1. Vaccination Progress
– Yesterday, Thailand administered 475,053 doses of vaccines, increasing the accumulated number of vaccinations to over 65.67 million doses (65,677,794 doses).
– Phuket has administered 1,090,907 doses of vaccines. The first dose has been administered to 80.62% of the population and the second dose to 75.92% of the population to build herd immunity. Other provinces under the sandbox scheme also vigorously continue to inoculate their population to ensure safety for both locals and travelers.
– The Ministry of Public Health updated that 91.6 per cent of medical staff have now received their booster dose and 66.2 per cent of village health volunteers have been fully vaccinated.
2. Daily Statistics
– For today’s statistics, there are 10,111 new confirmed cases and 107,226 active cases, of which 2,831 are in critical condition and 644 are on ventilators. This is a decrease from 700 patients on ventilators at the beginning of October.
– There are 10,612 new recoveries and 63 fatalities today. The number of fatalities is also on a downward trend from 100 plus.
3. Overall Situation
– 76 provinces reported cases today. The only province which reported zero cases is Nan province in the north of Thailand. The top ten provinces for the highest number of COVID-19 cases continue to be major cities, southern provinces, and industrial provinces. Bangkok still has the highest number of cases, followed by Yala, Nakorn Sri Thammarat, Songkhla, and Pattani.
– Thailand continues to follow the situation and policies of other countries to learn best practices. The CCSA meeting this morning noted that the UK is easing travel requirements for fully vaccinated travelers from low-risk countries from 24th October onwards. The meeting also noted that the US will accept vaccination cases whereby the first and second dose are from different vaccine manufacturers from 8th November.
4. Thailand Pass
– According to the “Ease of Travelling” policy, a “Thailand Pass” system will be adopted to replace the majority of the Certificate of Entry (COE) process after Thailand reopens to travelers from low-risk countries on 1st November.
– Thailand Pass will require travelers to fill in the T8 Form Health Questionnaire and the TM6 Immigration Form, as well as to upload a vaccine certificate. Travelers can then download the Thailand Pass QR Code immediately after receiving the approval. They will be asked to show this QR code along with a Covid-19 negative test result issued no more than 72 hours before departure. No other documents are required and there is no need to fill in another T8 and TM6 form after arriving in Thailand.
– The Thailand Pass system is expected to be launched on 1st November 2021 with some exceptions. COE will still be required for certain groups of travelers, such as those entering the Alternative Hospital Quarantine (AHQ), travelers entering through land borders, and travelers entering Thailand on yachts and cruise ships.
5. Increase in domestic flights following relaxation of measures
– The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has revised guidelines allowing airlines to operate more flights, but in compliance with the nighttime curfew from 23.00 – 03.00 hrs. Airlines are still required to implement in-flight Covid-19 prevention measures, such as mask-wearing. International travelers arriving from low-risk countries have to undergo a Covid-19 test upon arrival and to wait for their results at a Safety and Health Administration (SHA) Plus or ASQ hotel.
6. Preparations for the Country’s Reopening
– Aside from the four provinces that are currently under a sandbox scheme (Phuket, Surat Thani, Phangnga, and Krabi), 13 more provinces will be added to the list from 1st November.
– The CCSA is doing its utmost to draw up measures that will ensure the safety of both incoming travelers and locals.
– On the vaccination front, the plan for October is to inoculate at least 50 per cent of the population, including foreign nationals, in each province, and to inoculate at least 80 per cent of vulnerable groups, including the elderly, those with the seven underlying health conditions, and pregnant women.
– Public health authorities will hold talks with various transport agencies, and the Department of Disease Control (DDC) will hold a meeting with several agencies and business operators this week to work out the details and measures required for the country’s re-opening. The aim has always been to involve all stakeholders in the preparation process to ensure that the finalized set of measures are as comprehensive as possible for everyone’s safety.
7. Vaccine Donation from the Republic of Korea
– The Ambassador of the Republic of Korea handed over 470,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the Minister of Public Health to administer to people in Thailand regardless of nationality. The CCSA thanked the Republic of Korea and other countries which have assisted Thailand’s vaccination drive.
– Thailand will continue to promote international cooperation on vaccines and medical equipment, as we hope for all countries to rebound from COVID-19 and to jointly stimulate post COVID-19 economic recovery.
Full CCSA English briefing can be viewed here >>> https://fb.watch/8J30NHODSj/https://fb.watch/8J30NHODSj/
Source: CCSA, Ministry of Public Health, and Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
