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Thai PM orders study on 'vaccine passports' to boost tourism


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Thai PM orders study on 'vaccine passports' to boost tourism

 

2021-03-02T083558Z_1_LYNXMPEH210F6_RTROPTP_4_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-THAILAND-VACCINES.JPG

FILE PHOTO: Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul applaud next to a container as they attend the arrival of a plane with a shipment of 200,000 doses of the Sinovac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine from China at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Thailand, February 24, 2021. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha/File Photo

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's prime minister said on Tuesday he has commissioned a study to look into issuing COVID-19 vaccination certificates for international travellers, as the country seeks to revive a tourism industry battered by coronavirus curbs.

 

The Southeast Asian nation has been mulling the idea of so-called "vaccine passports", but no target date has been set and tourism operators have complained about lost revenue.

 

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thailand will proceed with caution, waiting to see how effective vaccines are first in preventing the spread of COVID-19.

 

"I have already ordered the study so we can be prepared, but it's also important that we proceed in line with other countries," Prayuth said in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.

 

People in Thailand who are vaccinated would be given certificates, which could be used for international travel, he said.

Thai authorities will meet next week to discuss procedures to obtain such certificates, as well as quarantine arrangements for tourists with "vaccine passports" entering Thailand.

 

Previously, officials have said vaccinated visitors could have mandatory quarantine cut from two weeks to three days or waived entirely.

 

The global vaccine rollout has given hope to the pandemic-hit tourism industry, which makes up about 11% of Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

 

In 2020, Thailand's tourism revenue slumped to 332 billion baht ($10.94 billion) from 1.91 trillion baht a year earlier, as visitor numbers plunged by 83%.

 

($1 = 30.3600 baht)

 

(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Ed Davies)

 

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-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-03-02
 
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3 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

I cannot see how this will benefit Thailand as it is the rest of the world that need to adopt a means of registration for a passport/certificate for travelers to come to Thailand. Then Thailand to drop it's quarantine restrictions.

Im pretty sure you'll fide thats what they meant. Der!!

 

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4 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Meanwhile the tourist industries of Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia continue to recover steadily, as vaccinated tourists are allowed to enter those countries...

 

Links would help support such a statement.

 

Found a little info, but doesn't seem as sweeping as your pronouncement?

 

 

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How valid will the Thai vaccine "passport" be if it means the vaccination may have been with the Sinovac vaccine? Will other countries approve people entering with Sinovac if it is not approved in those countries?

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Classic, if you want to drag out a decision, appoint a committee or order a study. Or both.

 

In this case though, I actually agree with the approach. The medium to long term impact of vaccinations isn't sufficiently known yet. Not all vaccines are effective against all mutations, nobody knows how long immunity will last, etc. etc.

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1 hour ago, John Drake said:

How valid will the Thai vaccine "passport" be if it means the vaccination may have been with the Sinovac vaccine? Will other countries approve people entering with Sinovac if it is not approved in those countries?

Sinovac and Sputnik vaccines havent even ask for aproval in europe.

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Mr PM just said he will not take the jab.

Maybe he knows something you don't.

Hey how about building a Tourist Compound, with razor wire, and 20ft walls.

Good place for it would be Pataya, plenty of closed down business to make room for it.

As for Tourists getting the jab before they arrive, What, you want a bunch of Zombies ?

Sorry, go on and enjoy the Fear Porn.....

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8 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

I cannot see how this will benefit Thailand as it is the rest of the world that need to adopt a means of registration for a passport/certificate for travelers to come to Thailand. Then Thailand to drop it's quarantine restrictions.

 

5 hours ago, hioctane said:

US is expected to have enough supply to vaccinate adults by May... Get moving Thailand!  Figure out a way to make vaccine passports happen. The Middle East is already testing a version. Maybe Thailand can just piggyback off it.

 

In middle east this is already a reality, in Bahrain where I work I have the vaccination certificate available in two forms one in digital form that comes within a goverment application on the phone and the second in the standard booklet that shows all the vaccinations taken.

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