BANGKOK, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Wednesday that travel bubbles for inbound tourists will not be coming anytime soon.
Anutin said that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has earlier expressed concerns of possible imported COVID-19 cases, especially from inbound travelers who can be infected but asymptomatic.
"Many countries have approached us for travel pairing, but Prime Minister Prayut said that Thailand must prioritize public health," said Anutin.
"COVID-19 in those countries who want to pair with Thailand, will be studied," said Anutin, adding "there must be thorough discussions, which may carry on to next month."
The deputy prime minister said that since tourism is key to the Thai economy, he will still propose the travel bubble plan to the prime minister next week.
"Pairing would apply to countries where COVID-19 is not spreading," said Anutin. "Travel bubbles would be initially for people attending international meetings and training sessions, engineers and technicians, and foreign teachers returning to work at international schools in Thailand. They would not be for foreign tourists," he said. Enditem
