face masks

  • Covid-19 News

    Policeman nabbed with 7,500 masks and for breaking national curfew in the north-east

    Police were checking cars along the Phon Thong-Kuchinarai road in Roi Et, far north-east Thailand, when a dark grey Honda sedan approached. Stopping the car for a routine inspection they found that the driver was a fellow police officer, 33 year old Police Sergeant Pitak, along with a passenger. But when officials searched the car they found 3 boxes full of…

  • Covid-19 News

    3M denies masks destined for Germany were seized in Bangkok and re-routed to US

    “We cannot speculate where this report originated.” US, Minnesota-based, 3M is denying allegations that 1000s of its face masks, heading for Germany, were ‘seized’ during transit in Bangkok and diverted to the US. The incident is reported to have occurred on April 3. 3M has explained to Germany’s DPA News that it had received no reports of masks being seized or…

  • Covid-19 News

    Samut Sakhon joins other provinces in getting serious about masks in public

    With the entire nation under a state of emergency and a nationwide curfew now in effect, many regions of Thailand are getting tough on those who don’t wear masks in public as an additional public prevention in the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. The governor of Samut Sakhon, a large province on the coast southwest of Bangkok, today joined other…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Chiang Rai puts strict conditions on people entering the province

    As of yesterday, the Governor of Chiang Rai Prajon Pratyakul issued an order that ‘everyone entering Chiang Rai province will have to wear a face mask and undergo screening at checkpoints’. “This order will apply to all visitors whether, on foot, private vehicles or public transport, those who cannot provide evidence of being a local resident or having a workplace…

  • Covid-19 News

    Bangkok police arrest 6 Vietnamese in mask hoarding sting

    Immigration police yesterday arrested 6 Vietnamese nationals in a sting operation, for allegedly hoarding hand sanitiser and facemasks. The items are highly prized due to the current Covid-19 coronavirus situation. They were arrested at a house in Bangkok’s Suan Luang district. Police reportedly found 142,500 face masks and 12,000 bottles of hand gels, 13 barrels of alcohol, three gel making…

  • Covid-19 News

    Red hazardous waste bins spring up in Bangkok for used masks, tissue

    Used face masks and tissue paper are now classified as hazardous waste during this Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak, at least in Bangkok. The city’s governor Aswin Kwanmuang is urging people to dispose of used face masks properly, using the new red bins which are designated for hazardous waste. “Used face masks must be put in a plastic bag fastened with a string…

  • Covid-19 News

    Culture clash over foreigners’ refusal to wear face masks

    With the rapid rise of Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Thailand, more than tripling in the space of a week, a culture clash previously seen in China, is rearing its head in the Land of Smiles. While Thais, even in areas with no infections, consider face masks obligatory and a sign of concern for the welfare of others, many visitors and…

  • Covid-19 News

    7 imprisoned for selling over-priced face masks

    Yesterday, at the Criminal Court on Ratchadapisek Road, the prosecutor of the Economic and Resource ‘Litigation 2’ filed 7 lawsuits with the court for selling masks at an unreasonably high price. The 7 defendants were caught during a government crackdown on overpriced protective gear following the out break of the Coronavirus. The defendants’ testimony has been examined and all the…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thai Health Minister laughs at media when asked about his ‘travel restrictions’ document

    “When asked directly why he deactivated his Facebook account after publishing the official memos, signed by himself, Anutin laughed and attempted to deflect the question.” The Thailand government, specifically the gaffe-prone Public Health minister, has thrown the holiday plans of thousands into confusion after the Minister’s orders for any new arrivals from 11 destinations to go into self-imposed quarantine (for…

  • Covid-19 News

    Central Thai junk shop raided for recycling tens of thousands of face masks

    An enterprising junk shop in the Wiharn Daeng district in Saraburi, central Thailand, is being investigated after a raid found tens of thousands of recycled face masks being prepared for packing and re-selling. According to Somsak Kaewsena, the Wiharn Daeng district chief officer, thousands of used face masks were found in washing machines, thousands more were piled up behind the…

  • Covid-19 News

    Not much of an apology – Thai Health Minister’s non-apology

    OPINION by Tim Newton Yesterday morning the Thai Public Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, also the head of the Bhumjaithai Party, lost his cool and struck out at ‘Europeans’ and ‘damn farangs’ (caucasians) saying they “should be kicked out” of Thailand for not wearing the cheap, flimsy paper face masks being handed out at the busy Siam BTS station as a…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thai Health Minister apologises for his comments that ‘farang’ should be kicked out

    UPDATE: The Thai Health Minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, has had a bad case of foot-in-mouth disease since this morning, after being panned in social media for his comments at a government PR gathering to promote the wearing of face-masks following the coronavirus outbreak in China. The minister has apologised for his earlier comments about ‘farang’ , when he said that they…

  • Covid-19 News

    Kick foreigners, not wearing face-masks, out of Thailand – Minister

    Thailand’s mercurial Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has slammed foreign tourists who aren’t wearing face masks, or refuse to wear them when offered a free one offered by the government, says they “should be kicked out.” He was handing out government freebies this morning at the Siam BTS station as part of the Thai government’s education about coronavirus. “They don’t…

  • World News

    “Surgical masks no guarantee against coronavirus” – medical experts

    The Wuhan Coronavirus is making news around the world and the sight of people wearing face-masks is now becoming common – whether they’re in a high-risk area or not. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has upgraded the global threat level to “high.” Many countries have banned or reduced flights from China and are stepping up screening efforts at their airports.…

  • Environment News

    Haze and coronavirus killing tourism in northern Thailand

    It’s the smoke and Wuhan effect. Haze and the Novel Coronavirus are having a brutal effect on northern Thailand tourism. With numbers already low, China’s recent outward travel ban on tour groups coupled with dangerous haze levels are likely to hit tourism hard. Northern Thailand has a high proportion of Chinese tourists. Residents of Nan province are concerned over the…

  • Environment News

    Air purifiers installed at Victory Monument whilst southern winds blow the smoke north

    The Nation reports that the Rajaprajanukron Foundation, under Royal Patronage, installed four air- purifiers yesterday around the Victory Monument area in a trial of their effectiveness in filtering out PM2.5 dust particles. Silpasuay Raweesaengsoon, permanent secretary of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration says the machines can purify polluted air at the rate of two cubic metres per second. “Placed in areas…

  • Environment News

    Dangerous air quality returns to Bangkok – Readings up to ‘233’ today

    PHOTO: aqicn.org Unseasonal, poor air quality has descended on Bangkok and surrounding suburbs threatening people’s health. The problem, which filled the headlines at the end of last year, has returned to parts of the capital over the weekend. Readings up to 233 have been recorded this morning, well in excess of the 50 micrograms per cubic metre safety level. That…

  • Phuket News

    Patong Mayor hands out useless, cheap face-masks

    In a shameless PR stunt, the Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kepsup yesterday wandered along the Patong Beach foreshore handing out ineffective cheap paper face masks to bemused locals and tourists. The beach-walk was in response to the current onset of poor air quality caused by by the intentionally-lit plantation fires on northern Indonesian islands. Whilst the local media took up the…

  • World News

    Officials hand out face masks whilst southern Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore choke

    The annual haze from intentionally lit forest fires in Indonesia is making life unpleasant in parts of Thailand’s South, with fine-dust readings (PM2.5 microns) in Songkhla and Satun at hazardous levels, over 50 microgrammes per cubic metre of air. The problem is also choking sections of Malaysia and Singapore. In Hat Yai, Songkhla, officials are handing out face masks to…

  • Environment News

    Indonesian forest fires surge, intense smoke floats over neighbours Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia

    by Dessy Sagita “The number of “hotspots” has jumped sharply in Indonesia on Wednesday, according to the Singapore-based ASEAN Specialised Meteorological Centre.” Intense forest fires continue to rage across the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan in recent weeks. More than 930,000 hectares of land have been burned, hundreds of residents evacuated, and more than 9,000 personnel have been deployed…

  • World News

    Indonesia’s forest fires causing air pollution in southern Thailand

    Residents in Thailand’s southern provinces of Songkhla and Satun are being warned to protect their health by wearing face masks or staying indoors as the two provinces are blanketed with smoke from forest fires on Indonesia’s Sumatra Island. The 16th regional environment office reports that dust particles of less than 2.5 microns, were measured at 55 microns/cubic metre during the…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Thai government desperately needs a ‘clean air act’

    by Pratch Rujivanarom Environment campaigners are urging the government to approve a clean-air act to solve the country’s chronic smog problem and honour citizens’ right to breathe clean air. Dr Wirun Limsawart, a policy analyst at the Society and Health Institute and member of the Clean Air Network Thailand, said at a press conference there was no more time for…

  • Bangkok News

    Facemasks on sacred statues gets BKK photographer into hot water

    PHOTOS: Facebook/Chub Nokkaew Thai photographer Chub Nokkaew is in trouble for defacing Wat Arun’s iconic statues with face masks. Well, not quite… But the retouched photos were done so skilfully it almost resulted in him facing a criminal charge. He was merely using the retouched pics to make a point about Bangkok’s recent air pollution woes. The artwork has received…

  • Bangkok News

    Bangkokians advised to stay inside until smog clears

    • Bangkokians warned that cheap face masks are useless • Weather Bureau says the current smog should clear in a few days PHOTO: Framepool The hazardous ultra-fine dust that has been sweeping through 20 districts of Bangkok will last for a few days, City Hall’s Environment Department warned on Friday. The Bangkok Post say that the warning corresponded with dust levels measured…