Thailand's Covid-19 cases jump to record as easier visa rules loom
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Thailand's Health Ministry confirmed 27,560 new cases and 85 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - Thailand reported a record number of new Covid-19 infections on Thursday (March 31), a day before easier entry rules for foreign tourists are set to take effect.
The Health Ministry confirmed 27,560 new cases and 85 Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours. The infections included 61 imported cases, the ministry said on its website.
Starting on Friday, no pre-travel Covid-19 tests will be required for foreign visitors as the tourism-reliant Southeast Asian nation seeks to draw more holidaymakers to help it sustain a nascent economic recovery.
Overseas visitors will still be required to undergo an RT-PCR test on arrival and a self-administered antigen test on Day five.
The flare-up in cases comes ahead of the Songkran festival, the Thai new year celebrations, from April 13 with authorities cautioning against large gatherings and traditional splashing of waters on revellers to prevent more people getting infected.
The country has prepared a road-map to classify the pandemic as endemic in the coming months, but the progress towards it would be contingent on first controlling the current outbreak, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has said.
Thai authorities aim to keep the daily Covid-19 death-count to below 80 to allow the nation to declare the outbreak as endemic, Ms Sumanee Wacharasin, an assistant spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said at a briefing on Thursday.
The government has stepped up a campaign to vaccinate elderly and other vulnerable groups with the majority of the deaths during the current omicron-fueled wave reported among unvaccinated group, Ms Sumanee said.
The government has stepped up a campaign to vaccinate elderly and other vulnerable groups with the majority of the deaths during the current omicron-fueled wave reported among unvaccinated group, Ms Sumanee said.
With new cases on the rise it was important to keep the current Covid-19 restrictions, she said.
Foreign arrivals totalled 262,311 during March 1-30, with only 0.59 per cent of the visitors testing Covid-19 positive, data from the virus task force showed. Travellers from Singapore, Germany, Britain, the Philippines and the US led the list.
Foreign arrivals totalled 262,311 during March 1-30, with only 0.59 per cent of the visitors testing Covid-19 positive, data from the virus task force showed. Travellers from Singapore, Germany, Britain, the Philippines and the US led the list.
