Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Covid-19 travel pass to pilot on Etihad and Emirates Airways flights

A travel pass for passengers inoculated against Covid-19 or who have tested negative will be piloted on flights for Dubai’s Emirates and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways. With the travel pass issued by the International Air Transport Association, passengers can keep control of their data and share their test results with airlines and authorities for travel.
The travel pass will be offered on selected flights from Abu Dhabi in the first quarter, and will expand the pass to other destinations of the trail is successful. Emirates is going to implement phase 1 of the travel pass in April for flights departing from Dubai.
Recently, the IATA travel pass programme has been also tested in International Airlines Group and Singapore Airlines.
SOURCE: Reuters
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Quarantine for vaccinated travellers to be reduced to 7 days

The mandatory quarantine period for those who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus will be reduced from 14 days to 7 days, Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirankul said in a press conference. Those who have not been vaccinated, but have a medical certificate declaring that they are Covid-free, will be required to quarantine to 10 days, Anutin said, according to Reuters.
The health minister says vaccinations must be administered within 3 months of travelling to Thailand. Travellers must still show negative Covid-19 test results issued within 72 hours of their departure to Thailand. Those travelling from Africa must still quarantine for 14 days due to concerns about new variants of the coronavirus.
SOURCE: Reuters
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Coronavirus (Covid-19)
CCSA Update: 71 new Covid-19 cases

71 new Covid-19 cases were reported today in the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration’s daily briefing. There are currently 579 active cases. Since the start of the pandemic last year, the CCSA has reported a total of 26,441 coronavirus cases in Thailand and 85 deaths.
“The numbers are getting better,” according to deputy spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Natapanu Nopakun, who gives the CCSA report in English. The daily active case count has remained between 500 to 600 cases for the past week, a much lower average than last month when mass testing campaigns were actively rolled out in high risk areas to help trace and contain the virus.
Out of the 71 cases, 41 were detected in hospitals, primarily in Samut Sakhon. 7 cases were detected in active case finding, including 6 in Samut Sakhon and 1 in Pathum Thani. The other 23 cases were detected in quarantine for those travelling to Thailand from overseas.
Recently, 2 beauty pageant contestants tested positive for Covid-19 while in quarantine after arriving in Thailand from overseas. Women from 63 countries travelled to Thailand to participate in a beauty pageant scheduled for later this month. Natapanu praised the health care workers for their effectiveness at detecting the virus at an early stage.
Over the weekend, the CCSA reported 65 new cases yesterday and 64 new cases on Saturday.

Daily active Covid-19 cases in Thailand as of 7 March 2021, according to Worldometers.
SOURCE: CCSA
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Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai hotels slash prices amid ongoing slump in tourism

Hotels in the northern province of Chiang Mai have been forced to cut their rates by up to 90%, in a desperate bid to attract more domestic tourists. According to a Bangkok Post report, La-Iad Bungsrithong, from the northern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, says with tourists mainly favouring the southern beach destinations this month, hotel operators in the north of the country are preparing for the forthcoming low season.
The resurgence of Covid-19 late last year meant that in December, only 1,000 Chiang Mai hotels, offering between 20,000 and 30,000 rooms, stayed open. This month, occupancy rates have plummeted to less than 3% and are not expected to rise beyond 5% during the Songkran holiday next month.
La-Iad says traditional target markets such as China are currently off-limits due to the Chinese government placing restrictions on citizens travelling out of the country.
“Even though vaccine distribution has started globally, the target markets for Chiang Mai such as China still cannot take outbound trips. Operators have to rely on the domestic market for the whole year.”
She adds that the Rati Lanna Riverside Spa Resort, of which she is general manager, has cut room rates to 1,500 baht a night, compared to the normal rate of 13,000 baht prior to the pandemic.
Hotels are also being forced to explore new ways of making money, with around 30 hotels – all 4 and 5 star properties – now offering a “drive-thru” food service. La-Iad says hotel operators are also calling on the Chiang Mai office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand to provide visitors to the province with a 500 baht coupon to be redeemed in hotel eateries. She says the authority also needs to do more to promote inter-provincial travel, in particular from the south and north-east of the country.
In 2019, Chiang Mai welcomed 11 million tourists, with 70% of them being Thai. By contrast, there were only 1 million in 2020. This year’s number is expected to be around 25% of the 2019 figure.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Rasputin
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 6:57 pm
It all sounds very positive, BUT, Just to be absolutely clear, # Is this a pass for passengers to travel to Thailand?, # Are there any further restrictions ie nationality, vaccine type, 1/2 shots, insurance etc? # And finally, are there other hoops that need to be jumped through? (before I start getting excited)
Stephen Westrip
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Rasputin, reading the IATA website this is an international pass. It is up to airlines and countries to decide if and how they want to use it and what other entry rules they require.
Rasputin
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 8:29 pm
I thought it sounded a bit too good to be true LOL, I hadn’t read the IATA website.
Rasputin
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 7:15 pm
Forgot to include the quarantine. It should have read, # Is this a pass for passengers to travel to Thailand WITHOUT QUARANTINE?
Ben
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 8:24 pm
If in the future it’s determined that those vaccinated are not infectious then they’ll relent on the quarantine. This is what we all hope for and what all countries that want to open up their tourism hope for. If those vaccinated are still infectious then Thailand will open up without quarantine when most of their population is vaccinated.
Regardless, I believe only vaccinated tourists will be allowed to enter the kingdom. Those vaccinated will considerably lower their chances of becoming seriously ill from COVID sticking Thailand with the bill. They’ll probably still require travel insurance for any calamity that befalls any traveler.
In the meantime it has to be worked out what kind of proof of vaccination will be required. Hopefully that’s sorted out before they open up the country.
Wayno
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 9:42 pm
Great step forward. This will become the norm i’m sure.
It will possibly lead to the unvaxed facing quarantine everytime they cross a border.
Time will tell
Andre
Saturday, January 23, 2021 at 2:51 am
A step forward? I think it is more a step back to about 1984. Maybe we should also ban old people over 50 from any international flights in general – old fragile people should not be moving around.
Issan John
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 10:22 pm
The original report, from Bloomberg News, that “the travel pass will be offered on selected flights from Abu Dhabi in the first quarter, and will expand the pass to other destinations of the trail is successful …” is VERY misleading, at best.
NO “destinations” have so far accepted the IATA pass. NONE.
All it has been accepted for so far is for “selected flights FROM Abu Dhabi”, to allow you to get on the plane without showing other proof of a recent negative Covid test. NOTHING ELSE.