Tag Archives: Thailand

Thailand seeks to reduce quarantine period for visitors

Thailand’s disease control committee has proposed a halving of a two-week hotel isolation requirement for vaccinated arrivals, amid delays in plans to waive quarantine and reopen Bangkok and tourist destinations from next month.

Thailand is keen to welcome back foreign visitors, after nearly 18 months of strict entry policies caused a collapse in tourism, a key sector that drew 40 million visitors in 2019.

“Reducing the quarantine is not only about tourism, but will help business travel and foreign students,” senior health official Opas Karnkawinpong told a news conference, adding tests would also be required.

Under the proposal, to be presented to government on September 27, those without vaccination proof would be isolated for 10 days if arriving by air, and 14 days if by land.

Only Phuket and Samui islands currently waive quarantine for vaccinated tourists, as part of a pilot scheme.

Less than a quarter of the estimated 72 million people living in Thailand have been fully vaccinated. (Source HT)

Thailand imposes tougher Covid curbs as Delta variants drive surge in infections

More than 10 million people were placed under fresh Covid-19 restrictions and a curfew in the Thai capital Monday, as the kingdom battled a surge of cases worsened by the highly infectious Alpha and Delta variants.

Thailand has so far recorded more than 345,000 cases and 2,791 deaths — with the bulk of them coming in this latest wave that started in April.

First detected in clubs frequented by the Thai elite and politicians at an upscale Bangkok nightlife district, the surge has been exacerbated by a slow vaccine rollout and limited testing capacity.

“The situation is worrying,” said Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

“We have a big toll of new confirmed cases and the Delta strain has spread to other provinces that are home to factories.”

Health authorities also said they are monitoring seven people who have contracted both the Alpha and Delta variants.

In addition to the capital, nine other provinces that have seen steady upticks in infections saw more restrictions bite.

Checkpoints sprung up across Bangkok in the early hours of Monday as a 9 pm-4 am curfew came into force, with police wearing masks and facial shields stopping cars in the centre of the capital.

Residents are barred from gathering in groups of more than five people, while public transport networks will shut from 9 pm.

Supermarkets, restaurants, banks, pharmacies and electronics stores within malls will be able to stay open but other shops have shuttered.

Authorities on Monday also approved the use of administering the Chinese-made Sinovac jab as the first dose and AstraZeneca as the second.

It did not elaborate why the decision was taken but it came after officials announced Sunday that nearly 900 medical staff — the majority of whom had received Sinovac shots — tested positive for the virus.

Health authorities added that medical staff who had already received two Sinovac doses will get a booster AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech shot. (Source: AFP)

 

Phuket reopens to fully-vaccinated foreign travellers with ‘Sandbox’ model

The Royal Thai Government has officially endorsed measures for Phuket to reopen for fully vaccinated international travellers without quarantine requirements from July 1, 2021 with the “Phuket Sandbox” model.

This will be followed by “Samui Plus” which is the reopening of the luxury holiday destination Koh Samui and nearby islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao from July 15, 2021.

If Phuket or Samui is the visitor’s first point of stay in Thailand, he or she must remain in Phuket or Koh Samui for 14 nights before travelling to other destinations in Thailand or depart to their home country or another country if intending to stay there for fewer than 14 nights.

Travelers will need to be fully vaccinated, get an RTPCR negative report prior departure; stay in a SHA Plus-approved accommodation (where at least 70% of staff are inoculated) and would have to strictly follow the formulated SOPs with taking utmost pre cautions of hygiene and safety. These terms will also be applicable for children of 6-18 years of age travelling with fully vaccinated parents or guardians who are required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival at their own expense.

Thailand plans to fully reopen to foreign tourists in 120 days

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           Prayuth Chan-Ocha

Thailand plans to fully reopen to foreign visitors in 120 days and give at least one dose of vaccine to the majority of residents by early October to revive the tourism-reliant nation’s economy, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said, reports Prim Chuwiruch & Randy Thanthong-Knight in Bloomberg.

Some tourist destinations should be ready for fully vaccinated visitors without any quarantine requirement sooner than the wider reopening, with Phuket as the “pilot,” Prayuth said in a national address on Wednesday. The country aims to vaccinate 10 million people a month from July and has ordered 105.5 million doses of vaccines for this year, more than the country’s target, he said.

“The time has now come for us to look ahead and set a date for when we can fully open our country and start receiving visitors because re-opening the country is one of the important ways to start reducing the enormous suffering of people who have lost their ability to earn an income,” Prayuth said. “I am, therefore, setting a goal for us to be able to declare Thailand fully open within 120 days from today, and for tourism centers that are ready, to do so even faster.”

Thailand’s urgency to reopen stems from its dependence on tourism sector that, pre-pandemic, contributed about one-fifth of the nation’s economic output. Worldwide travel restrictions decimated jobs and businesses in the past year and Thailand’s gross domestic product has contracted for five straight quarters. Policymakers have warned the trend is likely to continue in the absence of billions of dollars earned from foreign tourists.

“We cannot wait for a time when everyone is fully vaccinated with two shots to open the country or for when the world is free of the virus,” the premier said. “We must be ready to live with some risk and just try to keep it at a manageable level, and let people go back to being able to earn a living.”
To get to the target of opening the country in 120 days, government will pilot with Phuket to relax some restrictions and receive visitors using a “sandbox” model.

Prayuth said the decision to set a deadline for reopening is fraught with “some risks,” and “when we open the country, there will be an increase in infections, no matter how good our precautions.” “But, I think, when we take into consideration the economic needs of people, the time has now come for us to take that calculated risk.” (Source: Bloomberg)