JOHANNESBURG/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Heavily mutated Omicron is rapidly becoming the dominant variant of the coronavirus in South Africa less than four weeks after it was first detected there, and the United States on Wednesday became the latest country to…
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The new coronavirus variant, known as Omicron, is likely to replace the Delta variant as the dominant strain if it continues to spread quickly and easily, said Dr. Yong Poovorawan,…
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Thai Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has expressed full support for the development of a legally binding international instrument, which is a combination of a treaty and other international texts…
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PARIS (AP) — The Dutch health authority says it has found the new omicron variant of the coronavirus in two local cases going back as far as 11 days, showing…
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In October 2020, as scientists around the world raced to develop a vaccine to fight COVID-19, the leader of the World Health Organization warned against looming “vaccine nationalism”. In a…
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The RT-PCR COVID-19 test requirement upon arrival in Thailand will remain in place in light of the emergence of the new “Omicron” COVID-19 variant in many countries, the Thai cabinet…
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HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Hong Kong expanded a ban on entry for non-residents from several countries as global health authorities raced to curb a potential outbreak of the Omicron virus, while Australia‘s cabinet will review on Tuesday…
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Thailand’s Ministry of Labour is set to propose to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) the compensation for nightlife business owners and their employees, after the reopening of nightclubs…
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SEOUL, Nov 29 (Reuters) – South Korea said on Monday it has shelved plans to further relax COVID-19 restrictions due to the strain on its healthcare system from rising hospitalisation…
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Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang issued an announcement today (Monday), further easing restrictions on eateries in the capital, by allowing them to serve alcohol to customers up to 11pm from December…
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GENEVA, Nov 29 (Reuters) – The heavily mutated Omicron coronavirus variant is likely to spread internationally and poses a very high risk of infection surges that could have “severe consequences”…
Read MoreThere has been no detection of the new COVID-19 Omicron mutation in Thailand yet, but experts say it spreads faster and more easily than the Beta and Delta strains, while…
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Manila (AFP) – The Philippines has temporarily suspended a decision to allow fully vaccinated tourists entry in a bid to prevent a new, heavily mutated coronavirus variant taking off in the…
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TOKYO (AP) — Japan announced Monday it will suspend entry of all foreign visitors from around the world as a new coronavirus variant spreads, prompting an increasing number of countries…
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Israel is to close its borders to all foreigners later Sunday in a bid to stem the spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus, authorities said. “The entry…
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WASHINGTON, Nov 27 (Reuters) – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State Department on Saturday advised against travel to eight southern African countries after the White House announced new travel restrictions…
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The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) decided today (Friday) to allow travellers to enter Thailand by sea and land, in addition to current access by air. The north-eastern province…
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SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian and European countries rushed to tighten restrictions on Friday after a new and possibly vaccine-resistant coronavirus variant was detected in South Africa, with Singapore and India announcing stricter border controls…
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Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) decided today (Friday) to extend the country’s State of Emergency until January 31st and to remove the COVID-19 “dark red” zone status, spokesman…
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An advisor to Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Professor Dr. Udom Kachinthorn, said today (Friday) that the COVID-19 situation in Thailand has not yet improved, with daily infections…
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Thailand signed a deal to buy an additional 30 million doses of Pfizer mRNA vaccine from the United States yesterday (Thursday), to be used as booster shots. The agreement was…
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A group of musicians and performance artists filed a class action lawsuit today (Friday), against Thailand’s Finance and Public Health ministries and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), demanding compensation for…
Read MoreScientists in South Africa said Thursday they had detected a new Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations, blaming it for a surge in infection numbers. The number of…
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Thailand’s Medical Services Department signed a 500-million baht deal with MSD (Thailand) today (Thursday) to buy 50,000 courses of Merck’s Molnupiravir (Lagevrio) oral anti-viral medication for the treatment of COVID-19…
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Anyone who watched the Pattaya music festival on November 12th and 13th by staying outside the event zone without wearing a face mask has been advised, by Chonburi provincial health…
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Thai-born K-pop rapper and dancer Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban has asymptomatic COVID-19, while her three fellow members of the internationally renowned girl group “BLACKPINK” have tested negative for the virus, said…
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Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary all reported new highs in daily infections as winter grips the continent and people gather indoors in the run-up to Christmas, providing a perfect…
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As many as 4,270 Thai medics across the country have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began in mid-February 2020, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC) today (Wednesday). Among…
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Cambodia will be hosting the two-day Asia-Europe (ASEM) summit later this week, focusing on the post-COVID-19 socio-economic recovery and strengthening multilateralism. The chair has not invited Myanmar’s Senior General Min…
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Health officials and a mobile COVID-19 testing unit were dispatched to Phahonyothin Soi 54/1, in Bangkok’s Sai Mai, district to test people in the community, after a 30-year-old woman collapsed…
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Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is urging unvaccinated people, who are waiting for Pfizer or Moderna vaccines booked with private hospitals, to cancel their bookings and get free jabs…
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The Ministry of Public Health has instructed health officials across Thailand to find out why there are still so many people refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, so appropriate campaign…
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Nov 22 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc. said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine provided strong long-term protection against the virus in a late-stage study conducted among adolescents aged 12 to 15…
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The training centre for police cadets, at the Seventh Regional Bureau of the Thai police in Pak Tho district of the central province of Ratchaburi, has been locked down after…
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BRUSSELS (AP) — Tens of thousands of people demonstrated through central Brussels on Sunday to protest reinforced COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Belgian government to counter the latest spike in coronavirus cases….
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The provincial communicable disease committee of the southern coastal province of Phang-nga has temporarily but completely locked down the Moken (Morgan) indigenous communities on the Surin islands in the Andaman…
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The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will close all but one of its 25 vaccination facilities in the capital on Tuesday, but will retain the main centre at the Thai-Japanese stadium…
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HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — At a busy market in a poor township outside Harare this week, Nyasha Ndou kept his mask in his pocket, as hundreds of other people, mostly…
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The Thai General Insurance Association is urging the Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) to rescind its order forbidding insurance companies from cancelling the so-called “Found, Paid, Done” policies covering COVID-19…
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Senior Thai officials are mulling incentives to encourage about 11 million as yet unvaccinated Thais to get inoculated against COVID-19 this month. The measures, which include a ban on people…
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Over three quarters (77.3%) of people surveyed in a recent poll, conducted by Bangkok Poll, said that they will not take part the Loy Krathong festival today (Friday), citing COVID-19…
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Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University is expected to transfer technology for the mass production of its vaccine, ChulaCov 19 mRNA, to a local manufacturer in the first quarter of next year, according…
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Nov 18 (Reuters) – AstraZeneca (AZN.L) on Thursday cemented its lead in bringing a preventative COVID-19 shot for the non-infected to market for people who do not respond well to…
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Travelling together in school vans by students of different schools, in Muang district of Thailand’s north-eastern province of Ubon Ratchathani, is being blamed for new COVID-19 infections by provincial health…
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LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where COVID-19 deaths increased….
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The Thai Red Cross Society is offering free Moderna vaccine shots as a booster for people who are over 70 and women who are at least 12-week pregnant and at…
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The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) expects to have fully vaccinated the city’s population by New Year, Bangkok Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said today (Tuesday). So far, the BMA’s data shows 8,734,534…
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Several parents have complained about the costs of weekly antigen COVID-19 tests being required by many private schools, even though they are not mandated by the country’s Education Ministry. The…
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Since Thailand reopened on November 1st, it has attracted more than 40,000 international travellers. The usually popular beach town of Hua Hin, in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, has, however, only…
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The provincial communicable disease committee of Chiang Mai has decided to extend the suspension of on-site learning at schools until end of November, as hundreds of new COVID-19 infections surface…
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Pubs, bars and karaoke bars in Thailand’s COVID-19 restricted zones and “sandbox” provinces may be allowed to reopen from January 16th, on the condition that they meet the required criteria…
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Fifteen communities in the municipal area of Chiang Mai province were locked down yesterday (Thursday) until November 24th by the provincial governor, as COVID-19 infections continue to spread. Everyone living…
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Religious leaders in the southern border province of Pattani have visited the vaccination centre, in the conference room of the provincial Islamic committee, to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots in an…
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When Thailand opened its doors to vaccinated travelers from 63 nations this month, it also launched a new system for them to gain entry. From November 1, tourists flying into…
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New Zealand beefed up security measures at its parliament on Tuesday as thousands of people gathered to protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates and government lockdowns aimed at controlling the pandemic….
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The Thai Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) is cooperating with Lazada, Shopee and HDmall.com.th to protect shoppers from being duped into buying substandard antigen test kits (ATKs) from unscrupulous traders….
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The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is claimed to have been administered to a man by a private clinic in Thailand’s eastern province of Sa Kaeo, is suspected to have…
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Thailand’s cabinet on Tuesday approved the planned purchase of Merck’s Mulnupiravir COVID-19 anti-viral drug, with a budget of 500 million Baht set for 50,000 courses of the drug, amounting to…
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SINGAPORE, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Singapore and Malaysia will allow quarantine-free travel between both countries for individuals vaccinated against COVID-19, they said in a joint statement on Monday. The two…
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Thai authorities have been asked to increase field checks on factories and businesses, to make sure that they hire properly registered and fully vaccinated migrant workers from neighbouring countries, to…
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Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has expressed concern over new COVID-19 infections among people attending Kathin ceremonies, to present saffron robes to monks in temples, and has advised…
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Chiang Mai’s Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand’s highest peak, will reopen to visitors this Wednesday, for the first time in several months. Visitors are attracted by the cool breezes and…
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Nov 7 (Reuters) – Worldwide cases due to COVID-19 were approaching 250 million on Sunday as the surge from the Delta variant eases and more normal trade and tourism resume,…
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The false positive results produced by COVID-19 rapid antigen test kits (ATKs) at Khamsoi Pittayasan School, in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Mukdahan, may be due to improper testing or storage…
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A citizen journalist jailed for her coverage of China’s initial response to Covid in Wuhan is close to death after going on hunger strike, her family said, prompting renewed calls…
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The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has adopted measures to deal with COVID-19 infections in hundreds of schools under its jurisdiction, which are due to reopen for on-site learning on November…
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The Thai cabinet approved a 3.6-billion-baht fund on Thursday for the development and production of Thailand’s first two vaccines to fight COVID-19, which are now entering their third phase of…
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Some schools, including kindergartens, in Thailand’s northeast have been ordered closed over COVID-19 concerns following infections found among students and teachers, only in the first week of reopening of many…
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Six travellers, of the 4,510 who have arrived in Thailand since the reopening of the kingdom to international travellers on Monday (November 1st), have been found to be infected with…
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Health officials have been trying to wrap up the analysis of what is believed to be Thailand’s first known case of severe side effects, involving a 12-year-old Thai girl, who…
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BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases spiked to a near three-month high and tighter curbs to contain the spread are expected in the capital Beijing in the…
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AstraZeneca (Thailand) Co., Ltd. has, through an open letter, announced that its COVID-19 vaccine production has increased by more than a 20%, to support vaccinations in Thailand and across the…
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The Thammasat University field hospital has abandoned its plan to accept a donation of 1.5 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from Poland. The university has failed to obtain…
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Many businesses in Hua Hin are hoping that reopening the country might offer a glimmer of hope, while Thai tourists are unsure if welcoming foreigners again will increase the infection…
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Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has added six more provinces to its “watch list”, in addition to the southern border provinces of Yala, Pattana, Narathiwat and Songkhla, due…
Read MoreMany schools around the country resumed on-site classes for the second semester today, after being closed since May due to COVID-19 pandemic. At Bodindecha School in Bangkok, the director, Wisit…
Read MoreNovember 30, 2021: The United States stresses that there’s no reason to panic now, and the Thai Public Health Ministry hopes to see a semblance of festivities on December 31,…
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Sydney (AFP) – Australia’s international border reopened on Monday almost 600 days after a pandemic closure began, sparking emotional scenes at Sydney airport as loved ones reunited. Shortly after dawn, bleary-eyed…
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After being suspended for about a year due to the pandemic, the Phuket “Smart Bus” will resume normal operations on Monday for foreign tourists and local commuters. The company said…
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Thailand has extended the list of “low risk” countries and territories whose citizens will be allowed to enter the kingdom without quarantine from Tomorrow (Monday), according to an announcement issued…
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Like many Thai children, 12-year-old Thayan “Fhan” Wirojsakulchai can’t wait to get back to school, the joy of studying at home having long since evaporated. For Thayan, it’s great news…
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Thai citizens returning home by air from 45 “low risk” countries and Hong Kong will not be required to spend extended time in quarantine or to have health insurance cover…
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To pre-empt protests by anti-government groups, which may disrupt Thailand’s reopening to foreign travellers on Monday, Armed Forces Commander General Chalermpol Srisawat, who is in charge of overseeing security during…
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Thailand’s Centre for COVID-19 Situation (CCSA) has decided to ease lockdown restrictions further by lifting the night-time curfew and the ban on serving alcoholic drinks in restaurants in Bangkok and…
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Due to recent surges in COVID-19 cases, Chiang Mai international airport has adopted an 8-step protocol, to make sure arriving passengers are safe, which may mean a delay of 2-3…
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Thailand is not eligible to produce a generic version of Merck’s Molnupiravir anti-viral drug, which is shown to reduce hospitalisations and deaths among COVID-19 patients by 50%, because it is…
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Doctors in Thailand’s northern province of Chiang Mai are expressing serious concerns that COVID-19 infections there are approaching a critical level, with the ICU wards in two hospitals almost fully…
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Most Thai schools are reopening, both fully and partially on Monday (November 1st), and the Thai Ministry of Education has rolled out a set of guidelines to be followed by…
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Nine people, including the general manager of a private hospital in Thailand, have been arrested by officers from the Consumer Protection Police Division for allegedly selling the anti-viral drug Favipiravir…
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A senior Thai police officer said today that he suspected that the recent CNN report about the export of tens of millions of used medical gloves to the United States,…
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SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia will start lifting its outbound travel ban for fully vaccinated residents from Nov. 1 amid a strong uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, as Sydney and Melbourne, its biggest cities,…
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A fact-finding committee, chaired by Thailand’s Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, will meet at Government House this afternoon (Wednesday) to begin an investigation into claims, made in a recent CNN report,…
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Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health will ask the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to ease restrictions on movable retail stores, so they can open in exhibition halls, at festive…
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More than 1,000 prisoners in the Zone 6 maximum security sector of the prison in Thailand’s southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat have been infected with COVID-19, 396 of whom…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The African Union (AU) intends to buy up to 110 million doses of COVID–19 vaccine from Moderna Inc in an arrangement brokered in part by the White House, which will defer delivery of some doses intended for the United States…
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Thailand’s Ministry of Health is working with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to prepare guidelines to allow visitors from Thailand’s neighbouring countries, such as Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia, to…
Read MoreThe first COVID-19 Delta Plus case found in Thailand is the AY.1 variant, which is different from the AY.4.2 strain currently spreading in the United Kingdom. The Thai AY.1 patient…
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Delta Plus, which is a mutation of the Delta strain of COVID-19, may be 15% more transmissible than the original Delta variant and is responsible for increasing COVID-19 infections in…
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On Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha passed on donations of over 20 million Baht, raised through public and Cabinet funding for local COVID-19 vaccine development programmes. Two local programmes have…
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order imposing new vaccine requirements for most foreign national air travelers and lifting severe travel restrictions on China, India and much of Europe effective Nov. 8, the…
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