Thailand

China’s death toll from the coronavirus epidemic soared to 360 on Monday. The fresh toll came a day after China imposed a lockdown on a major city far from the epicentre and the first fatality outside the country was reported in the Philippines. Wenzhou is some 800 kilometres from Wuhan, the metropolis at the heart of the health emergency. Since …

The Public Health Ministry yesterday confirmed Thailand’s first case of person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus, as the government starting preparing to repatriate 161 Thai nationals from China next week. Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai, permanent secretary for the Public Health Ministry, said the virus was contracted by a local taxi driver who had never traveled to China. He was one of …

The Criminal Court has set a date to hear a case in which a police superintendent accuses former immigration chief Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn of pressing false charges against him. Pol Col Krissanapong alleged that Pol Lt Gen Surachate filed a false charge of abusing his authority against him in the Criminal Court on July 12, 2011. He said he …

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said that he will ask the government to consider scrapping visas-on-arrival for Chinese travellers in a bid to curb the spread of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus. Mr Anutin said the government is ready to send an aircraft to bring Thais in Wuhan back home immediately if and when it is given the green light …

Updated situation in China which its numbers have jumped to over 9,600, with 213 deaths, local health authorities said on Friday, after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global public health emergency overnight. China’s National Health Commission said the number of infections rose by around 1,980 on Thursday from the previous day, with the death toll rising by …

The government has come under heavy criticism for being slow to evacuate Thais from Wuhan, the centre of the novel coronavirus outbreak which has been locked down since Jan 23 while Japan and the United States started evacuating their citizens on Wednesday. Gen Prayut said the government will use a commercial aircraft in the evacuation, but military planes will also …

China’s viral epidemic has leapt to 170, the government said on Thursday, with more than 1,700 new infections confirmed. Thirty-seven of the 38 new deaths came in hard-hit Hubei province, the epicentre of a contagion that is causing mounting global fear. Another death occurred in southwestern Sichuan province, the National Health Commission reported. The 38 new deaths marked the biggest …

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is working with the tourism sector to find a strategy to achieve its 3.16-trillion-baht revenue target for 2020 and offset the sharp decline in Chinese tourists this year. A potential stimulus package comprising a financial scheme for local operators and a marketing campaign for international and domestic markets was the main focus of a …

Military medical personnel have been sent to help with the screening of passengers at international airports as another six Chinese nationals entering Thailand were found to be infected with the Wuhan coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases detected in the country to 14. Permanent secretary for public health Sukhum Kanchanapimai said on Tuesday there had been six …