Thailand on October 1 officially lifted the state of emergency imposed in March 2020 to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

A COVID-19 vaccination site in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)

With the emergency removal, all COVID-19 restrictions have also been scrapped or become optional.

From October 1, visitors to Thailand will not have to show a negative test result for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Face mask wearing, temperature check, or hand disinfection are no longer mandatory when people go outside or to public places.

According to a government decision issued on September 23, Thailand also downgraded COVID-19 from a “dangerous communicable disease” to a “communicable disease under surveillance” from October 1 and will maintain the status through September 2023.

As a result, the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration was also automatically dissolved.

Thai officials said the health ministry downgraded the COVID-19 status since the pandemic situation in the country is now stable and existing virus variants are under control.

However, they said, it will be difficult to predict the number of patients in the future or whether there are more outbreaks. Therefore, organisations of the ministry will keep monitoring the situation.

Severe COVID-19 cases will continue to receive free treatment, and vaccination will still go ahead, they added.

Source: VNA