Wearing a mask is no longer mandatory from Friday in Thailand where COVID-19 infections continue to decline as authorities seek to revive the country’s vital tourism sector.
Imposed since mid-2021, the wearing of the mask will now be done “on a voluntary basis”, declared Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha in the Royal Gazette, the Official Thai Gazette.
Authorities recommend continuing to put one in crowded or poorly ventilated areas.
The private operator that runs the Bangkok Metro said it remained mandatory on the network.
This decision is on the whole well accepted by the population.
“I think it’s a good step. There are fewer people infected and the mortality rate is quite low,” Nataporn Boonthawatchai, a 38-year-old teacher, told AFP.
The population will finally “be able to resume a normal life”, adds Supanya Pajaree, a thirty-year-old who also lives in Bangkok.
The “Thai pass”, health and travel documents required for foreign visitors wishing to visit the country, will end from July 1.
Travelers will still need to show their vaccination certificate or take a COVID test upon arrival.
The tourism sector, essential to Thailand’s economy and ravaged during the kingdom’s months of lockdown, is slowly restarting.
Some 1.6 million foreign tourist arrivals were recorded in the first six months of 2022.
In 2019, Thailand welcomed nearly 40 million visitors, including 11 million Chinese, a record. This market is still almost at zero, due to restrictions on leaving China.
Some 2,500 cases and less than 50 deaths are recorded daily in the kingdom.
More than three quarters of the population received two doses of vaccine, more than 40% having made a third booster.