The end is in sight: Thailand outlines plan for re-opening, target of no quarantine from 1 Oct

[webfact]

The Thai government on Friday released its proposal for relaxing COVID-19 measures and re-opening the country to foreign tourists.

 

The most notable of Friday’s announcement is that quarantine will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days from 1 April. It will then be reduced to 7 days later for vaccinated foreigners, before quarantine will be scrapped completely by 1 October for those who have received the vaccine. 

 

Much of the proposals were as first reported earlier this week, with Thailand set to reopen in three phases.

 

Phase 1 - which will take place between 1 April and 30 June will see Samut Sakhon no longer being listed as a ‘red zone’ or maximum controlled area, where it will join Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Samut Songkhram, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Pathom Thani, Tak and Ratchaburi as an ‘orange zone’ or controlled area.

 

Fourteen other provinces, Kanchanaburi, Suphanburi, Ayutthaya, Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Chachoengsao, Phetchaburi, Rayong, Chonburi, Rayong, Chumphon, Songkhla, Yala and Narathiwat will remain ‘yellow zone’ or a high surveillance area. 

 

The remaining provinces will be listed as a green zone.

 

Phase 2 - from 1 July to 30 September - there will no longer be any color coded zones or controlled areas in Thailand. All restrictions will be lift, expect for those under the new normal, such as social distancing, mask wearing and temperature checks when entering some premises. 

 

Phase 3 - from 1 Oct - the government is aiming to allow vaccinated tourists from low risk countries to enter Thailand without the need to quarantine. However, this will depend on the COVID-19 situation in Thailand and whether or not sufficient numbers of medical workers in the country have received the vaccination. 

 

Meanwhile, it was announced that quarantine will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days from 1 April.

 

CCSA spokesperson Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin said that  both Thais and foreigners will need to need to quarantine for 10 days but this will be reduced to 7 days later in the year.

 

It was also announced that the state of emergency will be extended to 31 May and that water throwing and foam parties have been banned for this year’s Songkran, but there are no restrictions on domestic travel.

 

This is a developing news story, this post may be updated without warning

 

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[ThailandRyan]

 

 

I thought Tourism was dead, and here they are playing a reduced quarantine numbers game and hoping it brings in tourists for the High Season.  Well good luck on that one.  Wishing you luck and hoping after October 1st quarantine is gone.  Need a trip back to the US and I do not want to jump through all of the hoops and then quarantine before I can come back to my house I live in.....

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The most notable of Friday’s announcement is that quarantine will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days from 1 April. It will then be reduced to 7 days later for vaccinated foreigners, before quarantine will be scrapped completely by 1 October for those who have received the vaccine. 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

water throwing and foam parties have been banned for this year’s Songkran, but there are no restrictions on domestic travel.

[mr mr]

here's how i read it

 

phase 1 - derp

phase 2 - derp derp

phase 3 - derp derp derp

[harada]

I think they may be a bit optimistic on this, most of the people that I have spoken to, who, like myself have traveled around Asia quite a bit over the years are talking of 1 to 2 years to see how things pan out before they return.

[darksidedog]

22 minutes ago, webfact said:

This is a developing news story, this post may be updated without warning

Given the ever changing policy on the matter, the above quote is probably the most accurate statement in the whole piece.

[Pattaya Spotter]

The key word being "proposals," nothing decided yet. 

[Guderian]

Crazy, they're talking as if 50% of the population here has already been vaccinated instead of a few thousand.

The vaccines currently in use only have a limited effect in reducing the likelihood of people who have had them from infecting others. So fully vaccinated foreigners come here on holiday are served their beer and spring rolls by unvaccinated Thais (never mind the rather closer contact in certain bars that many tourists will be looking for, lol), some of whom will then become infected and pass it on to their families and friends, and we're back at square one. Shut the borders and close down the country. Are these people stupid? It's idiocy to open up even in a limited manner until your own people have been protected sufficiently by vaccination. 

[up-country_sinclair]

It's always good to have a plan, but this one is pretty optimistic.

[Katipo]

So in Phase 3, vaccinated tourists from as of yet unspecified low risk countries may be able to enter Thailand without quarantine from Oct 1st, but even this entirely depends on the Covid situation at that time.

This will hardly inspire confidence in tourists, nor the local tourism sector.

[bermondburi]

Jeez. What's with the negativity. I think it's great news if it happens. Gonna make a big difference to me. 

In BP it says 7 days for the vaccinated from April 1st. 

[bermondburi]

Just now, bermondburi said:

Jeez. What's with the negativity. I think it's great news if it happens. Gonna make a big difference to me. 

In BP it says 7 days for the vaccinated from April 1st. 

And can use swimming pool, walk around thy grounds etc. 

Won't appeal to tourists, but for those with loved ones in Thailand it's GREAT news. 

Makes a 3 week holiday viable for me which is easier to arrange, under the old rules I needed 6 weeks to make it worthwhile. 

[Spellforce]

My mum bought her plane ticket for end of april, she is not vaccinated.

But what means the new 10 days quarantine ? 9, 10 or 11 night in the hotel ?

(untill now their 14 days quarantine = 15 nights in the hotel)

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

Unlessssss.............

[zzzzz]

28 minutes ago, Katipo said:

So in Phase 3, vaccinated tourists from as of yet unspecified low risk countries may be able to enter Thailand without quarantine from Oct 1st, but even this entirely depends on the Covid situation at that time.

This will hardly inspire confidence in tourists, nor the local tourism sector.

Cambodia, Russia, china and laos

[cmarshall]

Unless they have vaccinated a lot more people than it looks like they will have vaccinated by Oct. 1, this plan is a disaster in the making.  

[kingofthemountain]

33 minutes ago, up-country_sinclair said:

It's always good to have a plan, but this one is pretty optimistic.

As  said Von Moltke ''No plan survives the first contact with the enemy''

There is still a lot of questions without clear answer about how long the vaccine protect

including against the new strains, what % of the people vaccinated can still catch and spread the virus and so on

Also actualy a new resurgence of the cases in europe and few concerns about the number of vaccines

doses available for the populations.

It will take years before to vaccine enough numbers of the population, and i don't see this goal attained in Thailand in october, even with the use of the Sinovac vaccine (I don't even talk about the efficiency of this vaccine, some source give only 50%)

[ukrules]

I wouldn't book a flight based on the above, anything could and probably will happen between now and October.

Also, this bit :

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Phase 3 - from 1 Oct - the government is aiming to allow vaccinated tourists from low risk countries to enter Thailand without the need to quarantine. However, this will depend on the COVID-19 situation in Thailand and whether or not sufficient numbers of medical workers in the country have received the vaccination. 

Shows how much confidence they have in the vaccination roll out inside Thailand, they don't know if the healthcare workers will all be vaccinated by October 1 - this suggests they have no clue what they're doing or even planning for.

 

The 'vaccinated within the last 90 days' requirement / hoop will kill any tourism stone cold dead as people are being vaccinated in huge numbers since January, they will get their second shots from about now (March 2021) to April so many of the older potential visitors will have had their vaccination at least 6 months before any winter trip.

They're not going to be able to go and get another vaccine shot just so they can go on holiday - so they won't qualify under the current proposed rules which are of course complete nonsense.

To put it bluntly, this will change and change again and again long before October.

 

[stuarty]

From April 1 to June 30, quarantined arrivals would be allowed to leave their rooms to go to a gymnasium, outdoor exercise area, swimming pool and controlled areas for cycling and outside shopping.

From July 1 to Sept 30, they would be able to eat in restaurants at their hotels and have health massages.

From Oct 1 onwards, quarantine would be required only for people arriving from specified areas.

On the issue of quarantine duration, Dr Taweesilp said, from April 1 to Sept 30, arrivals without a vaccination certificate (VC) and Covid-19 free certificate (CFC) would be quarantined for 10 days, and be tested for the disease twice.

Arrivals with VCs and CFCs would be quarantined for seven days and tested once. Those with VCs but without CFCs would be tested twice.

Confusing, no? If I am vaccinated it is only 7 days?  That's not wat other reporting says.

[bolt]

Bangkok Post Say's 7 days for vaccinated, I'm going to email 2 hotels and see what they say.

[cryo]

DAILY PROPOSAL INCORPORATED. We can produce a new daily all enlightening proposal within 24Hrs guaranteed or your money back.????????????

[EricTh]

I won't bet on all these plans. Their plans have been delayed or changed so many times in the past that nobody believe them now.

In the past, they proposed tourist bubble, then it was scrapped.

If the European countries find more adverse effects of Astrazeneca, then everything will be delayed again.

[Justgrazing]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Meanwhile, it was announced that quarantine will be reduced from 14 days to 10 days from 1 April.

More chance of finding a one ended stick than that being any more acceptable than any of the other kookie schemes they trot out ..

they are still just not getting it are they ..

[stigar]

i arrive 30th march..14 days quarantene..i will not take a chance to rebooking my fligth because i dont trust them anyway..

[ThailandRyan]

3 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

More chance of finding a one ended stick than that being any more acceptable than any of the other kookie schemes they trot out ..

leaving me to conclude they are still not getting it ..

Or a better change of finding the crocodile swimming in the ocean in Rawai.

[bolt]

I got a reply from one hotel just now 19th Friday 16:00 Thai time

Refer on the news that announce for shorten quarantine are not effective now.
Thai Department of Disease Control do not public on shorten quarantine because they are on processing for clarify types of vaccine. It might take a moment.
If we got any update, we will inform you soonest.

[RichardColeman]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Phase 3 - from 1 Oct - the government is aiming to allow vaccinated tourists from low risk countries to enter Thailand without the need to quarantine.

Whilst I am eager to get back the wife and daughter asap (1 year today since I left) and even though I will be fully vaccinated by the end of next month I won't hold my breath or book a flight just yet.

Here's hoping that nonsense 3 month vaccination rule disappears up the person who thought of it rear

 

[scorecard]

In another media CCSA spokesman Taweesilp V said that from April 1 visitors would not be required to show a fit-to-fly document. 

[tonysilly]

What Ever!! Tomorrow it will change for January. Then they will change that.  Don't believe nothing!!!! 

[Kadilo]

5 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Whilst I am eager to get back the wife and daughter asap (1 year today since I left) and even though I will be fully vaccinated by the end of next month I won't hold my breath or book a flight just yet.

Here's hoping that nonsense 3 month vaccination rule disappears up the person who thought of it rear

 

The 3 month rule will go as soon as they realise the impact on tourism and what a load of toffee it is. 

Things on the up for us planning our returns. A year is long enough. 

[PatOngo]

1 hour ago, up-country_sinclair said:

It's always good to have a plan, but this one is pretty optimistic.

It's only March, the plan will change every other day between now and October!