Phuket sandbox

  • Phuket News

    Phuket domestic travel rules need streamlining, officials discuss

    Officials in Phuket met yesterday to consider ideas about how to ease travel restrictions for domestic travellers in hopes of enabling domestic tourism to grow. With current harsh restrictions, mostly people with an imminent need to travel in and out of Phuket can jump through the hoops to access the island. Many business owners say they have seen little benefit…

  • Covid-19 News

    Phuket Covid-19: 1 Phuket Prison death, 1 Sandbox infection

    Phuket saw one new death and one new Covid-19 infection from an international traveller who entered the island as part of the Phuket Sandbox programme as daily numbers hold steady and hospital bed occupancy continues to worsen. The one death was of an inmate at Phuket Provincial Prison, the second death that the prison has seen after a Covid-19 outbreak…

  • Tourism News

    Local businesses say they aren’t profiting from Phuket Sandbox

    While large resorts and big businesses in Phuket might be seeing revenue from the Phuket Sandbox, interviews with small local businesses suggest they are seeing little to no benefit from the reopening with its strong restrictions. Most business owners agree there won’t be any real income for most until there is a full reopening with fewer rules and more nightlife…

  • Covid-19 News

    Phuket Covid-19: 235 daily infections, 238 hospital beds available

    Phuket Covid-19 numbers held steady today with no deaths and 235 new infections, though that’s only 3 less than the total available hospital beds as 39 more people were hospitalised. Hospital bed occupancy is just below 89% now, though Phuket Governor Narong Woonciew has insisted there is no shortage of beds. The number of “green” mild infections continues the drop…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket: 5 Covid-19 deaths, 2 Sandboxers, drop in hospital beds

    Phuket experienced a record high of 5 new Covid-19 deaths yesterday as well as 2 new Sandbox infections, while the statistics show a big drop from yesterday’s figures in both occupied hospital beds and total available hospital beds, suggesting a restructuring of how the beds are counted or where patients are located. 15 deaths have occurred in Phuket in the…

  • Thailand News

    Epidemiologists dispatched to Phuket to help curb the spread of Covid

    Epidemiologists from Thailand’s Disease Control Department have been dispatched by the Ministry of Public Health to Phuket. The move is intended to help curb the spread of new Covid infections on the island; Phuket has regularly seen 200 cases a day over the last couple of weeks and hospital beds have reached 90% occupancy. Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr Kiattibhoom…

  • Thailand video news

    New Visa for expats, Bangkok Re-opening Postponed | Good Morning Thailand LIVE | Episode 90

     

  • Phuket News

    3 deaths and 2 Sandbox Covid-19 infections today in Phuket

    Today in Phuket 3 new deaths brought the September total to 23 and the overall total since April to 43, while 2 new Sandbox travellers were infected with Covid-19 and daily infections remain above 200 for the 17th day in a row. There was a slight decrease in hospitalised patients pushing the number of available beds up to 276, just…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket Covid-19 totals: 40 dead, 91 Sandboxers, hospitals 90% full

    Phuket has just about hit the 90% hospital bed occupancy rate as infections and hospitalisations climb with new beds not being added quickly enough to keep pace. There were 229 infections today, 20 less than yesterday, and no new deaths reported, though details were released of the 1 death confirmed yesterday. A 63 year old Thai man was the 40th…

  • Thailand video news

    The 10 types of Expats in Thailand | Good Morning Thailand LIVE | Episode 89

    Jay and mike go live for the first time and look at the different types of expats living in Thailand. Leave a comment below if you are one of them and or have met these types of people.

  • Thailand video news

    Food Panda controversy, Pattaya joins Phuket sandbox |Thailand News Today | September 14

    A woman has shared a screenshot of a message she received from a Food panda driver telling her she should wear a bra. Thailand’s tourism minister now says Pattaya’s re-opening to foreign tourists will join the Phuket Sandbox 7+7 extension programme. Japan is planning to donate 1.3 million doses of its locally-produced AstraZeneca vaccine to several Asian countries. The Education…

  • Thailand News

    Thailand to overhaul reopening plans for pilot areas, one system policy to be adopted

    Thailand is overhauling their reopening plans to simplify and unify current protocols. The new idea is to adopt a “One SOP, One System policy, with SOP standing for standard operating procedure. The new plan will toss out mandatory quarantine and sealed routes for pilot areas sometime this year. They will also slash Covid tests costs in half, in some instances.…

  • Pattaya News

    Tourism Minister says Pattaya will become part of “Sandbox 7+7” extension

    Pattaya’s forthcoming re-opening to foreign tourists will see it join the Phuket Sandbox 7+7 extension programme, according to Thailand’s Tourism Minister. According to a Pattaya News report, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn confirmed the plan while on a visit to the area on Sunday. It’s understood the proposal will go to the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration this Friday, along with proposals for…

  • Phuket News

    2 new Covid-19 deaths in Phuket, only 15% of hospital beds open

    2 new deaths and a reduction in total hospital beds lead the bad news on Covid-19 for Phuket today. The daily infections have held steady with 230 new infections, a few less than yesterday, but marking the 13th day in a row with infections above 200 per day. The total deaths in the last 8 days stands at 19, one…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket: Record 4 Covid-19 deaths in 1 day, hospitals nearly full

    A record number of Covid-19 fatalities in Phuket today as last night’s Phuket Provincial Public Health Office report confirmed 4 deaths in 1 day. That marks 17 deaths in one week in Phuket, nearly doubling the total of deaths since the third wave of Covid-19 took hold at the beginning of April. In the 5 months since the start of…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket meeting urges national government on Covid-19 changes

    A Phuket Provincial Hall meeting chaired by 3 advisors to Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow focused on 5 main issues of paramount importance to the people of Phuket and the tourism industry. The 3 advisors listened to the issues and are tasked with delivering details to key federal government officials back in Bangkok including the Deputy Prime Minister to report…

  • Thailand video news

    Provinces added to OCT 1 Re-opening, Driving in Thailand and Vaccine Cocktail | Good Morning Thailand | Episode 86

    In today’s episode Jay, Mike and Arina look at Provinces added to OCT 1 Re-opening, Driving in Thailand, Vaccine Cocktail and F1 motor racing. Aswell as news headlines in Thailand such as: Just days after defeating a vote of no-confidence, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ousted Deputy Minister of Agriculture as well as Deputy Minister of Labour. The Ministry of…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket: 2 deaths, 1 Sandbox infection, bed occupancy passes 80%

    In the last week, Phuket has seen 13 fatalities due to Covid-19 with 2 new deaths reported today, as well as one new Phuket Sandbox international traveller infected. The daily infection numbers have declined for the third day in a row to 211, and the rolling 7-day infection numbers also fell slightly despite the island marking its 11th day in…

  • Phuket News

    1 new Covid-19 death in Phuket, bed occupancy over 79%

    Covid-19 daily infections in Phuket fell slightly to 219 today, while the death toll slowly climbs as one new fatality brings the total in the last 7 days to 11. Phuket has seen a total of 31 deaths from Covid-19 since the beginning of the third wave of the pandemic at the start of April. A few more hospital beds…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket update: 30 total Covid-19 deaths with 10 in the last 4 days.

    With 234 new Covid-19 cases reported, the total infections in the Phuket Sandbox inches to nearly 6,000, deaths have seen a sharp rise on the island. 2 new deaths reported last night to bring the total to 30 Covid-19 deaths since April, a jump of 50% since Sunday. Over the last 5 months, 20 people had died of Covid-19 in…

  • Covid-19 News

    Hua Hin’s reopening in doubt

    Hua Hin may not be reopening next month after all. Businesses and local communities have expressed their reservations about the reopening, saying they fear Hua Hin could repeat the same mistake as the Phuket sandbox programme, says the Prachuap Khiri Khan chamber of commerce. The seaside district had previously established a timeline to kickstart their tourism sector with no quarantine…

  • Tourism News

    Survey shows over half of Thai hotels are considering closing due to low demand

    A survey conducted by the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Hotels Association shows that 52% of hotels are considering closing temporarily and 9% want to shut down for good. 62% plan to reduce their workforce costs as a result of the financial fallout from Covid-19, while 61% say they will cut expenditure elsewhere. The Bangkok Post reports that the…

  • Thailand video news

    Thaiger Bites | Your comments and Feedback | September 7

    Viewers have a go a mike! Sandbox success, vaccine passports for freedom, positive fact based news and Tim’s whereabout Jay and Mike go through your viewer comments and feedback from GMT, TNT and the Thaiger Talk forum on our website…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket Sandbox draws 28,000 travellers, 1.634 billion baht

    The Phuket Sandbox has been lauded as a success and derided as a failure, but officials have released some raw data over the past few days that indicates the programme falls somewhere in between. Immigration and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have reported on total incoming travellers and their opinions, and the Economics Tourism and Sports Division of the Tourism and…

  • Phuket News

    Only 20% of hospital beds unoccupied in Phuket

    The Phuket Sandbox is in trouble as Phuket’s governor and other officials say the Covid situation on the island is reaching a critical level now that there is now only 20% of hospital beds still available. These remaining beds are expected to fill up soon as new infections average more than 200 a day. Governor Narong Woonsiew chaired a meeting…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket Covid-19: 3 Sandbox infections, no deaths, 3,000+ recovered

    Today marked 3 new Covid-19 infections identified in international travellers who arrived via the Phuket Sandbox programme but saw no new Covid-19 deaths on the island and 240 new infections, down 2 from yesterday’s daily total. Another milestone was hit, this time more positive than yesterday’s surpassing of 5,000 infections in Phuket, as today saw the number of people recovered…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket Covid-19 passes 5,000 infections, bed occupancy up 5%

    Covid-19 data for Phuket was fairly stable yesterday with no new deaths, no new international Sandbox travellers infected, and the total daily cases today were 242, just 7 more than yesterday. Those new infections pushed Phuket’s total number of infections since the start of the third wave of Covid-19 to surpass 5,000 today. Statistically, the most drastic Covid-19 figure was…

  • Covid-19 News

    Covid UPDATE Saturday: 257 deaths, news briefs

    The dramatic drop in new infections over the past week has levelled off a bit with 15,942 new infections being reported across Thailand in the past24 hours, a rise from yesterday’s reported 14,653 cases. 277 of today’s new cases come from the Thai prison system. There’s also been 257 deaths, the numbers remaining high whilst other trends are more positive.…

  • Bangkok News

    Bangkok, Pattaya, and other destinations still planned to reopen in October

    Despite Bangkok still classified as a “dark red” zone, and the Covid-19 epicentre with thousands of new infections reported each day, the capital is one of the eight tourist destinations planned to reopen to travellers on October 1. A report from Nation Thailand says the Public Health Ministry has launched preparations for the reopening. Other reopening schemes planned to start…

  • Thailand video newsThailand News Today | Phuket eases domestic entry, Thitisan transferred to BKK prison | Sept 3 | Thaiger

    Thailand News Today | Phuket eases domestic entry, Thitisan transferred to BKK prison | Sept 3

    The deputy head of the national police has briefed a House Committee on the legal case against former cop Thitisan Utthanaphon. As Phuket prepares to carefully allow domestic tourists back onto the island, new Covid-19 infection number remain relatively stable. The Baiya vaccine, a plant-based Covid-19 vaccine being developed in Thailand, is ready to begin phase 1 clinical trials this…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket daily Covid-19: 235 infections, no death, no Sandboxers

    As Phuket prepares to carefully allow domestic tourists back onto the island, Covid-19 numbers remain relatively stable. Daily infections were 235 today, with 6 of the last 7 days reaching above 200. No new deaths were reported and no new Sandbox infections were identified. With the influx of new hospital beds yesterday, the bed occupancy rate remained around 70% though…

  • Phuket News

    Vaccinated domestic travellers allowed to enter Phuket starting next week

    Domestic travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed to enter Phuket starting on September 8, Phuket Governor Narong Woonsiew announced. Travellers from overseas have been able to enter the island province under the “Sandbox” model, but with the rise of Covid-19 cases, Phuket officials imposed tight restrictions on domestic entry. Travellers will need to book and pay for…

  • Phuket News

    Phuket entry rules relaxed to allow residents to exit and return

    A slight modification to the rules for entering and exiting Phuket will now allow people who live or work in Phuket to exit and re-enter the island more freely. Phuket Vice Governor Pichet Panapong explained that a special permission letter that was previously required in order to leave Phuket and gain re-entry after would no longer be needed. With strict…

  • Phuket News

    No deaths, 2 Sandboxers with Covid-19 in Phuket

    While Thailand has begun to see a downward trend in daily infections that is hoped to continue, Phuket’s infection trend has been rising over recent weeks. A few days this week have dropped to below 200 Covid-19 but today there’s been 238 new infections reported over the past 24 hours. The province extended strict entry requirements in hopes of curbing Covid-19…

  • Thailand video news

    Thaiger BitesThaiger Bites | Your comments and Feedback | September 1

    Auto subtitles, Vaccination cards, Hidden provinces and 90 day reporting. Tim and Jay go through your viewer comments and feedback from GMT, TNT and the Thaiger Talk forum on our website.

  • Phuket News

    1 new death, another daily Covid-19 record in Phuket

    With one new death and one new Phuket Sandbox traveller infected, Phuket continues its upward climb in Covid-19 infection rates. Yesterday saw a record 257 Covid-19 infections in one day (Monday), one more than the last new record high in Phuket the day before. For Tuesday Phuket has reported 119 new infections. The death from Monday’s totals brought the total…

  • Hua Hin News

    Hua Hin opts for quarantine-free re-opening, similar to Phuket sandbox

    The head of Hua Hin Recharge, which aims to re-open the popular tourist spot from October 1, says the programme will be similar to the Phuket sandbox scheme. Krod Rojanastien adds that he’s confident Hua Hin can achieve the required herd immunity in time. The Bangkok Post reports that as of yesterday, 55% of Hua Hin’s 90,564 residents have been…