Thailand
- Crime News
Alleged major drug trafficker arrested in Songkhla, 54 million baht in assets seized
A 50 year old alleged major drug trafficker has been arrested in in the southern province Songkhla after 30 raids were conducted in the hunt for him yesterday. Officers also seized over 54 million baht worth of his assets. The raids came following tips from two drug suspects who were caught in early November at a checkpoint in Chumphon, where…
- Pattaya News
Half of Chon Buri’s new Covid-19 cases today reported in Pattaya and Bang Saen
Around half of the 873 new Covid-19 cases in Chon Buri were found in Pattaya and Bang Saen. Reports say around 400 cases were from clusters at restaurants serving alcoholic beverages. According to the Chon Buri Provincial Public Health Office, the areas with the highest number of cases and clusters are Three Town Might Market and Soi Bua Khao, which…
- Thailand News
Wednesday Covid Update: 7,681 new cases; provincial totals
19 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 21,869 with 171 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 7,681 new Covid-19 cases and 3,350 recoveries. There are now 66,286 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
- Thailand News
Thailand recognises Taiwan’s Medigen vaccine, inoculated travellers eligible for Sandbox entry
A Covid-19 vaccine developed by Taiwan’s Medigen Vaccine Biologics has been recognised by the Thai government, allowing those who have been fully inoculated with the Medigen vaccine to enter Thailand under the Sandbox travel scheme, according to Thailand’s Department of Consular Affairs. Under the scheme, vaccinated travellers from overseas can roam freely in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, or the Surat…
- Thailand News
Facebook post seeking Thai escort to infect client with Covid-19 goes viral
A post on Facebook looking for an escort in Thailand, but the client has a special request… He wants the woman to be infected with Covid-19. The post reads “Infected only. Work starts at 10pm. The client wants to be positive.” It says the client has a budget of 3,000 baht to 5,000 baht with a 600 baht commission for…
- Expats
Applicants for Thai citizenship must pass new Thai language test
The Thai government has introduced new regulations that require those who apply for Thai citizenship to pass a new Thai language test. According to a Bangkok Post report, government representative Rachada Dhnadirek says the fees for citizenship have also doubled. Up until now, Thai citizenship was based on regulations in place since 1967, which required applicants to speak and understand…
- Phuket News
Phuket seeing healthy tourism demand, with 4,000 Thailand Pass applications a day
The president of the Phuket Tourism Association says the island is proving popular with foreign tourists, receiving 4,000 applications a day through the Thailand Pass system. Bhummikitti Ruktaengam says most of those visitors are from Germany, Russia, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and France. Bhummikitti credits the success of the island’s Covid-19 measures for inspiring confidence among foreign…
- World News
Air passengers from Thailand to be banned from transiting in Hong Kong over Omicron spread
There are unconfirmed reports that air travellers from Thailand and a number of other countries are to be banned from transiting through Hong Kong. The ban applies to all Group A countries, which have been designated high-risk for Covid-19. Group A includes a number of popular transit routes, such as Singapore, Australia, and several European countries, as well as Thailand.…
- Phuket News
Thailand adds three Sandbox destinations to take some pressure off Phuket
Aside from Phuket, vaccinated travellers can now travel to three prominent beach resorts in Thailand – Krabi, Phang Nga, and Koh Samui – under the Sandbox tourism programme, which allows foreign tourists to enter the kingdom without undergoing a strict and lengthy quarantine. With the Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme suspended indefinitely, allowing the three destinations to welcome foreign…
- Pattaya News
Yacht docked at Pattaya pier catches fire
A yacht docked in Pattaya caught fire today, sending a dark cloud of smoke billowing above buildings along the coast. The Shiraz yacht docked at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club caught fire at around 10:58am today. It took firefighters 30 minutes to control the flames. Firefighters are still investigating, but the cause is suspected to be a short circuit. The…
- Pattaya News
Pattaya police raid bars serving alcohol past 9pm, arrest two managers
Two bar managers in Pattaya were arrested for violating the disease control measures last night. Bars across Thailand are ordered to remain closed, but some have opened up as restaurants. In “blue zones,” which includes Pattaya, alcohol sales and consumption at restaurants are allowed until 9pm. At around 9:30pm, Pattaya police officers went to Soi Bua Khao and Walking Street…
- Thailand News
Less sex with condoms during pandemic, leading manufacturer says drop in sales
Many people across the globe aren’t using condoms during sex. Sales for the contraceptive have reportedly dropped drastically during the pandemic for the world’s largest condom manufacturer, Karex. According to a report by Nikkei Asia, the Malaysian manufacturer, which supplies condoms to leading brands like Durex and ONE, says the use of its products has plummeted by 40%. Some would…
- Covid-19 News
Tuesday Covid Update: 7,133 new cases; provincial totals
12 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 21,850 with 152 of those fatalities since the start of this year. In the 24-hour period since the last count, the CCSA recorded 7,133 new Covid-19 cases and 3,306 recoveries. There are now 61,974 people in Thailand being treated for Covid-19. Out of…
- Covid-19 News
Hospitals must urgently admit children infected with Covid, have proper medication on hand
After reports that an 8 month old sick with Covid-19 had to wait in a queue before being treated at a hospital, the government is instructing all hospitals in Thailand to admit child Covid-19 patients immediately, adding that no child infected with the virus should be turned down and staff must have the appropriate medication on hand to treat them. The…
- Thailand News
Bank of Thailand forecasts lower economic growth during Omicron outbreak
With the emergence of the Omicron variant in Thailand and an uptick of cases after the New Year holiday, the country’s central bank says the economy might grow slower in the first half of the year. The kingdom has seen a revival in tourism, especially over the past two months with the Test & Go quarantine exemption scheme. Registration for…
- Thailand News
Mysterious “ghost ship” might have been an illegal oil tanker, expert says
An expert told Thai media that he suspects the mysterious abandoned Chinese vessel found in the Gulf of Thailand might have been an illegal oil tanker distributing oil to various countries. The Jin Shui Yuan 2, which many are calling a “ghost ship,” was reported by staff at an oil rig off the coast of the southern province Songkhla last…
- Pattaya News
Major fire guts incense warehouse in Chon Buri
An incense warehouse in the eastern province of Chon Buri has been completely destroyed by fire. The Pattaya News reports that the fire broke out at a joss sticks warehouse in the district of Ban Bueng on Sunday. 10 fire engines attended the blaze in Soi Intara and it took firefighters over an hour to bring the fire under control.…
- Crime News
Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok denies data breach after post lists patient records for sale
In what appeared to be the latest breach of the country’s public health sector, around 39 million patient records from Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok have been listed for sale on an internet database-sharing platform, raidforums.com. The hospital is now denying that its database was hacked. The Bangkok Post reported that the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital of Mahidol University, which…
- Phuket News
Health officials in Phuket warn of bed shortages amid rise in Covid infections
Health officials in Phuket say hospital beds are running out as the infection rate begins to climb once more on the southern island. Kooksak Kookiatkul says that, as of Sunday, Phuket has reported 742 new cases. According to a Bangkok Post report, 513 of those are in local residents, with 2 in foreign residents. 133 have been imported by the…
- Covid-19 News
Health ministry says Covid-19 will become endemic in Thailand this year
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry plans to move Covid-19 from pandemic status to endemic status this year. According to a Bangkok Post report, Dr Kiattiphum Wongrajit says this can be achieved thanks to people cooperating with the vaccine rollout. While the Omicron variant is highly-contagious and spreading rapidly across the country, symptoms are milder and the death rate is lower. “The…
- Thailand News
National park officers save wild boar from trap, locals hunt following pork price crisis
The surge in prices for pork over the past month as affected Thais throughout the country. Some street food vendors have upped their prices for pork soup and dishes by 5 to 10 baht, while others have just stopped selling due to the high market prices. Some locals in Prachuap Khiri Khan started hunting wild boar. Officials at the Namtok…
- Thailand News
Travellers from Africa told to re-register for Thailand Pass to change entry scheme
Starting tomorrow, some entry restrictions lift for those travelling to Thailand from countries in Africa. Those from nations in Africa who have been approved to enter through the Alternative Quarantine scheme can now apply to enter under the more relaxed Sandbox entry scheme, which allows travellers to roam freely in a designated province or district rather than undergoing isolation at…
- Covid-19 News
Monday Covid Update: 7,926 new cases; provincial totals
13 coronavirus-related deaths were reported by the CCSA today, raising the pandemic’s death toll in Thailand to 21,838 with 21,744 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 7,926 new Covid-19 cases and 3,612 recoveries. There are now 58,159 people in Thailand being…
- South Thailand News
“Ghost ship” found off Thailand coast, Navy investigates abandoned Chinese vessel
What many are calling a “ghost ship” was found sinking in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The abandoned Chinese cargo ship was spotted by staff working at an offshore oil rig. No one was on board the vessel. The staff at the Chevron rigs reported the vessel to the 2nd Naval Area Command in…
- Pattaya News
Man focused on GPS drives into Chon Buri pond, sinks car
A man focusing on the directions on his GPS drove into a pond in Chon Buri. He was able to escape through the car’s window and swim to shore, but his car sunk in the 15-metre deep pond. The man says he was driving from Bangkok to Chon Buri to visit relatives over the weekend when he went onto a…
- Bangkok News
Omicron cases rise, Bangkok residents flock to Bang Sue Vaccination Centre
Following an uptick in Omicron Covid-19 cases, Bangkok’s major inoculation centre at Bang Sue Grand Station was packed with those waiting to get vaccinated. Individuals who haven’t received their vaccine are welcome at Bang Sue Station with a walk-in service, while those who want a second or third dose need to register through a mobile network, either AIS, TRUE, DTAC,…
- Crime News
Methamphetamine seized from truck in Northern Thailand
A man in Northern Thailand was arrested for allegedly transporting illicit drugs in his truck from Chiang Rai to Phrae. Police say they seized 5.6 million amphetamine pills and more than 20 kilograms of methamphetamine at a checkpoint in Phrae. The driver was passing through the checkpoint and reportedly claimed that he wasn’t carrying any cargo or goods in the…
- Covid-19 News
Bangkok opens new Covid-19 testing centre amid surge in infections
A new Covid-19 testing centre, capable of conducting up to 1,000 tests a day, will open in Bangkok tomorrow, as the capital grapples with a surge in new cases. Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul says it will be on the first floor of Car Park Building B at the government complex on Chaeng Watthana Road. According to a Bangkok Post…
- Covid-19 News
COVID-19 SATURDAY UPDATE: Provincial totals and data
[UPDATE: PROVINCIAL DATA IS INCLUDED BELOW] Covid-19 infections have taken a sharp rise from 3,000 at the start of the year to over 8,000 infections recorded yesterday, with imported cases doubling, though deaths have been fairly stable and low. Today, the CCSA reported 8,263 new infections, up 737 since yesterday, and 14 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 5 from yesterday. Since April…
- Covid-19 News
COVID-19 SATURDAY UPDATE: Infections spike, deaths stable
Covid-19 infections have taken a sharp rise from 3,000 at the start of the year to over 8,000 infections recorded yesterday, with imported cases doubling, though deaths have been fairly stable and low. Today, the CCSA reported 8,263 new infections, up 737 since yesterday, and 14 Coronavirus-related deaths, down 5 from yesterday. Since April 1, 2021, in the latest wave…
