The Ministry of Public Health will propose that the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) further ease COVID-19 restrictions, by doing away with the requirement for arrivals from overseas to take an RT-PCR test 72 hours before departure.
It will also ask the CCSA to cut the required miminum insurance coverage, from US$20,000 to US$10,000, according to Public Health Permanent Secretary Dr. Kiattibhoom Vongrachit.
He explained that the proposed substantial cut in insurance coverage is due to the Omicron variant being less potent and the treatment costs have dropped substantially.
He said that the ministry will not, however, ask the CCSA, at its meeting tomorrow (Friday), to ease face mask requirements in public parks, as earlier reported, noting that this is just part of the relaxation plan as we head into the post-pandemic period over the next four months, provided that there is no outbreak of a new and serious strain of coronavirus in the meantime.
Even if Thailand enters the post-pandemic period, he said that self-protection is still necessary to prevent infection clusters, but restrictions can be further relaxed, such as in public parks, which should be the first public venues in which face mask requirements are relaxed, and that limitations on public gatherings in the parks should also be eased.
Regarding foreign arrivals under the “Test and Go” program, Dr. Kiattibhoom said that passengers will still be required to undergo an RT-PCR test upon arrival and a self-administered rapid antigen test on the fifth day of their stay in the country.
