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The situation is not unrelated to other travel-dependent countries that face the unfeasible task of rescuing the tourism industry, devastated by an eighteen-month pandemic, while ensuring that the flow of foreign travelers does not cause the spread of the virus.
This is what has happened in the Maldives and Seychelles, tropical island paradises where, with the opening of the borders, the contagion rate jumped to record highs, even if it is 70 percent. the populations were vaccinated. In Thailand, the situation is different: with current vaccination rates, it would take the country almost a year to reach that level.
Before the pandemic, tourism contributed about 20 percent. to Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP), twice the world average. The stumbling block caused by the pandemic has affected more than seven million workers in the industry, from street food vendors to taxi drivers and hotel room cleaners to tour guides. One of the main sources of foreign exchange has been depleted during this time.
As a result, by opening the borders, the government takes a “deliberate risk.”
Thailand “cannot wait for everyone to be fully vaccinated or for the world to be free of the virus,” Prayuth Chan-Ocha, the country’s prime minister, said in June, announcing an opening date scheduled for October 14. While the spread of infections may increase, the “economic needs of the people” must be taken into account, the prime minister said.
“We cannot close borders, especially in Asia, with a population of this size,” said Bill Barnett, CEO of the hotel industry consultancy C9 Hotelworks Ltd. – These economies are natural, they will not survive if this situation persists. In the end, people will be forced to eat only rice. “
In preparation for a wider opening, vaccinated tourists were allowed to travel to the resort island of Phuket in July without needing to isolate themselves. July 15 More than 5,400 people arrived, ten of whom tested positive for coronavirus.
Prayuth Chan-Ocha herself had to be isolated at home a week after contact with a man who later tested positive for coronavirus; the man was infected during the events to mark the opening of Phuket.
On Thursday, the Prime Minister took part in an event broadcast on a virtual space to mark the opening of another tourist island, Samui, where visitors are subject to only a three-day quarantine.
Thailand reported an average of 7,600 new infections per day last week, more than the total number of cases recorded throughout 2020. The surge in COVID patients, driven by a highly contagious delta strain, quickly caused hospitals to be Overcrowded, and the death toll jumped to new record highs every week starting June 27.
The country’s central bank hinted that it could revise 2021. A GDP growth forecast in the event of an outbreak of the outbreak; The largest private sector group recently lowered its growth forecast to just 0-1.5 percent.
Other states, despite repeated outbreaks of the virus, are also welcoming returning travelers, hoping to support unstable economies.
Sri Lanka last week liberalized entry requirements to revive the tourism industry, which contributed nearly 5 percent to GDP before the pandemic. The government hopes to increase its foreign exchange reserves, as it needs to repay more than $ 2.5 billion over the next twelve months. Debt in US dollars. The island state will allow most vaccinated tourists to isolate themselves in just one day until the COVID-19 test result is known.
They will then be able to move between hotels within the limits of the travel bubble and travel to places of interest that they are allowed to visit.
Those infected are returned by train to their places of origin.
Thai citizens infected with COVID-19 who visit Bangkok’s health facilities are returned by train to their places of origin. The goal is to ease the burden on the health system of the country’s capital.
Thailand is trying to control the largest COVID-19 outbreak since the pandemic began. As a result of the increase in infections, Bangkok hospitals are becoming overcrowded and the need for beds far exceeds the capacity of the facilities, reports CNN.
A train with 135 workers arriving with mild or no COVID-19 symptoms left Bangkok for the country’s northeastern provinces on Tuesday. Thailand’s Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul reported this on his Facebook account.
By train, patients were transported to seven provinces where they were greeted by teams of doctors and nurses who had to attend to isolation requirements and provide treatment services.
“The spread of COVID-19 should not be feared as an efficient system exists from the beginning to transport people from rented accommodation to their homeland,” said Anutin Charnvirakul. “You can be sure it is a ‘narrow’ route.”
On Wednesday, 16,533 cases of COVID-19 infection were recorded in a Southeast Asian country. Thailand’s CCSA COVID-19 Task Force notes that these new infections are being recorded for the first time in a day. Another 133 deaths from coronavirus are also reported.
According to the CCSA, a total of 543,361 people were infected with COVID-19 in the country, resulting in 4,397 deaths.
Last week, widespread outrage was caused by the bodies of several dead people who were left lying on the street and lying down for several hours before being transported by ambulance. Major General Piya Tawichai, deputy chief of the city’s police office, was asked to comment on the incident, saying that at least two of the four dead found were sick with COVID-19.
“The delay in the transportation of the bodies was due to the probable cases of COVID-19, the rescue team had to take additional actions. I have to admit that they really didn’t lack work, “explained Piya Tawichai.
Chonlada U-taras, the niece of one of the dead, confessed to losing her mouth when she saw the body image in the media, writes CNN.
“How could Thailand get to that level? She expressed her frustration. – I was overwhelmed because that was how they treated my family member. Seeing the dead lying in the street is horrible. No family should experience that. “
Faced with the proliferation of new strains, including the delta strain identified in India in particular, authorities are doing everything possible to reduce the burden on the healthcare system.
In the Thai capital, which is experiencing the largest outbreak of new cases, 15 passenger train cars will be converted into suitable facilities to isolate those infected with COVID-19 and wait in bed in hospital, said the governor of Bangkok, Aswin Kwanmuang.
The converted train cars are planned to be equipped with 240 beds. These cars are expected to be delivered on Friday.
“The inside of the wagons needs to be replaced a bit, the windows are covered with mosquito nets, you have to install water and electricity supply systems. The toilets are located outside the wagons, ”Aswin Kwanmuang said on a Facebook account.
Long term damage
Health experts warn that the opening up of the tourism sector, with the spread of a much more contagious delta variety and insufficient testing and vaccination rates, could cause even greater economic damage in the long term, no matter where in the country.
“If the outbreak continues, the socioeconomic impact will be the greatest ever experienced by the population,” said Thira Woratanarat, associate professor at the Chulalongkorn University School of Medicine in Bangkok. “The problem is that most people will not be able to overcome difficulties because resources are already running out.”
Other popular tourist areas that have opened their borders are also struggling with outbreaks of COVID-19 cases and forced to tighten entry requirements. The British Virgin Islands, which began admitting tourists in December last year, reported this week that as the number of infections increases, all travelers arriving on the islands will be required to test and isolate until a negative result is obtained. .
Greece, which, like Thailand, derived around a fifth of the country’s GDP from tourism before the COVID-19 pandemic, lifted most of its restrictions ahead of the peak of the summer travel season in Europe.
The move has been criticized by leaders like German Chancellor Angela Merkel simply because the country accepts travelers vaccinated with Chinese and Russian vaccines that are not approved by the EU.
Since the end of June, when delta strains have re-emerged, some restrictions have been tightened, such as prohibiting unvaccinated people from visiting bars, cinemas and theaters, including the popular Greek islands.
In Thailand, a hasty opening could ignite another wave of the virus, said Thira Woratanarat of Chulalongkorn University.
“If the outbreak continues and budgets and resources run out, Thailand may be forced to ease all restrictions, and then the scale of infections will start to grow,” he said. “It is the worst case.”
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