Covid-19 case numbers in Thailand have climbed again over the past month. Weekly cases went from roughly 9,300 in late July to more than 15,500 by the fourth week of August, a 30% jump in a single week.

Thailand's Department of Disease Control has been calling Covid-19 an endemic or seasonal disease since earlier this year. Officials have said repeatedly that recent variants show no sign of increased severity. 

The one exception is the same one that's always applied to flu season: older adults and anyone with an underlying condition are still the group who should pay attention.

What actually causes more harm here

Air pollution is the biggest one, and it's not close. PM2.5 is estimated to cause more than 32,000 premature deaths in Thailand every year, mostly from heart and lung disease. It barely comes up in conversation given how much it kills.

Road accidents take around 18,000 lives a year, about 50 a day. Motorcyclists make up most of that toll, and Thailand's roads are consistently ranked among the most dangerous in Asia.

Drowning kills roughly 3,600 people a year. It isn't mainly a children's problem the way most people assume. Adults aged 45 to 59 make up the single largest group of victims, with those 60 and older close behind.

Dengue is already worse than this year's Covid-19 wave by the numbers: 21,620 cases and 31 deaths recorded so far.

Heatstroke kills far fewer, usually a few dozen a year, but older adults are consistently the group most likely to die from it.

Coverage doesn't ask what you believe

None of this is to say Covid-19 isn't real, or that it can't hit hard for someone with a weak immune system or an existing condition. But stacked up against everything else on this list, it's a manageable risk rather than the one that should be dominating anyone's attention.

That's really the point of good health coverage. You don't get to choose in advance what puts you in a hospital bed, a bout of dengue, a motorbike knock, a bad air day catching up with your lungs, or yes, a stubborn case of Covid. What matters is that whichever one it is, you're not the one scrambling to cover it.

Cigna Global's direct billing network settles the bill with the hospital directly, so the deposit that private hospitals in Thailand often ask for, up to 200,000 baht (roughly US$5,500), never lands on you. 

For anyone on an O-A or O-X retirement visa, Cigna's plans meet and usually exceed the required minimums of 400,000 baht inpatient and 40,000 baht outpatient cover. 

And for the ordinary run of mild illness, a telehealth consult gets you a prescription without a trip to a crowded clinic, which covers most current Covid-19 cases just fine.

Get a free quote from Cigna Global,

and worry about the things actually worth worrying about.

What's your take? Curious whether the regulars here think Covid deserves the attention it's getting, or whether the roads, the air, and the rivers are the ones that actually deserve more of the conversation.

Sponsored

I haven't been vaccinated at all .

My only association with covid is being tested once before a flight

Covid is not "back" in Thailand. As alluded to in the article, it is now an endemic disease here.

1 minute ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Covid is not "back" in Thailand. As alluded to in the article, it is now an endemic disease here.

35 people at my work tested positive today.

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

I haven't been vaccinated at all .

You granny killer !!!!

2 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

35 people at my work tested positive today.

why the heck are they still 'testing' for a cold with an IFR

of 0.025–0.032% for 0–59 years and 0.063–0.082% for 0–69 years. will the madness never end ??

1 minute ago, johng said:

why the heck are they still 'testing' for a cold with an IFR

Ive no idea.

I laughed when I was told.

6 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

I laughed when I was told.

I think that's the best option laugh at the total absurdity of it all. Laugh at all the lies.

2 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Thailand's Department of Disease Control has been calling Covid-19 an endemic or seasonal disease since earlier this year. Officials have said repeatedly that recent variants show no sign of increased severity. 

Wait! What? This has been the case since Omicron took over some four (?) years ago.

2 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Covid is not "back" in Thailand. As alluded to in the article, it is now an endemic disease here.

It's been endemic for years.

No. Absolutely not. Every subsequent version of covid since the original strain has been weaker and weaker, and though the virulence level has occasionally been higher, the Lethality level continues to drop.

I am infinitely more concerned about getting a flu at this stage of my life than I am covid. But I could see where it's in the interest of certain groups to continue the fear mongering.

China snot virus variant of the common cold sniffles really isn’t worth getting worked up over.

I don't understand why Cigna is sponsoring the publication of this article. I had Cigna health insurance for a few years but every time I made a claim it was rejected on the basis of spurious "pre-existing conditions". I gave up on them subsequently. Most people have had Covid (I've had it twice) so if you made a claim for hospitalisation resulting from getting Covid again, surely they would reject it as a "pre-existing condition"?

18 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

35 people at my work tested positive today.

Why are they testing? It's endemic.

Edit: asked and answered. I guess some habits die hard, and bad habits die harder?

I read that Dengue is resurgent (again) this season. That's what the health ministry and media should be more focused on.

Edited August 28Aug 28 by NanLaew

3 hours ago, banyanman said:

I don't understand why Cigna is sponsoring the publication of this article. I had Cigna health insurance for a few years but every time I made a claim it was rejected on the basis of spurious "pre-existing conditions". I gave up on them subsequently. Most people have had Covid (I've had it twice) so if you made a claim for hospitalisation resulting from getting Covid again, surely they would reject it as a "pre-existing condition"?

Have you found any better alternative?

A quick reminder to all - especially the unfamiliar, that there is far more evidence that Covid-19 emerged from the US-sponsored Wuhan Institute of Virology, than any Chinese-blaming conspiracy.

1 hour ago, Rookie123 said:

A quick reminder to all - especially the unfamiliar, that there is far more evidence that Covid-19 emerged from the US-sponsored Wuhan Institute of Virology, than any Chinese-blaming conspiracy.

And ?

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

And ?

I’ve had a mild hangover for 3 weeks now, haven’t been drinking :)

9 minutes ago, sungod said:

I’ve had a mild hangover for 3 weeks now, haven’t been drinking :)

I masturbated twice this morning, haven’t been drinking :)

I’m pleased for you Ralph.

Just now, sungod said:

I’m pleased for you Ralph.

Ran out of tissues, had to wipe on the duvet.

18 hours ago, thecyclist said:

Have you found any better alternative?

Yes. Absolutely. For me being self-insured is the way to go. I got sick of 20% annual raises on my healthcare about 15 years ago and just set the money aside each year. I have saved well over a million baht so far, and I've spent less than 100,000 of that on health care during that period.

Also there's a very special joy in just saying no to the insurance mafia.

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Yes. Absolutely. For me being self-insured is the way to go. I got sick of 20% annual raises on my healthcare about 15 years ago and just set the money aside each year. I have saved well over a million baht so far, and I've spent less than 100,000 of that on health care during that period.

Also there's a very special joy in just saying no to the insurance mafia.

That million will last a few days if the <deleted>e hits the fan!

If you are worried about it get the ffffing shot. Quit with the baby crying.

Edited Saturday at 03:27 AM5 days by Priorexpat

2 hours ago, Priorexpat said:

If you are worried about it get the ffffing shot. Quit with the baby crying.

Only people I know that has "caught" covid got the "shot".... 3/4/5 times infact!

The studies show that the more shots you got the more 'Covid' you got

strange but true belongs in Ripley's Believe It or Not!

On 8/27/2026 at 6:26 PM, Ralf001 said:

35 people at my work tested positive today.

I just recovered the other day. My wife a few days before that. It was quite mild compared to previous infections.

Even though COVID might be back in Thailand, it is NOT worth sweating about.

Yet, maybe it is still worth swearing about.

Since January, only 14 deaths, and I never came into contact with any of them.

Mortality rate stands at 0,02 per 100,000 with a case fatality rate of 0.01%.

Just looking at this sentence, Mortality rate stands at 0,02 per 100,000 with a case fatality rate of 0.01%., makes me swear.

What does this convoluted language mean, anyway?

I think Gemini has mixed up the term MORTALITY with MORBIDITY, but I am too busy swearing to think logically.

Anyway, I do know the meaning of MORBIDITY RATE, but I do not like mixing up MORTALITY RATES with FATALITY RATES.

I think Gemini left off CASE in the Case Fatality Rate, or something.

I just hope Gemini ain't spreading no FUD.

We must do our best to weather this storm:

If COVID mutates to have a 50% MORTALITY RATE, then...

I am going back on the masks.

20 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

Only people I know that has "caught" covid got the "shot".... 3/4/5 times infact!

Sorry, accidentally hit agree, total B.S. bro, the vaccines work.