BANGKOK: Thailand will from next month reduce its mandatory quarantine from 14 to seven days for foreigners arriving within the nation who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus, its health minister mentioned on Monday.
Vaccinations must be administered within three months of the travel interval and guests will still be required to show negative COVID-19 test results within three days of their departure, Anutin Charnvirankul told a news conference.
Those not yet inoculated but with coronavirus-free certificates would be quarantined for 10 days, he mentioned.
“Foreigners traveling to Thailand with vaccination certificates in accordance with the requirements of each brand will need to quarantine for only seven days,” Anutin mentioned, referring to the doses needed to be effective.
Thailand’s flight limits, its strict entry requirements, and mandatory quarantine for all arrivals have been central to its success in limiting the spread of the virus to just over 26,000 cases and 85 deaths.
Those curbs have decimated its vital tourism sector, however, prompting widespread job losses and business closures and contributing to the nation’s deepest economic traction in over two decades.
The nation received close to 40 million visitors in 2019.
The new measures don’t apply to those traveling from Africa, who would still be topic to quarantine for 2 weeks due to concerns about other variants of the virus.
Vaccinated Thai nationals without a certificate showing they are coronavirus-free need to spend one week in quarantine after two negative tests within the nation.
After October, if Thailand inoculates 70 percent of medical personnel and at-risk groups, there could be more easing of restriction, Anutin mentioned, adding it was possible quarantine could be waived fully.
Thailand has so far vaccinated 27,497 individuals, largely medical workers, using the Sinovac Biotech vaccine. It has ordered 61 million doses in the whole of the AstraZeneca vaccine with mass vaccinations slated to begin in June
Anutin mentioned the nation could need to order an additional 10 to 20 million doses, which it may source from other producers.
