BANGKOK, Oct 2 (NNN-TNA) – Thailand eased some COVID-19 restrictive measures, shortened night-time curfews, and reduced the mandatory quarantine period for incoming fully-vaccinated visitors, to seven days.
Starting yesterday, massage parlours, sports stadiums, theatres and zoos in the capital, Bangkok, are allowed to reopen, with certain pandemic control requirements.
Bangkok, the epicentre of Thailand’s months-long infection surge, has seen its daily tally of new infections fall to less than 1,500, from more than 4,000 six weeks before.
Shopping malls, convenient stores and a number of other establishment are allowed to operate for longer business hours in the city.
In 28 other provinces, which have been under maximum control along with Bangkok, restrictions have also been eased, with the night-time curfews shortened by one hour.
From yesterday, visitors arriving in Thailand and having not been fully-vaccinated are subject to a 10-day quarantine period.
There are also easing for visitors to Phuket, a popular resort island and a pilot of Thailand’s broader reopening. Phuket Sandbox scheme, which kicked off in July, allows quarantine-free entry of fully-vaccinated foreign tourists.
Starting yesterday, fully-vaccinated visitors only need to stay in Phuket for seven days before heading to other parts of Thailand. Previously, they have to stay in Phuket for seven days and another seven days in any of the extension areas, including Krabi and Phang-Nga, before travelling elsewhere in the country.
The Thai government is planning to waiver mandatory quarantine for fully-vaccinated visitors in some of its top tourist destinations, amid efforts to revive the tourism sector, a key source of the country’s economic growth.
Thailand, yesterday reported 11,754 new COVID-19 cases, rebounding for three consecutive days, after falling to a two-month low on Tuesday, and 123 more deaths, according to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The country is accelerating vaccine roll-out, to gear up for the broader reopening. It administered about 53.7 million doses of vaccines, with more than 28 percent of its nearly 70 million population having been fully vaccinated, according to the CCSA.
Bangkok and 10 other provinces vaccinated more than 50 percent of their residents, according to data from the Department of Disease Control.
Previously, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration vowed to reopen the city to fully-vaccinated travellers, after 70 percent of its residents being vaccinated.– NNN-TNA
