Bangkok-
At a press conference in Bangkok at the Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration, the Spokesperson Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin confirmed this morning that Thailand has reached 28 days in a row with no new confirmed locally spread cases of the Covid19 Coronavirus.
This means Thailand has gone two full incubation cycles of the virus with no confirmed cases, which according to Dr. Taweesin means the country can be considered low risk and safe.
However, the government is still encouraging people to remain on guard and wear masks, consistently wash their hands, use hand sanitizer and physically distance. It is not expected that Thailand will release or remove social distancing rules any time soon with the virus still being so prolific around the world.
Thailand’s borders remain closed and international inbound flights remain banned until the end of the month. If the ban is not reinstated, only a selected, cautious amount of people will be allowed in, with mandatory quarantines and other precautions.
The Thai Government is still working on repatriating Thai Citizens, who also require a mandatory state quarantine to return. When this process is completed they are expected to begin to allow, on a case by case basis, those with pressing needs to return to the country and those with work permits. An example of a pressing need would be a foreign national legally married to a Thai national. Interested parties have been told to contact their nearest Thai embassy to begin the process.
Thailand shows no signs of opening up to general tourists or traffic at this time and with the Government stating the virus appears to be nearly eliminated in Thailand that is unlikely to happen in the near future. Thailand is also in the process of discussing potential bilateral travel bubbles with other countries that have controlled the virus well.
As Thailand marks this occasion they are also discussing opening up nightlife and entertainment venues which have remained closed for over three months and are nearly the only venues in the country still closed. A decision on this matter is expected Friday.
Thailand reached their goal of 28 days without a locally spread case through an extremely restrictive, but seemingly effective, lockdown. The lockdown included besides the total border closure and mandatory quarantines for those returning a nearly three month curfew, expansive rules and restrictions on gatherings enforced by a tough Emergency Decree, closure of nearly all public spaces in the country, domestic travel restrictions, entire areas including Pattaya closed with checkpoints for weeks, all business except essential ones closed, mandatory mask wearing laws in many provinces, temperature checks and sanitizer at every open business, a Covid19 tracing application and more restrictions.
Thailand announced three new imported cases today, all from India in state quarantine.
