Bangkok reopening 'must be safe'

Nurses comfort a Satriwithaya School student as she and other students receive a dose of Sinopharm vaccine provided by the Chulabhorn Royal Academy at the National Telecom head office on Monday. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)
Nurses comfort a Satriwithaya School student as she and other students receive a dose of Sinopharm vaccine provided by the Chulabhorn Royal Academy at the National Telecom head office on Monday. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

Welcoming tourists back to Bangkok depends on three factors, including that 70% of its population are fully vaccinated, which could push the reopening near mid-November.

Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang said on Monday Bangkok wanted to restart its tourism business but for the health safety of its residents, the City Hall has decided any reopening will only go ahead after it has satisfied three criteria.

One criterion is that 70% of the city's population must have received two doses of vaccines. This is expected around Oct 22 and some 7-14 days after that is when people would have immunity.

The tentative timeframe could see Bangkok's tourism industry resuming sometime in the first or second week of November.

The second factor for reopening to proceed is if daily cases continue to drop and there are fewer Covid-19 patients in hospitals. In recent days, between 2,700-2,800 daily infections have been reported.

The final criterion is that there are fewer people with Covid-19 in hospitals, he said.

At present, just 42% of Bangkok's 7 million residents have been double-jabbed.

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Vocabulary

  • criteria (noun): (singular "criterion") a set of standards that is used for judging something or for making a decision about something - บรรทัดฐาน
  • criterion (noun): a standard or principle by which something is judged, or with the help of which a decision is made - เกณฑ์, บรรทัดฐาน
  • dose: an amount of drug that has been measured so that you can take it - ปริมาณยาที่ให้ต่อครั้ง
  • immunity: protected from a disease naturally by the body - ภูมิคุ้มกันโรค, ภูมิต้านทานโรค
  • jab: a vaccination - การฉีดวัคซีน
  • tentative: not definite, or not certain - ที่ยังไม่แน่นอน
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