Thailand sets mid-October to reopen to vaccinated visitors

Thailand plans to fully reopen to vaccinated foreign visitors by mid-October as the government seeks to restart the crucial coronavirus-devastated tourism industry, the prime minister announced Wednesday.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said fully inoculated foreign visitors and returning Thai citizens must be allowed entry “without quarantine or other inconvenient restrictions,” and that his goal is to open up the country within 120 days.

Prayuth acknowledged that the push to re-open might create problems.

“I know this decision comes with some risk because, when we open the country, there will be an increase in infections, no matter how good our precautions,” he said. “But I think when we take into consideration the economic needs of the people, the time has come for us to take that calculated risk.”

Prayuth said the government would reconsider only if a serious situation develops.

The government had previously targeted next January for reopening the country.

Thailand is in the midst of a surge in coronavirus cases that started in April and has accounted for more than 80% of the country’s 204,595 total confirmed cases and 90% of its 1,525 deaths.

The surge has caused special concern because Thailand has been late in securing and deploying vaccine supplies. So far it only has supplies of Sinovac from China and AstraZeneca, which is produced locally under license. Just over 7% of the country's 69 million people have had at least one dose.

Prayuth, who has come under fierce criticism over the vaccine supply situation, said his government is making progress in obtaining other vaccines, including those from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna.

“To date, we have signed reservation and supply contracts for 105.5 million doses to be delivered this year, putting us ahead of our target for vaccine supplies,” he said. “Based on our current plans, we will administer an average of about 10 million shots a month from July, so that by early October almost 50 million people will have had at least their first shot administered."

Thailand plans to begin a trial scheme next month in which it will allow fully vaccinated visitors from abroad to enter Phuket without quarantine. But the so-called “Phuket sandbox” still entails restrictions, including a requirement to stay on the island for 14 days before heading to the mainland.

Visitors to Thailand who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will no longer need to undergo any test or quarantine on arrival starting May 1, a measure the authorities hope will help rejuvenate the country’s lucrative tourism industry.

“Many countries have already eased their restrictions,” Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Friday. “We are a country that relies on the tourism industry, especially during these times. This will help move the economy forward.”

Under the new rules announced by the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration, unvaccinated travelers will still have to provide proof of negative results from a RT-PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.

All visitors still must register with an online “Thailand Pass” system and provide proof of health insurance with coverage of at least $10,000 for COVID-19 treatment.

Under the current arrival scheme known as “Test and Go,” even fully vaccinated travelers have been required to take RT-PCR tests upon arrival and then stay in a government-approved hotel for one night until the results are known. On the fifth day of their stay. a self-administered rapid antigen test has been required.

The Public Health Ministry on Friday announced 21,808 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 128 related fatalities, bringing the totals since the pandemic began in 2020 to 4,128,038 cases and 27,520 deaths.

The official figures are based on RT-PCR tests, and the new cases do not include 20,635 positive results from antigen tests, which would almost double the number of new cases to 42,443. Many other positive results from self-administered antigen tests may not have been reported to authorities.