Southern border to reopen to tourists from next month
The government is planning to reopen the Thai-Malaysia border next month to stimulate tourism
and the economy in the deep southern provinces.
Deputy government spokes
woman Rachada Dhnadirek says Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the Centre for COVID-19 Situation
Administration (CCSA) and the
tourism and sports emergency operation centre to outline pandemic mitigation measures
for the reopening of border checkpoints in Songkhla, Yala,
Narathiwat and Satun. Following the government’s
policy to open a travel bubble with Malaysia, tourists from the neighbouring country will be allowed to enter under the Test and Go scheme with no quarantine upon arrival although visitors will still need to pass two RT-PCR tests after
arriving in Thailand.
“The prime minister is confident Thailand will remain one of the world’s top tourist destinations despite the pandemic.
“The government will support efforts to revitalise tourism, with an emphasis on public health and safety,” Ms Rachada said.
Dr Suthep Phetmak, inspector-general attached to public health zone 12, said the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia and Thailand are similar and therefore the risk of the border reopening will be low.
Before the reopening, government agencies will prepare immigration processes, testing,
hotels with the SHA+ standard
and businesses with a COVID Free Setting, including public transport, tourism sites, restaurants and department stores, he said.
Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has been urged to reconsider the decision to exclude COVID-19 treatments from the list of conditions covered by the Universal Coverage for Emergency Patients (UCEP) scheme, as the number of new infections is still on the rise.
Deputy Public Health Minister Sathit Pitutecha said
the time simply wasn’t right to
make changes to the scheme, especially since the country had just reported 16,330 new cases and 25 deaths from COVID-19 last Saturday (Feb
12) – the highest since Aug
29 last year.
He said he will ask Anutin to delay the rule’s implementa
tion to April 1.
The government had earlier
announced that starting on March 1, COVID-19 treatments
will no longer be covered by the UCEP, except for those who are in a critical condition.
At present, all costs associated with COVID-19 treatments are covered by the scheme, meaning patients can seek treatment at any hospital free of charge.
The announcement means only patients who are suffering from a critical, secondary infection brought on by COVID-19 will be covered.
Those who have tested positive but do not require critical care will have to make use of other welfare schemes to
cover the cost of their treatment
– for example, the National Health Security Office’s universal health coverage scheme or the Civil Servant Medical Benefit Scheme.
Separately, the Pheu Thai Party also urged the government to reconsider the move, saying it would complicate efforts to contain the outbreak.