Open Development Thailand | Sharing information about Thailand and its development with the world.

Essential Information on Covid-19 in Thailand

Under a Ministry of Public Health’s announcement, all hospitals, public and private, must do their best to treat COVID-19 patients (all who live within the Thai territory, irrespective of nationality) without delay until they are out of immediate danger or transferred to other hospitals based on their coverage.

Visit the data dashboard

COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labor Market

Unemployment is a looming concern. According to NSO’s data, the unemployment rate has increased to 2 percent in Q2 of 2020. This is more than three times Thailand’s jobless rate for the last decade, which hovered around 0.6%. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) estimated that 8.4 million jobs would be at risk from the COVID-19 outbreak in Q2 and Q3 of 2020, in addition to the six million farmers already impacted by drought. Thailand’s key sectors have been especially hit.

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Image: Motorbike taxi in Thailand by ibeeckmans | CC Search under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Dashboard: COVID-19 and Thai Labor Market

Some major findings from Labor Force Survey data of Thailand National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted on jobs.

During the Q1 and Q2 of 2020, the virus impact was accelerating around the world. With the country put under lockdown from mid-March till June 2020, the COVID-19 impact on workers showed a significant change in the Q2.

View the full dashboard >>

Data Literacy Training

Thailand’s civil society representatives completed East-West Management Institute’s (EWMI) data literacy training program from February to June 2020. This training in Thailand was tailored for participants from the forestry sector to advocate for improved forest governance. They included representatives from Baan Non Toom Thaworn Community Forest, Self-organized Land Reform Network, Citizen Forest Network, Chiang Mai Community Organisation Council, Raks Thai Foundation, RECOFTC Thailand, and Western Community Radio Network.

All participants were sponsored by the Voices for Mekong Forests (V4MF) project, a five-year initiative funded by the EU. Read the full story.

Participants were very supportive of each other during the training. (This photo was taken during the first phase in February 2020.)

Pandemics / COVID-19

Thailand was the first country outside of China to have confirmed a patient with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection on 13 January 2020. On March 1, 2020, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) designated COVID-19 as a dangerous communicable disease under the Communicable Diseases Act B.E. 2558 (2015). An emergency in all areas of the Kingdom of Thailand was declared by the Thai Prime Minister on March 20, 2020, pursuant to the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in emergency situations. The emergency period was originally to last until April 30, 2020, until further announcement of relax measures.

Forest Policy and Admistration

Thailand’s forests are governed under a system of laws and policies that has evolved over the past few decades to place a greater emphasis on conservation and sustainable management. Though challenges of implementation, participation, and community usage rights persist, governance can be considered a positive factor in Thai forest health.

Forests and Forestry

In 2018, forest products accounted for roughly 118 billion Thai Baht (3.9 billion USD) in exports—or about 1.2% of all exported goods and services. That figure does not include either the value of domestic consumption of forest products or the ecosystem services forests provide.

Consumer confidence index at its lowest point since the 1997/98 economic crisis

6 May 2021

Thailand’s Consumer Confidence Index plunged to 46 points in April from 48.5 points in March, the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) said in a press release on Thursday.The UTCC, which compiles the monthly reports, said that the index was its lowest since October ...

Thais saw 76% cut in working time in 2nd half of 2020: Gallup report

6 May 2021

Employers in Thailand cut around 76 per cent of their employees’ working time during the second half of 2020 in order to save costs, a report by American analytics and advisory company Gallup said.The report, published on Monday, collected data from 117 countries.It pointed out ...

 The Nation Reporter

Bank of Thailand leaves rate at record low, warns of Covid risk

6 May 2021

The central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.50% on Wednesday, as expected, preserving its limited ammunition as the economy struggles with a third wave of coronavirus infections.The latest outbreak has slowed domestic activity for the tourism-reliant economy at ...

Consumer prices rise year-on-year for the first time since start of pandemic

6 May 2021

Thailand’s headline consumer price index (CPI) in April jumped 3.41 per cent year-on-year to 100.48 points, the first time it rose in 14 months, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.“The surge of consumer price index in April was the highest record in eight years and ...

Controversial law on personal data again postponed, for another year

6 May 2021

The cabinet has approved the deferral of the full enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) slated for this June by another year, with the explanation the country is facing a difficult time with the pandemic and the legislation’s related processes have yet to ...

 Suchit Leesa-Nguansuk

Analyst urges local vaccine output

5 May 2021

It will take Thailand two years to reach herd immunity for Covid-19 at the current rate of vaccination, but if local vaccine production plans ramp up and vaccination rates increase, hope remains for a quicker timeline, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.As of April ...

 Bangkok Post Reporter

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Webinar | Indigenous Peoples forests governance: a fundamental strategy in preserving forests and reducing carbon emissions

16 April 2021

April 22nd, 2021 | 8:00PM – 09:30PM (Bangkok Time)Join the Ford Foundation, the Land Portal Foundation, the Tenure Facility and the Thomson Reuters Foundation for a webinar on April 22nd, Earth Day. This webinar will provide an opportunity to review the report “Forest Governance by ...

Facebook Live | Thailand's Digital Government Development Plan

9 April 2021

The Digital Government Development Plan of Thailand is approved by the cabinet to be “driving government into digital government”.Watch LIVE, the announcement of the Digital Government Development Plan of Thailand 2020-2022. Let’s see how we can transform the current government into digital government ? and what ...

UNITE 2030’s Youth Delegate Program

6 April 2021

The Youth Delegate Program is a 3-month intensive leadership and action-oriented program that supports youth between the ages of 18 and 30 to develop the leadership skills and competencies required to solve The Global Goals by the year 2030.UNITE 2030 Youth Delegates Delegates are instrumental ...

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Open Development Thailand publishes a dashboard on “Essential Information on COVID-19 in Thailand."

16 December 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a dashboard on “Essential Information on COVID-19 in Thailand,” which collects useful information on the nationwide measures, capacity of health services and medical workforces, hotline contact, educational videos, and infection cases over time. Access to the page>> ...

Open Development Thailand publishes new pages on COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labor Market and its Dashboard

12 October 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a new topic page on “COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labour Market,” which shows that the lockdown measure and other COVID-19 measures significantly affected jobs and workers in Q2/2020. The data dashboard will provide you insights to understand vulnerable informal ...

Open Development Thailand publishes a new topic page on "COVID-19 in Thailand"

21 May 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a new topic page on “COVID-19 in Thailand,” which shows the impacts from and measures of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. Like other countries, the COVID-19 has economic, social and environmental impacts. You will learn the key measures implemented ...

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