Prayuth Chan-ocha
A construction site sits empty in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 25, 2021. As Thailand has struggled unsuccessfully to lower the number of new COVID-19 cases and related deaths during its third and worst wave of coronavirus infections, the government on Friday ordered the camps where construction workers are housed in Bangkok and other hard-hit areas to be shut for a month and the workers kept inside to help stop the spread of the disease. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Bangkok, 9 provinces restrict movements to curb rising cases

Jun. 26, 2021 11:07 PM EDT

A lone worker stands on a construction site at dusk in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 25, 2021. As Thailand has struggled unsuccessfully to lower the number of new COVID-19 cases and related deaths during its third and worst wave of coronavirus infections, the government on Friday ordered the camps where construction workers are housed in Bangkok and other hard-hit areas to be shut for a month and the workers kept inside to help stop the spread of the disease. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thailand isolates construction workers to curb virus spread

By Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul Jun. 25, 2021 12:08 PM EDT

Pro-democracy supporters display the three-finger symbol of resistance during a demonstration in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Pro-democracy protesters have taken to the streets of Thailand's capital, marking the 89th anniversary of the overthrow of the country's absolute monarchy by renewing their demands that the government step down, the constitution be amended and the monarchy become more accountable. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai pro-democracy activists march against government

By Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul Jun. 24, 2021 05:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2021, file photo, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha holds samples of the Sinovac vaccine during a ceremony to mark the arrival of 200,000 doses in a shipment at the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. Prayuth on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, declared that the country is planning to fully reopen to foreign visitors without restrictions by mid-October, as the government seeks to restart the crucial tourist industry, heavily hit by the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Thailand sets mid-October to reopen to vaccinated visitors

By Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul Jun. 16, 2021 09:53 AM EDT

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga attends a plenary session, during the G7 summit in Carbis Bay, England, Sunday June 13, 2021. (Phil Noble/Pool via AP)
The Latest: COVID-19 cases rise in Missouri tourist areas

By The Associated Press Jun. 16, 2021 01:25 AM EDT

Local residents line up, waiting for the coronavirus testing at a market in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, June 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai capital to lift more restrictions against virus spread

By Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul Jun. 12, 2021 12:11 PM EDT

Health workers administer a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to women at Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, June 7, 2021. Health authorities in Thailand on Monday began their much-anticipated mass rollout of locally produced AstraZeneca vaccine, but it appeared that supplies were falling short of demand from patients who had scheduled vaccinations for this week. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thais debut locally made AstraZeneca but supplies are tight

By Chalida Ekvittayavechnukul And Tassanee Vejpongsa Jun. 07, 2021 03:40 AM EDT

In this Monday, March 8, 2021, photo, pro-democracy activist Panupong Jadnok raises a three-finger symbol of resistance as he arrived at the Attorney General's office in Bangkok, Thailand. A court in Thailand on Tuesday agreed to release Panupong, one of two key leaders of the anti-government protest movement, on bail on the condition that he refrains from activities deemed to defame the monarchy. Panupong must also wear electronic tags and is banned from leaving the country. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thai court grants bail to 2 pro-democracy activists

Jun. 01, 2021 07:31 AM EDT

A health worker administers the second dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, center left, at Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, May 24, 2021. (Government Spokesman Office via AP)
Thai villages isolated over variant find amid vaccine worry

May. 24, 2021 04:04 AM EDT

In this photo released by Department of Corrections, COVID-19 prisoners sit inside a field hospital set up at Medical Correctional Institution to treat COVID-19 inmates, in Bangkok, Thailand, on May 8, 2021. Almost 3,000 inmates incarcerated at two prisons in Thailand’s capital Bangkok have tested positive for COVID-19, the Corrections Department said Wednesday, May 12, 2021 as the Southeast Asian nation battles a virulent third wave of the coronavirus. (Department of Corrections, Thailand via AP)
COVID-19 infections surge among prisoners in Bangkok

By Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul May. 12, 2021 09:17 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 4, 2021, file photo, a health worker administers a dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine to residents of the Klong Toey area, a neighborhood currently having a spike in coronavirus cases, in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand sought Thursday, May 6, 2021, to assure its foreign residents that they can get COVID-19 vaccinations, countering comments by some officials suggesting they would be at the end of the line for inoculations. (AP Photo/Anuthep Cheysakron)
Thailand wants to buy more vaccines as surge worsens

By Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul May. 07, 2021 10:44 AM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 16, 2019, file photo, Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao arrive for a group photo with his cabinet members at the government house in Bangkok, Thailand. A Thai court ruled on Wednesday that Thammanat could keep his ministerial post and continue as a lawmaker, even though he was convicted and jailed in Australia in 1994 for smuggling heroin. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
Thai court says key official can stay despite drug case

By Jerry Harmer May. 05, 2021 06:35 AM EDT

A shop assistant wearing a face mask to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stands in front of her shop in Khao San road, a popular hangout for Thais and tourists in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, April 26, 2021. Cinemas, parks and gyms were among venues closed in Bangkok as Thailand sees its worst surge of the pandemic. A shortage of hospital beds, along with a failure to secure adequate coronavirus vaccine supplies, have pushed the government into imposing the new restrictions. (AP Photo/Anuthep Cheysakron)
Thailand's prime minister fined for breaking face mask rule

By Busaba Sivasomboon Apr. 26, 2021 06:13 AM EDT

FILE - In this April 12, 2021, file photo, Thai workers prepare a field hospital for COVID-19 patients in Bangkok, Thailand. The country had seemed to be a virus success story and was just beginning to relax border quarantine requirements when a new outbreak involving nightspots in the capital took numbers of new infections to their highest levels ever. The setback suggests that Thailand may have been lulled into a false sense of security. (AP Photo/Somchai Chanjirakitti, File)
Thailand gov't negotiating to buy Pfizer coronavirus vaccine

Apr. 20, 2021 09:38 AM EDT

FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2020, file photo, people stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok. Thailand’s lucky streak faded late last year, when a virus cluster was found among migrant workers working in factories and seafood markets and living in crowded dormitories. Severe restrictions and a massive testing campaign near the outbreak's epicenter seemed to contain it after several weeks. (AP Photo/Jerry Harmer, File)
Bangkok nightlife clusters expose Thailand's virus stumbles

By Busaba Sivasomboon And Grant Peck Apr. 14, 2021 11:10 PM EDT

A health worker administers a dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for a woman in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, April 12, 2021. Thailand's Health Ministry warned Sunday that restrictions may need to be tightened to slow the spread of a fresh coronavirus wave, as the country hit a daily record for new cases. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thailand sees record new infections ahead of major festival

By Patrick Quinn And Busaba Sivasomboon Apr. 12, 2021 05:35 AM EDT

A health worker administers a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to a Buddhist monk at Nak Prok Temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Friday, April 9, 2021. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thailand hits new daily record with nearly 1,000 virus cases

By Busaba Sivasomboon Apr. 11, 2021 07:05 AM EDT

Health workers prepare equipments for nasal swab tests for workers in a local entertainment venue area where a new cluster of COVID-19 infections were found in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, April 8, 2021. Thailand has confirmed its first local cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in the U.K., raising the likelihood that it is facing a new wave of the pandemic, a senior doctor said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thailand faces growing outbreak ahead of New Year travel

By Busaba Sivasomboon Apr. 09, 2021 03:41 AM EDT

A health worker administers a dose of the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine to a worker in a local entertainment venue area where a new cluster of COVID-19 infections were found in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Officials in Thailand’s capital have ordered a two-week closure of all entertainment venues in three districts to try to limit the spread of the coronavirus from nightspots there. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Thailand confirms first local cases of coronavirus variant

By Busaba Sivasomboon Apr. 07, 2021 09:52 AM EDT

Family members mourn over the death of Myo Ko Oo during his funeral in Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, March 30, 2021. Family members said Myo Ko Oo was killed Monday during a clash with security forces at a protest against the military's coup that ousted the government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1. (AP Photo)
Myanmar junta deepens violence with new air attacks in east

By Tassanee Vejpongsa Mar. 30, 2021 04:46 AM EDT