Thailand has delayed plans for a ‘travel bubble’ agreement with selected countries as parts of Asia see a rise in daily new COVID-19 cases reported, according to a Reuters report.
Thailand first proposed the idea in June to allow movement between selected countries that had low infection numbers, without the need for travellers to undergo quarantine, but the idea has been shelved amid second and third waves in East Asian countries that previously had their outbreaks under control.
"We are delaying discussion of travel bubble arrangements for now, given the outbreak situation in other countries," Thailand's COVID-19 taskforce spokesman, Taweesin Wisanuyothin, told Reuters. "Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea were among those considered (for a travel bubble) because those areas had a low number of cases, but now they are in double-digits so discussions were put on hold.”
The island of Phuket has instead proposed receiving direct flights from those countries, with tourists and business executives doing two-week quarantines in their hotels before going out. "We are asking for travel, charter flights, into Phuket," Phuket Tourist Association president Bhummikitti Ruktaengam told Reuters.
