BANGKOK, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Center for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Thursday rejected the initial "travel bubble" proposal, for fear that waiving 14 day quarantine for inbound travelers may lead to a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
"We cannot afford to take any chance on second wave of infections," said CCSA spokesman Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin, "there has not been a single new case domestically for 24 days, while those who have imported infections are being kept under state-controlled quarantine."
Drafters of the initial "travel bubble" scheme including Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, said that confining inbound tourists to a 14-day quarantine is a bad idea for fear visitors will lose their appetite for travel.
CCSA said it will reconsider the "travel bubble" scheme if related agencies come up with interesting measures, like offering visitors quarantine in hotels or villas as proposed by the Tourism Council.
However, the council has said that a public hearing is required before these measures can be applied.
Meanwhile, ambassadors of Japan and Switzerland are talking to the Thai government on how best to apply the concept of matching countries in the travel bubble, as it is based on each country's disease control and the economy.
Each country will sign a memorandum of understanding related to the travel bubble, and the pact will be terminated if an outbreak occurs in a partner country, said Anutin.
All suggestions will be proposed to the prime minister and the CCSA on June 26. Enditem
