Face masks still required on public transport, in cinemas
Thailand recently celebrated lifting all remaining Covid-19 restrictions and fully reopening its borders to international travellers. But, while tourists can enter without proof of vaccination or negative tests, face masks are still mandatory on public transportation throughout the country. A deputy director of the Department of Health has explained that some Covid safety and prevention measures remain in place. In…
- Covid-19 News
BREAKING: CCSA address face masks, emergency decree, and foreign arrivals
Today, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha met with the Covid-19 Situation Administration – the CCSA – to discuss Covid rules and restrictions in Thailand. Namely, the use of face masks, the extension of Thailand’s emergency decree, and foreign arrival figures. The CCSA started by saying that cases of Covid subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are on the rise in Thailand. Face…
- Covid-19 News
CCSA to discuss re-introduction of mask-wearing in public areas today
Thai PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha is meeting with the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration today at Government House. The prime minister is also the Chairperson for Thailand’s Covid taskforce that has overseen ongoing policy since April 2020 when the country enacted the emergency decree. The emergency decree remains in force. Today’s CCSA meeting is held as Thailand copes with a levelling-off…
- Covid-19 News
Thai health authorities recommending the re-instatement of mask wearing
The highly contagious BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants are currently causing problems in Thailand, just like they are in other countries – more hospitalisations but no trend of a higher number of deaths. The downward trend, since April 1, has plateaued over the past month and started creeping up again. With statistics from many countries suggesting that BA.4 and BA.5…
- Tourism News
What will be Thailand’s new tourism mix? – VIDEO
This is an hour-long discussion with our YouTube audience… Now the Thailand Pass is history, Thailand’s tourism moves into a new era. From now until high season there will be many new dynamics that will affect how the kingdom recovers its vital status as a top 10 world tourism destination. Also, the mask dilemma. We’re sick of talking about face…
- Tourism News
Getting rid of masks and revised closing times in Thailand – waiting for official rubber stamp
Whilst we might be rid of the Thailand Pass on July 1, there appears to be an administrative delay to the changes in mask requirements and changes to the closing times. In clarifying new face mask guidelines, Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesperson for CCSA says that all 77 provinces in Thailand would be redesignated as green zones. Previously there were…
- Tourism News
Come fly with me in Thailand, with a face mask – OPINION
July 1 is looming as the day Thailand really opens up again, with all the ‘Covid’ paperwork (aka. The Thailand Pass) being binned. They’re even scrapping the TM6 form, at least in the short to medium term (maybe permanently?). But if you want a reminder about some of Thailand’s more hypocritical and absurd Covid restrictions, just go for a flight,…
- Covid-19 News
Thailand drops outdoor face mask requirement
Today, Thailand’s Covid-19 taskforce announced that face masks will no longer be required in airy, outdoor spaces in Thailand. The change is expected to come into effect on July 1. The CCSA also announced some other important changes today, such as the cancellation of the Thailand Pass. Dr. Taweesilp Visanuyothin said the public should decide for themselves when wearing a…
- Thailand video news
BIG Covid decisions today, C-Word laws clarified | GMT
Today is a big day for winding back some of Thailand’s remaining Covid restrictions. Face masks, closing times for nightlife, the Thailand Pass, Covid insurance and the immigration TM6 form. What will happen? And what is the reality of Thailand’s botched attempt at decriminalising c**nabis? We have a lawyer on the program to discuss this today. Also is the…
- Phuket News
On, off, on, off: PM Prayut rips off face mask mid-speech in Phuket
On Monday, just days after the requirement to wear face masks outdoors was re-imposed in Phuket province, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dramatically ripped off his face mask mid-speech at a tourism event in Phuket, asking the crowd, “Are you ready?” On June 1, Thailand’s Ministry of Health announced that it was no longer a requirement to wear a mask…
- Thailand News
Thailand could drop its mask mandate by mid-June, says Ministry of Public Health
After two years of compulsory mask-wearing in indoor and outdoor spaces, Thailand aims to drop its mask mandate by mid-June, according to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health Dr. Kiattipoom Wongrachit. At a conference held today at Diamond Plaza hotel in Surat Thani, southern Thailand, Kiattipoom said the ministry is considering dropping the compulsory mandate as soon…
- Tourism News
Thailand to welcome one millionth tourist this year by end of May
Thailand expects its one millionth foreign tourist this year to arrive by the end of May, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The kingdom has seen a sharp increase in tourists since the Test & Go programme and other entry requirements were scrapped at the start this month. However, the current influx of tourists still has nothing on pre-pandemic…
- World News
Pilots announce end of US mask mandate mid-flight, passengers divided
Midway through a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles on Monday night, the pilot announced the end of America’s requirement to wear face masks on public transport, including on planes. The sound of cheering resonated through the plane and around one third of passengers instantly took off their masks, according to a witness. However, some passengers were outraged and scolded…
- Thailand News
Suvarnabhumi airport warns people travelling out of Thailand, don’t bring over 30 masks
After the Central Committee on Prices of Goods and Services announced on January 25 that face masks were on its list of controlled products, Suvarnabhumi International Airport announced yesterday that people flying out of Thailand can’t bring over 30 face masks with them unless they have a doctor’s note. If they have a doctor’s note, they may bring up to…
- Phuket News
Sealed route proposal for asymptomatic infected tourists gets lukewarm reception in Phuket
Phuket officials have responded less than enthusiastically to a suggestion that infected asymptomatic tourists be allowed to travel via a sealed route. Pichet Panapong, the province’s deputy governor, says he believes infected tourists should stay in their hotel rooms. According to a Bangkok Post report, he’s already said as much to the immigration chief who initially made the suggestion. Pichet…
- Phuket News
Tourists not wearing masks face tough talk from Phuket authorities
Expressing frustration against tourists that disregard Covid-19 safety rules and regulations, authorities in Phuket say they will take legal action against foreigners who don’t wear their face masks in public. Phuket’s immigration chief called on authorities to strictly enforce the regulations set out by the local Communicable Disease Committee that required that masks be worn at all times in public.…
- Bangkok News
1 million face masks labeled as Japanese busted as Chinese
In the Bangkok suburb of Samut Prakan, police raided a warehouse where they found 1 million face masks that were labelled as being from Japan when in actuality they were produced and shipped from China. The economic crime division of the police uncovered the Chinese masks, with an estimated value of about 3 million baht, during a raid in a…
- Covid-19 News
Thai Health Ministry refutes claim that cloth masks don’t protect against Omicron
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry is insisting that cloth face masks can provide a level of protection against the Omicron variant – provided they’re worn correctly. Dr Supakit Sirilak was responding to a statement from the Covid-19 Information Centre which cited data from Dr Leana Wen at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University. Wen, who is…
- Covid-19 News
Most face masks on sale in Thailand do not meet industry quality standards
The Thailand Consumer Council says that out of 60 face masks available in the country, only a fifth have passed quality tests. According to a Bangkok Post report, the TCC has called on the Thai Industrial Standards Institute to mandate the same safety standards for disposable face masks, which is currently a voluntary requirement. In July, the TCC randomly chose…
- Thailand News
Mask up! Foreign visitors warned of penalties for violating disease control laws
Foreign visitors are being told to mask up and follow Thailand’s disease control laws, or face prosecution… possibly even a 20,000 baht fine for not wearing a mask. The warning comes after reports that many foreigners travelling for business have not been wearing masks and many have gathered for parties, which a spokesperson says led to Covid-19 transmission. In today’s…
- Covid-19 News
Waste disposal firm calls for rubbish collectors to be vaccinated
The head of Prabkaya, one of Thailand’s largest waste disposal companies, says rubbish collectors must be vaccinated as a matter of priority. Theerawong Sanpipat says the workers regularly come into contact with potentially infected discarded items, such as face masks. According to a Bangkok Post report, he is demanding the workers be vaccinated and the public educated on how to…
- World News
Bali to deport 4 tourists for not wearing masks, breaking disease control orders
Four tourists in Bali are being deported after they apparently did not follow local disease control measures during their stay on the resort island in Indonesia. Some didn’t wear face masks while the other, who was infected with Covid-19, apparently left a quarantine hotel during her mandatory isolation period. Covid-19 has been on the rise in the Southeast Asian country,…
- Covid-19 News
Covid-19, food delivery brings rise in plastic and infectious waste
Often, evolving lifestyles, and the technology it brings, are first regarded for their revolutionary game-changing effect before facing down the road the negative unintended consequences of the change. It was decades between when we celebrated the way air travel allowed you to see the world and when we started talking about “carbon footprints”. Many years went by between seeing the…
- Thailand News
Motorcycle club donates 40,000 face masks, hand sanitiser to Pattaya prison
Yesterday, the Mini Siam Motorcycle Club Pattaya donated 40,000 face masks and 40 bottles of hand sanitiser to the Pattaya Remand Prison. The donation was led by Mr Thada Boonpan. “There are many confirmed cases of Covid-19 at prisons in Bangkok and other provinces, although Pattaya Remand has so far been spared. We want it to stay that way. We…
- Covid-19 News
No more face masks for speakers at government meetings – PM
The PM has signed into law a waiver on the mandatory face mask rule for officials addressing Parliament. However, MPs will still be required to wear face masks, unless they are speaking. The announcement has been published on the Royal Gazette website, making it official. According to a Bangkok Post report, the new waiver also applies to local administration meetings.…
- Covid-19 News
Thai courts getting tough on face mask violations
People caught not wearing a face mask in a public space face stiff penalties, with the courts fining at least 9 people so far this week. Officials are cracking down on face mask violations as disease prevention measures are ramped up to curtail the spread of Covid-19. Certainly Thai police have shown their fervour for the crackdown and have been…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Scrap THAI and rebuild, Phuket promises expats will be vaccinated | April 28
Plans to create a new national airline to replace the struggling Thai Airways are meeting opposition from the national airlines’ employee union, Phuket’s resident foreigners are being called out again over their alleged failures to comply with Covid-19 safety measures. Phuket Governor re-promises that expats and foreigners will be vaccinated. 2,012 new Covid-19 infections and 15 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported…
