Thailand Ministry of Health reports 21,931 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 129 deaths since yesterday. The ministry also announced an additional 24,619 patients recovered from the COVID-19 virus.
The fatalities recorded yesterday equaled the peak record of the omicron wave at 129 fatalities. The cases are expected to rise after the Songkran Holidays due to the massive movement of people heading back to their provinces. The government has prepared for the expected cases with an estimate of 50,000 a day. Hospital beds are prepared as well as medicines for those who will be recommended to self-isolate.
Many local governments were preparing for this scenario as there were reported incidents of violations regarding the recommended COVID measures. Among them were water splashing events that happened without proper event permits.
Many relaxations of measures highly depend on the management of the Songkran holidays. Among the possible relaxation is the removal of the Test and Go package and the Thailand pass. They will be replaced by COVID vaccination passports. However, if the cases surge above the estimated number, there is a high chance that these measures remain in place.
A proposal was sent by the Tourism Authority of Thailand requesting the Test and Go package to be removed like other countries. This would help revive the ailing tourism industry of the country. The current Test and Go package prove to be cumbersome for many tourists. The price of the package is too high for some who decided to put off their summer vacations.
TAT estimates that removing these measures could generate up to 11 million tourists to arrive in the country before the end of the year.