Thailand once shut out Covid-19. Now it is pivoting to the new reality of living with it.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha pledged this week to fully reopen the nation in the next 120 days, or by mid-October, allowing most restrictions on business and tourism to be lifted. Foreign visitors would have to be vaccinated but could enter and travel freely.
In mid-December, Thailand had recorded a total of fewer than 5,000 cases. Since then, the number has surpassed 200,000. For over a month, daily cases have regularly been in the thousands. Cumulative deaths rose from 63 at the start of 2021 to more than 1,550 now. The government will pilot a plan to reopen the tourist island of Phuket on July 1, allowing fully vaccinated foreigners from low-risk countries to visit without quarantine.
But production got off to a slow start. An AstraZeneca spokesman said this month that adjustments were made to its estimated supply schedule because of quality-control tests and assessments of the site. An initial delivery of 1.8 million doses was made to Thai authorities, but exports to countries including Malaysia were delayed by several weeks.
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