Thailand

A Public Health Ministry announcement designating Covid-19 as a dangerous communicable disease will take effect on Sunday, giving authorities more weapons to combat the spread of the virus. The latest victim is a 21-year-old Thai salesman whose job brought him exposure to foreign tourists, said Sukhum Kanchanaphimai, the ministry’s permanent secretary. The country has not yet had a death from …

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has refused to rule out postponing international football matches in response to the escalating global threat of the coronavirus. This weekend’s matches in the leading two divisions in Switzerland, where football’s global governing body Fifa has its headquarters, were postponed on Friday after the government banned all events involving more than a thousand people. “The health of …

The United States has decided to postpone a meeting with leaders of Southeast Asian countries it had planned to host on March 14 due to worries about the coronavirus outbreak, two US officials familiar with the matter said on Friday. US President Donald Trump had invited leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) to meet in Las …

A group of Democrat Party MPs targeting Deputy Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow, who won the fewest votes in Friday’s no-confidence vote, said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha must work on improving the government’s image. Gen Prayut and five other cabinet ministers survived the no-confidence vote, though two were not grilled during the four-day debate. Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon walked away …

Trade exhibitions, once a growth driver for tourism, are in retreat as events are cancelled or postponed in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is keeping a close eye on the most prominent marketplace, ITB Berlin 2020, as the health and interior ministries of Germany discuss whether they will hold the event, scheduled for March …

Nigeria’s economic hub Lagos confirmed a case of new coronavirus on Friday, stirring memories of the fears sparked six years ago when West Africa’s Ebola epidemic hit the chaotic megacity of 20 million. The health minister said the first confirmed case of the virus in sub-Saharan Africa was an Italian citizen who had returned from Milan earlier this week. “The …

Bangkok Airways is cutting executive salaries, sending staff on unpaid leave and reducing the number of flights to cope with the downturn in business because of the spread of coronavirus disease. “Due to the economic downturn and the outbreak of Covid-19 affecting various industries worldwide particularly the tourism and aviation sectors, Bangkok Airways has reviewed and adjusted its strategic plan …

A Department of Provincial Administration (DPA) special operations team led local officials to raid the three karaoke bars along Highway 226 in Sikhoraphum district of this lower northeastern province on Thursday night. The raid followed an allegation by the anti-human trafficking organisation Lift International that Leo Karaoke and Nad Phob Karaoke located on the highway in tambon Ra-ngae and Don …

The Office of Private Education Commission (Opec) has ordered the closure of an international school in Don Muang district as a precautionary measure after learning that more than 500 students and teachers had returned from a country hit by Covid-19. Attapon Truektrong, secretary-general of Opec, said the school’s management had instructed the group, which includes 60 teachers, to stay at …

The government insists it never interfered with state agencies to favour Philip Morris (Thailand) Ltd (PMTL) by lobbying public prosecutors not to press a new charge against the company. On the fourth day of the no-confidence debate, the opposition raised the dispute between Thai agencies and tobacco company Philip Morris to grill the government. Saranwuth Sarankate, a Pheu Thai Party …