in-focus

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry (DES) has warned people against believing or sharing news and internet posts that over 300 military officers have been dispatched to detain Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha to prepare for a coup detat.

More than 10,000 people walked into the Bang Sue Grand Station in Bangkok on Saturday for Covid-19 inoculation.

The reopening of Phang Nga province to foreign tourists scheduled for August 1 has been postponed to August 15, provincial governor Jamroen Thippayaphongthada said on Friday.

A pub cluster in Samui has left 40 more people infected with Covid-19, Koh Samui Hospital said on Friday.

The Covid-19 situation continued to aggravate in Thailand with an all-time high of 18,912 new cases and 178 deaths over a 24-hour period, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration said on Saturday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said that expatriates living in Thailand can get themselves vaccinated in Bangkok and five nearby "dark red" provinces.

The Department of Health revealed recently that only 20 per cent of Thai people wore face masks at home, while 75 per cent were concerned about infection among family members.

The proposed “7+7 Island Hopping” programme under the Phuket sandbox project has been postponed indefinitely, pending approval from the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, Minister of Tourism and Sports Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said on Friday.

The 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine that Thailand has received as a donation from the US will be given to four target groups starting August 9, Dr Opas Karnkawinpong, director-general of the Disease Control Department, said on Friday.

The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Saturday that a rather strong southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand, while a low pressure cell covers upper Vietnam.

Ministry of Public Health reported on Saturday (July 31) morning that in the past 24 hours there are 18,912 new patients who tested positive for Covid-19, 810 of whom have been found in prisons.

Representatives of six media associations on Friday met with government officials to express concern over new restrictions which ban media from disseminating information that incites fear or may affect national stability.

The United States Embassy announced on Friday that the US had donated 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccine to Thailand with no conditions attached.

DHL Express, the worlds leading express service provider today successfully delivered the first batch of 1.5 million Pfizer-BioNTechs Covid-19 vaccine doses donated by the United States government to Thailand.

In a bid to prevent infection clusters in temples, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had vaccines administered to monks and temple staff in 221 monasteries in Bangkok’s Thonburi area on Friday.

New restrictions against fake news and misinformation were enacted on Friday after being published in the Royal Gazette.

Thailand logged 17,345 new Covid-19 infections and 117 deaths on Friday – a slight fall from Thursday’s record caseload of 17,669 cases and 165 deaths.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) believes that an extended lockdown period will be a blow to this year’s revenue target for the tourism sector.

Another 39 people tested positive in Samui on Friday and were found to be related to the cluster of infections uncovered in a restaurant on Thursday. So far, 59 people have been infected from this cluster.

Vehicles from outside Phuket will be barred from entering the province from August 3 to 16, as a part of Covid-19 preventive measures.

From this week, Antigen Rapid Tests, a test kit for professional use, is available at hospitals and clinics across Thailand.

The first lot of 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccines donated by the United States arrived in Thailand on Friday morning.

Isolated heavy showers are forecast for the East and the South regions, the Thailand Meteorological Department said on Friday.

The government on Thursday doubled down in its campaign against so-called “fake news”, shrugging off complaints by Thai media organisations and netizens of an ongoing state crackdown on free expression.