health

  • Thailand News

    Public Health Ministry opens sexual health centre in Bang Rak, Bangkok

    In the midst of a rise in STD infections, Thailand’s Public Health Ministry held an opening ceremony yesterday for a new sexual health centre in Bang Rak district in Bangkok. The centre, called Bang Rak Medical Centre Building, is part of Bang Rak Hospital complex on Sathorn road. Some of the centre’s services will include test-and-go services for STIs, and…

  • Thailand News

    Thai Cabinet “okays” 5 year plan to lower tobacco consumption

    Thailand is going a step further than the graphic (and disturbing) photos on packs of cigarettes to discourage the public from smoking. The Thai Cabinet has approved a five-year road map focusing on lowering tobacco consumption to help improve overall public health. The plan, with a 498 million baht budget, will start this year and end in 2027. The plan to…

  • Thailand News

    Polls show majority of parents doubt online learning, concerned about Covid-19 vaccines

    An online survey conducted last week found that most parents doubt that online learning is effective for their children, and are either “dubious” or “very concerned” about kids 5-11 years old getting vaccinated. The survey questioned 1,089 parents across Thailand. The university that conducted the survey is Suan Dusit Rajabhat University in Bangkok. 66.8% of parents said they doubt how…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Korat has 7 Covid-19 clusters

    Seven schools in Korat, a Northeastern province, have Covid-19 cluster infections. Buayai Technical College is the most recent school to be hit. 19 students there tested positive, and teachers and students are now doing online learning until February 9. Students and staff took ATK tests on Saturday, and there were no new infections found. Health officials are monitoring the Covid-19…

  • Northern Thailand News

    Government allocates 851 million baht for organic farming and projects

    Thailand’s government will give 851 million baht to organic farming projects. 552 million will go to projects on production and management. 176.8 million will go to projects on research and development, innovation, database development and knowledge transfer to farmers. 122.2 million will go to projects improving marketing and standards. An agriculture ministry spokesperson said in the past five years, around…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thailand reports 9 cases of new Omicron BA.2 subvariant

    Thailand has detected the nine cases of the new Omicron subvariant BA.2, which is spreading across the globe with at least 40 countries reporting infections involving the mutated strain. The infections in Thailand involve both Thais and travellers from overseas. Through the laboratory procedure of whole-genome sequencing, Thailand’s Department of Medical Sciences and participating laboratories detected the BA.2 infections. The…

  • World News

    New Zealand closes its borders to arrivals over fear of Omicron outbreak

    New Zealanders are currently unable to return home as the Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins orders a temporary halt to the only route back to the country due to the fully occupied numbers of managed isolation and quarantine, or MIQ, as demands soar following the threat posed by the Omicron strain yesterday. Although the ban would be temporary, no date…

  • Covid-19 News

    Department of traditional medicine says it can treat Long Covid with Thai herbs

    Long Covid, the often-debilitating series of symptoms some people are left with even after recovering from Covid-19, can be treated with Thai herbs. So says the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, which is offering treatment to Long Covid sufferers. The Bangkok Post reports that practitioners of traditional and alternative therapies have launched a mobile unit offering Thai herbs…

  • World News

    France detects new Covid variant “IHU,” believed to be highly transmissible

    While the world is grappling with new spikes in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, scientists in France have discovered another variant. The newly-discovered variant, called B.1.640.2, was found in 12 patients near Marseille and features 46 mutations, making it vaccine-resistant and contagious. Also known as “IHU,” the strain was detected by scholars at the IHU Mediterranee Infection on…

  • World News

    Travellers who break Philippines quarantine rules face US$1,000 fine or 6 months in jail

    The Philippines has issued a warning to incoming travellers that those who break quarantine rules might face fines of up to 50,000 Philippine pesos (US$1,000) or six months in prison as it prepares to deal with the new strain of Omicron in the wake of a spike in Covid-19 cases. During a television interview yesterday, President Duterte’s spokesperson, Karlos Nograles,…

  • World News

    Malaysia lifts travel ban on eight African countries

    Malaysia lifted its travel ban on eight South African countries that were among the first to identify the Omicron strain of the coronavirus, citing its global spread. The move follows Singapore, which recently lifted its travel ban on 10 African countries. Health minister Khairy Jamaluddin told reporters yesterday that officials would rush booster vaccines as Omicron is spreading very fast,…

  • World News

    Vietnam reports first case of Omicron

    Vietnam’s first Omicron infection was reported by the country’s Health Ministry today, adding that the person had travelled from the UK to Hanoi and is now quarantined at the 108 Military Hospital. The patient arrived in Hanoi on December 19 and was tested for the virus the next day. Her result came back positive for Omicron, or B.1.1.529 variation, according…

  • Bangkok News

    50 emergency operations centres in Bangkok being set up for New Year’s

    Emergency operations centres are being set up in 50 districts of Bangkok to prevent Covid-19 from spreading during countdown events and celebrations. The centres will screen people for Covid-19 and immediately isolate those who are infected, Permanent Secretary Kajit Chatchavanich told the media yesterday. District offices will keep a tight eye on New Year’s celebrations and events. Restaurants and other approved…

  • Bangkok News

    Bangkok Covid-19 vaccination centre to close for 7 days during New Year holiday

    One of Bangkok’s vaccination centres will be closed for a week during the New Year holiday from December 29 to January 4. Thais and foreign residents can still get vaccinated during those days at one of the six health clinics or 11 recognised hospitals, according to Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Health Department’s director. The Thai-Japanese Youth Centre will reopen on January…

  • World News

    Cambodia, Phillippines report first cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant

    Omicron appears to be quickly making its way into Southeast Asia, as the Philippines and Cambodia both reported the first cases of the new variant on the same day. The Philippine Department of Health said today that it has detected the country’s first two imported cases of the Omicron virus strain following the 48 samples sequenced yesterday. Those two patients…

  • Central Thailand News

    Two women arrested for allegedly running unauthorized Covid-19 laboratory

    Two women were arrested for allegedly issuing unauthorised Covid-19 certifications when police raided the D Lab Inter Group clinic in Muang district of Pathum Thani province on Monday. According to the head of the Consumer Protection Police Division, Pol Maj Gen Anant Nanasombat, two women who identified themselves as Wasita and Pornnapa were reportedly charging 500 baht for each Covid-19…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand: 1st in Asia, 5th worldwide in Global Health Security Index

    Out of 195 countries, Thailand was ranked fifth in the world – and first in Asia – on the Global Health Security Index this year. The list is compiled by John Hopkins Centre for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and other health experts worldwide. The index evaluates the health security of countries by analysing…

  • World News

    Malaysia reports first case of Omicron variant

    Every nation’s fear finally arrives in Malaysia, as its health minister today announced that a foreign student in her quarantine after arriving from South Africa two weeks ago had tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus. Following the World Health Organisation’s announcement on November 24 that Omicron was causing a variety of concerns, authorities re-tested earlier positive samples, according to minister…

  • World News

    Taiwan sets up nighttime vaccination spots with gifting plans

    In an effort to enhance the Covid-19 vaccine coverage, a number of hospitals in Taiwan have started giving evening appointments yesterday, and the Central Epidemic Command Centre, or CECC, is considering setting up vaccine booths at PX Mart supermarkets. At a news conference held yesterday, CECC spokesperson Chuang Jen-hsiang said that hospitals established by Taiwan’s Armed Forces, Ministry of Health…

  • World News

    5 Omicron cases reported in South Korea

    South Korea reported its first five cases of the new “Omicron” virus on Wednesday amongst its 5,000 in a single day as infection rates soared for the first time, raising concerns about a sudden spike. The new variant was followed by a fully vaccinated couple who came back from Nigeria last week and was promptly transmitted to two family members…

  • Covid-19 News

    UPDATE: What we know about “Omicron,” new travel restrictions to Thailand

    An increasing number of countries are taking precautionary steps to halt international flights. There are already many travel bans from several southern African nations following the discovery of a newly identified Covid-19 variant called “Omicron”. Is Omicron in Thailand? The Omicron Covid-19 variant has not been detected in Thailand, according to the director-general of the Department of Disease Control, assuring…

  • Bangkok News

    Booze sales are likely to be extended until midnight during Christmas and New Year’s

    The hours on alcohol sales at restaurants might be extended on Christmas and New Year’s. Thai authorities are now considering pushing the hours for sales of beer and liquor from 9pm to 11pm or midnight. The proposal will be reviewed today during a meeting with government agencies and tourism associations, according to the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Rachakitprakarn,…

  • Covid-19 News

    Omicron Covid-19 variant isn’t in Thailand, DDC director says

    The Omicron Covid-19 variant isn’t in Thailand, director-general of the Department of Disease Control said yesterday, assuring the public that the mutated strain of the virus virus is not “travelling” into the country by tourists. Dr Opas Karnkawinpong said that all “sandbox” visitors are being closely and stringently monitored by health authorities. “All 1,007 travellers from South Africa who recently…

  • World News

    Desperate to hire nurses, hospitals and clinics in Singapore offer “finder’s fee”

    As the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the healthcare system in Singapore, the demand for nurses grows even as many have quit their jobs due to higher levels of stress and long hours duty to deal with the patients. For the first time in more than two decades, the number of nurses working in Singapore decreased in 2020 and the situation…

  • Covid-19 News

    Thailand to buy 30 million booster Pfizer shots

    Had your booster shot yet? According to Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, the Department of Disease Control has signed an agreement to buy another 30 million doses of Pfizer vaccines, which will be administered as booster shots in the first quarter of 2022. He added that Pfizer has given Thailand a special deal where the additional 20 million doses…

  • World News

    No leave for Christmas and New Year holidays, Indonesia’s officials say

    Looks like there’s a “Grinch” in Indonesia. This year, there those working in the Southeast Asian country will be barred from taking leave on Christmas and New Years. According to the order issued by the Ministry of the Interior on Tuesday, about 4.2 million civil officials and two million workers in state-owned businesses will be affected, with many more in…

  • World News

    Uptick in road crashes in Laos, speeding and drink driving major causes in Vientiane

    A recent survey focused on Laos’ increase in traffic crashes found that over three-quarters of drivers in the capital Vientiane are habitually breaching speed limits and about a third of individuals driving in the evening have consumed alcohol. The country’s Department of Transport lead the surveys, with technical and financial support from the World Bank. Researchers also documented accounts from…

  • Sponsored

    Secure your future and protect your health with cancer insurance

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  • Thailand News

    No.1 Health Insurance Plans for Elderly Expats in Thailand

    Sponsored Article Looking for low-cost medical coverage in Thailand? You have come to the right place! As an elderly expat living in Thailand, choosing a health insurance plan for retirement in Thailand can be a daunting task. But don’t worry, Tadoo is here to help you relax and enjoy your retirement with many insurance options available just for you. Through…

  • Things To Do

    Find your inner peace in these 5 meditation centres and retreats in Thailand

    When it comes to holiday destinations, Thailand is one of the most popular choices for travelers from all around the world. With stunning beaches, delicious food, and a lively nightlife scene – what’s not to love? But Thailand has much more on offer than simply beachfront hotels; the country is also home to a variety of meditation and wellness retreats…