Nearly 20,000 visitors land on first day of Thailand's ‘full opening’
Close to 20,000 people arrived in Thailand on Wednesday, the first day of the country’s “full opening”. With effect from June 1, visitors no longer need to quarantine themselves. However, a US$10,000 Covid insurance is still required for foreign visitors.
A total of 19,767 arrivals by air were recorded on Wednesday — 19,713 of the travellers were fully vaccinated and only 54 were not vaccinated, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) reported on Thursday.
From June 1, Thai nationals entering the Kingdom are no longer required to register through the online Thailand Pass system. However, foreign nationals still need to register and upload their proof of Covid-19 insurance covering at least $10,000 along with their passport.
Foreign travellers are required to show their vaccination certificate while those who are unvaccinated need to produce the result of their PCR testing taken at least 72 hours before entering Thailand.
Meanwhile, all the 3,522 entertainment places applying for the Thai Stop Covid 2 Plus certification were approved, said Sumanee Wacharasint, director of the Department of Disease Control (DDC)’s Risk Communication and Health Behavioural Development Bureau.
Sumanee, in her capacity as a CCSA assistant spokesperson, told a press conference at Government House that those venues represent 94 per cent of all 3,761 registered entertainment places across the country.
Of those venues, 3,196 are in the green and blue provinces where alcohol drinking is allowed until midnight from June 1.
However, the DDC will work with the Interior Ministry in checking those bars, pubs and karaoke lounges from time to time, to check if they are strictly abiding by the standard requirements, the spokesperson said.
She added that those failing to follow the requirements would get a warning, and repeated failure would lead to suspension of business.
The Covid-19 situation in Thailand has been improving substantially, with a constant decline in new cases and deaths, according to the spokesperson. However, with the relaxed restrictions, the number of new cases could increase, so personal preventive measures and booster shots are advised.
Sumanee pointed out that 53 per cent of the 34 Covid deaths on Wednesday were unvaccinated patients. All of them were aged over 60 or had chronic diseases.
