An association of chest physicians is calling on the government to prepare for Covid-19 to become a “Stage 3”, full-blown epidemic in Thailand while slamming the authorities’ slow response to the spread of the disease. The Thoracic Society of Thailand issued an emotionally charged statement warning that the country might not be equipped to deal with a drastic escalation in …

The body of a Chinese man who fell to his death from a Bangkok hotel on Friday was left at the scene for more than six hours because rescuers were afraid of contracting coronavirus if they handled it. The 39-year-old man, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, fell from the sixth floor of the seven-storey building in Makkasan, …

Low-cost airlines are not immune to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic and plan to reduce or scrap routes to four major destinations — Japan, South Korea, India and China — while tourism operators say the battered stock market will further weaken travel sentiment. The suspension follows the decision to temporarily halt services on all routes connecting to mainland China …

Thai Airways International Plc’s (THAI) outgoing president Sumeth Damrongchaitham said he decided to resign after “those in power” told him that he was done with his mission. He said on Friday he had tendered his resignation to pave the way for the THAI board to find a more appropriate replacement who can follow the board’s policy. “We were here on …

The Public Health Ministry on Friday reported five new local cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), all linked to people arriving from Hong Kong and South Korea. Dr Sukhum Karnchanapimai, permanent secretary for health, said the new cases were cluster infections. Two were a woman, 36, and a man, 37, who went to a pub in a group of 15 …

A month long lockdown in the Philippine capital to contain the spread of coronavirus is set to curb economic growth and make an interest-rate cut next week more likely. Growth could weaken to below 6% in the first quarter of the year, according to Nicholas Mapa, an economist at ING Bank in Manila. With more than 12 million people, the …

Singapore ceased port calls for all cruise vessels and will bar the entry and transit of visitors with recent travel history to Italy, France, Spain and Germany. New York City declared a state of emergency, bringing the financial and cultural capital of the US to a standstill. French President Emmanuel Macron called the coronavirus the epidemic of the century and …

A Chinese government campaign to cast doubt on the origin of the coronavirus pandemic is fuelling a row with the United States, with a Beijing official promoting conspiracy theories and Washington calling it the “Wuhan virus”. The spat comes as China tries to deflect blame for the contagion and reframe itself as a country that took decisive steps to buy …

The Public Health Ministry on Thursday insisted that the country has yet to enter Stage 3 of the coronavirus outbreak, despite the discovery of a new cluster of infections which brought the total number of cases in Thailand to 70. The permanent secretary for public health, Sukhum Kanchanaphimai, made the remark after 11 people tested positive following a night out …

The test kit for UP-developed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is ready for field trials, just as the epidemic was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on Wednesday. Advertisement Thousands of the kits will be sent for validation testing to many hospitals to decide if they are viable enough to be commercially available. In comparison to over – the-counter …