News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
-
Laos reports first case of Omicron strain, traveller from overseas
Laos reported its first Omicron case yesterday involving a woman who travelled from overseas. The woman’s family member, who was travelling with her, also tested positive for Covid-19, but the Omicron strain was not detected, according to the National Taskforce Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control. Both travellers are fully vaccinated. Before landing in the capital of Laos, Vientiane the…
-
Cambodia’s PM arrives in Myanmar to meet with junta despite strong opposition
Despite the strong opposition to his visit to Myanmar, Cambodia’s PM Hun Sen arrived in the capital of Naypyidaw to meet with the military junta and leader Min Aung Hlaing. On the same morning, several bombs exploded in major cities like Yangon and Mandalay, according to local media outlet Khit Thit. Last night, many netizens from Myanmar stormed Hun Sen’s…
-
Bars and nightclubs can reopen on January 16… but as restaurants
After being closed for nine months, bars, karaoke venues, and nightclubs will be able to open temporarily as “restaurants” starting on January 16. And most won’t be allowed to serve booze (legally). As a New Year’s gift, the Thai government gave restaurants and approved venues across the country a free pass to serve booze the night of December 31 until 1am…
-
69 provinces now “orange” zones with ban on alcohol sales at restaurants
Restrictions are tightening in a number of Thai provinces. Thailand’s Covid-19 task force revised its colour-coded zoning based on local infection rates and decided to classify 69 of Thailand’s 77 provinces as “orange” zones under tight control to curb the spread of Covid-19. The new zoning goes into effect on Sunday. The other provinces will remain classified as “blue” zone provinces,…
-
Surat Thani islands, Krabi, Phang Nga approved for Sandbox scheme starting January 11
With the Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme suspended indefinitely, more areas have been approved to welcome travellers under the Sandbox programme, which allows those who are fully vaccinated to enter and stay in a designated area or province rather than undergoing quarantine at a hotel or facility. Starting January 11, travellers can register to enter Thailand through the Sandbox…
-
Chon Buri officials issue Covid-19 warning for Si Racha nightclub
In a long line of warnings from the Chon Buri Public Health Office, a nightclub in the Si Racha area is the latest to receive an alert for anyone who attended to get tested for Covid-19, this time after New Year’s Eve celebrations. Chon Buri health officials put out an announcement yesterday calling on anyone who attended Cool Club X…
-
BREAKING: Test & Go registration closed indefinitely
Registration for Thailand’s Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme will be closed indefinitely. And travellers, who are already approved to enter Thailand under the Test & Go quarantine exemption program, have until January 15 to arrive (although the cut off date of January 15 was clearly announced at yesterday’s CCSA briefing there has been a random walking back of that…
-
72 year old foreign man fell to death from Pattaya condo
Another in the disproportionate list of people falling out of buildings in Pattaya occurred last night, as a 72 year old foreign man fell to his death out of a condo window in Central Pattaya. The man who is believed to be an expat was found dead on the street below the property. The details of both the condo name…
-
Two foreign travellers wanted by Phuket authorities, Covid-positive and left hotel quarantine
Two French travellers are wanted by Phuket authorities leaving their hotel quarantine after testing positive for Covid-19. Thai media used a word meaning “escape” and posted mugshots of the man and woman like suspects on a wanted criminal poster. Authorities have asked those who have seen the travellers, who are both around 35 years old, to contact the Patong Police…
-
More than 100 soldiers test positive for Covid-19 at Isaan camp
More than 100 soldiers at a camp in the Isaan province Khon Kaen have tested positive for Covid-19 after trips during the New Year holiday. A doctor from the provincial public health office says there are now isolation areas set up at the camp to house the infected soldiers. Reports in Thai media say 124 soldiers at the camp tested…
-
Judge fined, driving licence suspended after Chiang Mai drink-driving crash
A court in Chiang Mai has fined a senior judge 14,500 baht and suspended his driving licence for 6 months after he caused a collision while drink-driving. Video footage posted on social media on December 31 shows a car driving into a rescue operation car at an intersection in the Muang district of Chiang Mai. The Bangkok Post reports that…
-
Tourism officials warn that 7 billion baht could be lost due to suspension of Test & Go
Tourism officials warn that at least 7 billion baht of revenue will be lost in Thailand’s tourism sector this month if the suspension of the “Test & Go” scheme continues. The president of the Tourism Council of Thailand says that putting a hold on the scheme will not only have an effect on tourism in the short term, but it…
-
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…
-
Thai industry body confident government will curb spread of Omicron variant
The Federation of Thai Industries says it believes the government can slow the rate of Covid-19 infection, despite the alert level being raised yesterday. The level moved from 3 to 4, with officials asking people to work from home if possible and to avoid all non-essential travel. However, Kriengkrai Thiennukul from the FTI is confident Thailand will cope. “The FTI…
-
US CDC’s travel advisory changed to “level 4” after Covid situation considered “unknown”
The US’s CDC may have stirred another controversy, at least for Singapore, following its declaration of the Southeast Asian country as an “unknown” threat level, advising Americans not to travel to the country. The travel advisory is now at a level 4: Do not travel. But the “unknown” parked concern and reports say Singapore was in talks with the US…
-
Phuket governor vows to iron out issues with sandbox requirements
The governor of Phuket has pledged to sort out a number of issues with the island’s sandbox scheme as infection rates continue to rise. According to a Bangkok Post report, Narong Woosiew says the matters identified will lead to improvements, adding that he will soon introduce “Phuket Sandbox Version 2“. “Currently, the local economy is doing well due to the…
-
Thai vaccines recieve a 40 million baht donation from SET
To help develop domestic Covid-19 vaccines, the Stock Exchange of Thailand has donated 40 million baht to the Thai medical teams working on the vaccines. 2 vaccines are currently being developed at Chulalongkorn University, in separate departments and different partnerships. The president of the SET said that it is imperative that new and improved vaccines are developed and Thai people…
-
Child marriage legally outlawed in the Philippines
In the Philippines, one in every 6 girls get married before the age of 18. But on Thursday, child marriage became illegal in the country as a new ban went into place. The Philippines is saddled with gender inequality and a culture that has long accepted child marriage as a common practice. In fact, Plan International, a British rights group,…
-
6.2 billion baht earmarked by Exim Bank for bailout for airlines
Local airlines are getting a cash injection as the Export-Import Bank of Thailand has given over 6.2 billion baht to keep them afloat and planes in the sky. The financial assistance is aimed to increase liquidity and restructure airline debt to stay solvent through the long-lasting Covid-19 pandemic, according to the Exim Bank president. The bank is starting out by…
-
Two children killed, 24,000 displaced in Indonesia’s Sumatra island flood
Flooding and landslides are common in Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia during the months-long rainy season, as all of them have suffered from natural disasters over the past few weeks. Environmentalists in Indonesia blame the government’s deforestation to grow oil plantations on Sumatra island for the floods that killed at least two children and displaced…
-
Bodies of Thai model and unidentified woman found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River
The bodies of a Thai model and an unidentified woman were found in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River by two of the capital’s most popular shopping centres. The model’s body was found by the Asiatique: The Riverfront Pier while the woman’s body was found by the ICONSIAM Pier. Thai model Kendo Kullapat was reported missing on Tuesday. Some Thai designers and…
-
Mother tries to give away baby, then abandons by Bangkok canal
A baby that was abandoned by the side of a canal in Greater Bangkok after the mother could not give her away has now been safely handed over to a state orphanage. The baby is an 11-month old girl and was left next to Bang Bua Thong district canal in the Bangkok suburb of Nonthaburi. The mother of the baby…
-
Thailand to impose three-month ban on live pig exports in order to boost domestic supplies
Thailand said that it would impose a three-month ban on live pig exports in order to boost domestic supplies yesterday. The decision was made after authorities foresaw a lack of pigs for domestic consumption in 2022, as well as more price increases, especially with the upcoming Lunar New Year festival, according to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit. He added that the…
-
Norwegian man in Thailand guilty for scamming Norway’s Covid-19 compensation scheme
A Norwegian man living in Thailand was found guilty by the Oslo District Court for scamming the Norwegian government’s Economic Covid-19 Compensation scheme by claiming lost revenue for fake companies. The court sentenced the man to three years and nine months in jail. Reports to do not identify the man, but say he is in his 50s carried out the scam…
-
3.7 million Moderna vaccines arriving in January, 1.3 million today
Jabby New Year’s! The start of 2022 will see a total of 3.7 million Moderna vaccines arriving in Thailand to continue to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first 1.3 million doses arriving today. Zuellig Pharma Therapeutics, the distributers of the Moderna vaccine will be delivering the 3.7 million vaccines in 3 shipments to the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation and private…
-
Thursday Covid Update: 5,775 new cases; provincial totals
11 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 21,780 with 21,686 of those fatalities during the latest wave, which was first recorded on April 1. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 5,775 new Covid-19 cases and 2,673 recoveries. There are now 37,968 people in Thailand being…
-
Public Health Ministry pushes for January 15 cutoff for Test & Go
Thailand’s Health Public Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says the ministry is proposing the cutoff date for those travelling under the Test & Go scheme be set to January 15. The government had previously discussed setting January 10 as the last day for approved travellers to enter under the quarantine exemption programme, but no date has been finalised. The Centre for Covid-19…
-
Mob accuses mother, grandmother of death at boy’s funeral
A suspicious death of a young boy led to a vitriolic confrontation at the funeral between mourners and the boy’s mother and grandmother. The crowd angrily blocked the mother and grandmother from joining in the funeral rites, accusing them of causing the boy’s death. The incident took place in Trat, Thailand’s most southeastern province, beyond Chon Buri, Rayong, and Chanthaburi.…
-
Anutin: rise in Covid-19 infections is from careless New Year’s
Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul says that the surge in new Covid-19 infections is to be expected after the New Year’s holiday, but the fact that the number of daily deaths has not risen significantly is it good sign following current scientific data that reveals that the Omicron variant is more transmissible but less severe than the currently dominant…
-
Pattaya prepares “hospitel” beds, reviews home isolation measures after Covid spike
With a surge of cases in Chon Buri, Pattaya officials are planning to open up more hotel isolation centres, known as hospitels, and are reviewing measures for home isolation for those who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms to help curb the spike in cases. In Chon Buri today, health officials report nearly 800 Covid-19 cases with more than 4,000…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.