4,510 travellers arrived in 2 days of reopening, 6 with Covid-19

According to data released today, in the 2 days since Thailand’s grand reopening, 4,510 international travellers arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Of those arrivals, only 6 tested positive for Covid-19, less than 1% of arriving passengers, according to the Hazard Communication Director of the Department of Disease Control.

The top countries arriving in the first two days of the reopening were led by Japan with 725 travellers landing in Bangkok, followed by Singapore with 387, Qatar with 365, and Germany with 283. Interestingly, despite strong lockdown restrictions, China was the fifth most popular country of origin arriving into Bangkok so far this month, with 273 passengers landing.

For the Test & Go program that allows travellers from 63 countries to enter Thailand with essentially a one-night quarantine provided they are fully vaccinated, only 3 of the international arrivals tested positive for Covid-19, accounting for 0.07% of those travelling in the program.

There were also 3 Covid-19 infections identified for travellers in the “Happy Quarantine” program for unvaccinated travellers or those who aren’t from one of the 63 approved countries. Even for that group, the percentage of arrivals with Covid-19 amounts to 0.94%.

While the total number of arrivals in the reopening may not be monumental, the very low rate of Covid-19 infections brought into the country as part of the reopening might be the silver lining.

The reopening plan allows tourists to visit 17 provinces, all of which have achieved at least a 50% rate of residents having received at least one Covid-19 vaccine. The only exception is Nong Khai we’re only 47.3% have received their first injection.

Chiang Mai might be the most conflicted province in Thailand right now, as infections over the past few weeks have soared, and Tuesday’s figures show 322 new infections, the sixth-highest number of all Thailand’s 77 provinces.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post