Huge news coming from Thailand today as the weekly government meeting on the covid situation has decided that the dreaded Thailand Pass will be discontinued for foreign arrivals as of July 1, 2022.
The government has also withdrawn the requirement to purchase travel insurance as well as eliminated the mask mandate for outdoor activities plus entertainment venues can be open until 2am.
It was a long time in the making, expected by many, and is of course subject to sudden change as everything in this fluid covid situation but it’s definitely a good start.
Thailand has kept its mask mandates in place for over two years at this point and it’s definitely time for all this to stop as far as outdoor activities such as walking on the streets or parks are concerned. According to the press conference that just ended masks will also be scrapped at “well ventilated areas”.
As far as the entry into Thailand is concerned, the Thailand Pass will be no longer required for Foreigners from July 1, 2022, after it has already been discontinued for Thai nationals effective this month.
Travelers will still be required to show their vaccination certificates or test results as the official rules under which they’re allowed to travel to the Kingdom (vaccinated/unvaccinated+tested) will not change.
None of this is valid law until published in the public register (Royal Gazette). At that point, we should also know how the documents will be checked and if there are any other things to consider when traveling.
According to the Bangkok Post from yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said yesterday that the ministry will ask the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) to redesignate all 77 provinces as surveillance areas or green zones.
In such zones, night entertainment outlets can reopen and there are no restrictions on gatherings or the use of school buildings and sports facilities.
Regarding a proposal to extend the opening hours of entertainment places beyond midnight, he said the CCSA would consider the matter.
It has now been decided that entertainment places will be able to open until 2am again.
Conclusion
Thailand has now effectively removed the Thailand Pass system as of July 1st 2022 and that includes foreigners who travel to the Kingdom. They also eliminated the requirement to carry Covid-specific health insurance in order to travel. Personally, I think that’s a bad idea. Travel health insurance should be a minimum requirement for the traveler’s own sake.
Doing away with the outdoor mask mandate is huge and long overdue. We’ve been dealing with this for over two years now and it’s time to get rid of this nonsense. Many have already been ignoring this while visiting parks and exercising there. Both locals and visitors will also enjoy being able to have a drink and visit entertainment venues beyond midnight with the new closing hours being 2am.
