Dec 15 the best date for Thailand to reopen, says top health official
Thailand should reopen on December 15, so the momentum between protecting public health and reviving the economy can be maintained, Dr Chalermchai Boonyaleephan, vice chairman of the Public Health Commission, said on Monday.
In a post on the Blockdit platform, he said every country should strike a balance between the economy and public health, and one key criterion in doing this is to ensure that at least 70 per cent of the population has been vaccinated.
“To reach that point, we need to speed up the vaccine rollout to ensure 70 per cent of the population is double jabbed by November 30,” he said.
“After that, it will take another 14 days before immunity kicks in, so Thailand should be ready to reopen on December 15.”
He added that everyone’s opinion on when Thailand should reopen is different because the impact on each individual is different.
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As of Monday, Thailand’s total caseload from Covid-19 stood at 1,793,812 – 1,668,250 of whom have recovered, 107,226 are still in hospitals and 18,336 have died.
Separately, another 238,015 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 217,372 their second shot and 19,666 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 65,677,794.
