COVID: Thailand to permit entry for vaccinated tourists from 46 countries sans quarantine

Thailand on Thursday declared that vaccinated tourists from 46 low-risk nations and areas would be allowed to enter Thailand without being quarantined from November onwards. The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Thailand has issued a list of countries from which travellers were permitted quarantine-free entry, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Malaysia.  

According to the Ministry's spokesperson Tanee Sangrat, authorised tourists would be able to travel freely in Thailand starting November 1, if they clear their post-arrival COVID-19 test. The Ministry statement is released following last week's announcement of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in which he stated that from the next month beginning, vaccinated visitors from at least 10 low-risk nations and areas will be allowed to enter the nation by air without having to go through quarantine. 

Thailand is stepping up attempts to restore its economy since the epidemic has wreaked havoc on the tourist sector, which contributed about 20% of the country's GDP before COVID-19.  

Travelers to travel freely in Thailand

As per the Nikkei Asia website, tourists would still be required to produce confirmation of a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test result obtained before leaving their native country, along with the test which will be conducted upon their arrival. Further, Visitors arriving from nations that are not on the list will be permitted to visit Thailand, but they will be subjected to quarantine. Those coming by air must be quarantined for seven days, while those entering by sea must be quarantined for ten days. During the period from December 1 and January 1, Thailand is likely to add further low-risk nations to the list. 

These travel relaxations have come after the increase in vaccine roll out in the country. According to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), Thailand has delivered over 66 million doses of vaccinations as of Monday, October 18, with roughly 37% of the country's entire population having been completely immunised. Complete vaccination coverage is significantly greater in popular tourist locations, with Phuket leading the way with 76.7% and Bangkok with 69.7%. By the end of the year, Thailand hopes to have vaccinated around 70% of its population of over 70 million people. 

Meanwhile, according to the latest numbers provided by the Worldometer, the total number of confirmed cases in the nation is 1,831,389 whereas the total number of fatalities is 18,625. More than 1,710,447 have been recovered from the disease.  

(Image: AP)