No travel restrictions over Songkran this year

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From Thai PBS World

No travel restrictions will be imposed when the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) meets next week to discuss measures to be introduced during the annual Songkran festival in mid-April, said National Security Council Secretary-General Gen. Supot Malaniyom today (Thursday). 

In his capacity as chair of the CCSA operations centre, General Supot said it is expected that the ongoing surge in COVID-19 infections will level out during March and that, during the Songkran festival, people will be able to celebrate the traditional Thai New Year’s Day in a way as close to normal as possible.

He said, however, that it is not possible for the celebration to be totally normal, noting that social gatherings, parties and other high-risk activities will still be prohibited, but inter-provincial travel will not.

The NSC chief also said that the CCSA operations centre will develop a contingency plan, in case daily COVID-19 infections reach about 100,000 cases, in which case more health facilities will be needed, besides field hospitals, to accommodate patients. Thailand’s daily COVID-19 infection number has been on the rise and reached a record 23,557 cases today. 

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From The Thaiger

Health ministry wants to declare Covid-19 endemic within 4 months

Thailand’s health ministry wants to declare Covid 19 as endemic in the next 4 months, according to a Bangkok Post report. Senior ministry official Kiattiphum Wongrajit says the Omicron variant has resulted in a much lower fatality rate than in previous waves and while lung infections are increasing, cases of severe illness are still lower than earlier waves of the coronavirus.

Health officials say deaths are also 10 times lower and could be lowered further if 60% – 70% of the elderly population get their booster vaccine dose.

The health ministry says it plans to hold a press conference to confirm the plan for transitioning the country out of pandemic status and on to managing an endemic illness. At the start of this year, the ministry confirmed its intention to declare Covid-19 endemic this year.

Kiattiphum says that as part of the move, the duration of Covid treatment will be adjusted and the quarantine period for high-risk contacts will be reduced. At this stage, officials say a return to lockdowns is extremely unlikely, even with the current surge in cases.