Thailand

Thailand has 11 more patients infected with the coronavirus, all friends who went out drinking together despite some being ill, the Public Health Ministry said on Thursday. The ministry said the new patients were found infected in a cluster for the first time since Covid-19 hit the country. The latest report brought the total of the local patients to 70, …

The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) authorised the export of 330 tonnes of face masks in January and February when the items were in short supply and declared controlled products, according to the Customs Department. The department had no power to stop the shipments because the exporters held a licence under the Commerce Ministry’s regulations, said department spokesman Chaiyut Khamkhun. …

After a year and a half, a new US ambassador to Thailand has finally landed. Ambassador Michael G DeSombre, who took up his post earlier this month said taking sides in Thai politics is not the way to go and he will rather focus on promoting businesses, with energy and digital ventures, infrastructure and manufacturing projects also on his radar. …

The World Health Organization called the new coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on Wednesday, issuing a grim warning that the global spread and severity of the illness was due to “alarming levels of inaction”. The number of cases across the globe has risen to more than 124,000 with 4,500 deaths, including a jump in fatalities particularly in Iran and Italy, according …

People arriving from China, Iran, Italy, South Korea must disclose their self-quarantine locations, or face a 20,000-baht fine and later one-year jail for repeated failure to comply, according to the Public Health Ministry. Dr Suthep Petchmark, health inspector-general, announced the new measure at Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday. He said arrivals from the four countries must be screened at airports and …

Two more popular Songkarn parties have been called off as the coronavirus epidemic continues to spoil the Thai New Year celebration for locals and tourists alike. Chiang Mai Municipality on Wednesday announced the cancellation of all major activities for the Thai New Year in the northern city. The southern tourist city of Hat Yai has already called off festivities. Songkran …

Olympic organisers have relentlessly pushed a consistent message: The Summer Games in Tokyo will not be cancelled or postponed. As recently as Thursday, Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto said “cancellation or delay of the Games would be unacceptable for the athletes.” But behind the scenes, sponsors who have pumped billions of dollars into the Games have grown increasingly nervous about how …

The Department of Disease Control (DDC) plans to impose compulsory measures for all inbound arrivals, including notifying personal information and contact information such as mobile phone numbers and email addresses as part of steps to control the Covid-19 outbreak. The measure will commence on Thursday and all personal information for inbound tourists will be kept in the system for 14 …

The cabinet has given the green light to a stimulus package expected to inject 400 billion baht into the economy to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. The package was proposed at a meeting of economic ministers. The controversial 2,000-baht cash handouts to selected groups of people, which sparked intense public criticism after being proposed by the economic ministers …

Grab Thailand Co has closed its Bangkok office until Friday for disinfection after a Singapore-based employee who worked in the office last week tested positive for coronavirus disease. An employee of Grab Holdings Inc in Singapore visited the Bangkok office on the 19th floor of the UBC 2 building, working there on Thursday and Friday last week, according to the …