The government’s COVID-19 center also said Friday that an
outdoor mask mandate would be dropped as of July 1 except in crowded venues.
The mask mandate was not controversial in Thailand and generally obeyed.
Thailand began gradually easing entry requirements late last
year. But through April, it still required even fully vaccinated travelers to
undergo RT-PCR tests upon arrival and stay in a government-approved hotel for
one night until the results were known.
Registering for the “Thailand Pass” required online copies
of vaccination documents, insurance policies and other documents to be
submitted, after which visitors would receive a QR code for use during travel.
The requirement had already been dropped for Thais and will be dropped for
foreign visitors on July 1.
The registration process — beset at times by delays and
glitches — was seen as discouraging tourists to Thailand, where the lucrative
tourism sector was battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
Arriving foreigners must still show proof they have been
vaccinated or provide negative COVID-19 test results, the Center for COVID-19
Situation Administration announced. But a requirement to hold an insurance
policy has been dropped.
Many countries in Southeast Asia count on tourism as an
important source of revenue, and in the past few months have eased their entry
requirements.
Thai health officials said Friday 1,967 new cases and 19
deaths related to COVID-19 were confirmed in the previous 24 hours. The country
has had more than 4.4 million cases and 30,422 fatalities since the pandemic
began.