Thailand’s COVID-19 Resurgence

Thailand is currently facing its third and most severe wave of COVID-19. Cases have spread to more than 70 provinces of the country. As a result of the spike in cases, Thailand announced in May a two-month extension of its nationwide State of Emergency, which has been in place since March 2020. Despite the spike in cases, Thailand is planning to reopen its popular tourist destination Phuket to vaccinated tourists (not from high-risk countries) from 1 July. The “Phuket Sandbox” programme is dependent on the island’s vaccination rate to hit at least 70 per cent. It currently stands at 60 per cent, which is far higher than the national vaccination rate of 5 per cent.