Coronavirus: Thailand to allow 7-day quarantine for vaccinated foreigners; India’s vaccine stocks run low

Tourists to Thailand will need to upload copies of their vaccination certificates to the foreign ministry’s website before arrival

Meanwhile, India’s drive to vaccinate its 1.3 billion people also looks to be hitting problems, with just 94 million shots administered so far

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A Thai Buddhist monk receives a shot of Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca in Bangkok on Friday. Photo: EPA

Published: 12:17pm, 10 Apr 2021Updated: 5:18pm, 10 Apr 2021

Thailand has approved a list of eight Covid-19 vaccine makers, including Sinovac Biotech and Pfizer, for foreign visitors seeking to shorten a mandatory quarantine on arrival.

Visitors to Thailand will need to upload copies of the vaccination certificates on the website of the nation’s foreign ministry before arrival to reduce the quarantine period to seven days. Those without vaccinations will still need to undergo 10 days of isolation and visitors from countries including South Africa will be subject to a two-week quarantine.

The list of approved vaccine makers are Sinovac, AstraZeneca, SK Bioscience, Pfizer-BioNTech, the Serum Institute of India, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Sinopharm.

Thailand is betting on a return of foreign visitors to rescue its economy from its worst performance in more than two decades. The nation, famous for its palm-fringed beaches, temples and backpacker culture, shortened the quarantine this month after the requirement was seen as the biggest hurdle to potential travellers. Phuket, a resort island, is also working to completely waive the quarantine from July for vaccinated tourists.

Foreign visitors will still need to present a certificate of entry, a valid visa, health insurance, and Covid-19 test results along with their vaccine certificate, according to the Foreign Ministry rules. Those seeking shorter quarantine should have taken their shots no less than 14 days before the date of travel.

The pandemic has devastated Thailand’s tourism industry, which provided more than US$60 billion in revenue from about 40 million foreign visitors in 2019. While Thailand has been largely successful in containing the outbreak, a fresh wave of infections tied to entertainment venues in Bangkok has prompted authorities to order the closure of pubs and bars in the affected areas.

India battles exploding infection numbers

India’s coronavirus epicentre Maharashtra went into a statewide weekend lockdown on Saturday as the country battled exploding infection numbers and shortages of vaccines, drugs and hospital beds.

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