In a televised address to the nation, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced that starting 1 Nov 2021, Thailand would welcome fully vaccinated travellers to enter the country without quarantine. The only condition for them was to provide a negative RT-PCR test result upon arrival, and that they come from low-risk countries.
“Today, I ordered the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) and the Ministry of Public Health to jointly consider it within this week. From Nov 1 onwards, Thailand will start reopening without quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated persons who travel to the country by air from what we classify as low-risk countries,” the PM said in the address.
As of writing, there are at least 10 countries that qualify as low-risk countries, including Singapore, the United States, Germany, China, and the United Kingdom. The list is expected to expand by 1 Dec 2021. Tourists who do not come from low-risk countries must still follow quarantine measures.
The PM also elaborated on the safety protocols saying, “We will only request everyone, upon arriving in Thailand, to prove they are free from COVID-19 with an RT-PCR test result obtained before leaving the country of origin. There will be another COVID-19 test when they reach Thailand. Afterwards, they will be able to travel to different areas freely like what ordinary Thais can do.”
Prayut also added that he’s well-aware of the risks these eased measures will most likely entail, which is why he’s still reserving the right to alter plans should a new variant or unforeseen factor come into play. “However, if we find in the next (two to three or four) months a new variant that is very harmful, of course, we will have to introduce measures that are suitable and appropriate to control the situation,” he said on TV.
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As of writing, Thailand is administering 700,000 doses per day and has a total of 1.72 million recorded cases.
Featured image credit: Evan Krause | Unsplash