Key foreign investors could be exempt from quarantine

Key foreign investors might get to skip out on the 14 day quarantine required for travellers entering Thailand. Allowing high spending investors a free pass on the isolation period is aimed to help revive the economy after it was battered by the pandemic. The Centre for Economic Situation Administration, or CESA, is expected to discuss the proposal today.

Special measures would be in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but government spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri did not go into detail about what measures would be required for VIP investors instead of quarantine.

They bounced around the idea of assigning a health officer to stay with each investor during their stay, but Anucha says it won’t work because the investors need to conduct business dealings in private.

The quarantine exemption needs approval from the CESA and then an endorsement from the Cabinet. The spokesperson says PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is asking officials to speed up the process and draft health requirements for the investors.

While investors may get to skip out on quarantine, some travellers on the new Special Tourist Visa plan to spend their 2 weeks in isolation at luxury resorts. The Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn says the first groups of tourists from China and Scandinavian countries will arrive later this month after a 6 month ban on international tourists. The first group of tourists from China were set to arrive in Phuket tomorrow, but a Thai business journal reported the flight has been delayed.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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