Thailand to resume quarantine-free entry for vaccinated visitors from Feb

Bangkok, Jan 21 (IANS) Thailand will resume its quarantine-free travel scheme for fully-vaccinated inbound visitors from next month, the country’s Covid-19 task force announced.

The ‘Test & Go’ quarantine exemption scheme was suspended from December 22, 2021 only after seven weeks of its launch due to the fast spread of the virus fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, reports Xinhua news agency.

Beginning from February 1, fully-vaccinated visitors will be able to enter without quarantine requirements as long as they take RT-PCR tests on the first and fifth days of their arrival in Thailand, Taweesin Visanuyothin, spokesperson of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said at a news briefing.

Visitors should wait for their test results at their booked hotels and agree to download an app tracking their whereabouts, according to Taweesin.

He said the infections in Thailand are considered to be at a manageable level, and expected to be stabilising and going into a declining trend.

The move came amid the government’s efforts to revive the tourism sector and boost economic recovery.

In a further relaxation of restrictive measures, the government will now allow restaurants to serve alcohol until 11 p.m., extending two hours from previous requirement.

However, bars and nightclubs will remain closed.

On Thursday, the Southeast Asian country reported 8,129 new cases during the last 24 hours, rising for the second consecutive day, and 19 more fatalities, according to the CCSA.

Till date, 66.4 per cent of the country’s nearly 70 million population have been fully vaccinated, while 15.3 per cent received their booster shots.

–IANS

ksk/