The government's plan to reopen the country before the end of the year is seemingly still on track as Thailand's Covid-19 outbreak is showing signs of slowing down.
It will soon be considered by the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA).
The National Communicable Disease Committee (NCDC) will ask the CCSA to consider reopening some areas of the country, in line with the pledge made in June by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to do so in 120 days.
One of the issues involves preparing for a safe reopening of the country under disease control measures known as "Smart Control and Living with Covid-19", which aim to contain the pandemic so new cases will not overwhelm the public health system, Opas Karnkawinpong of the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said.
"We will now have to learn to live with Covid-19 with the knowledge that [Covid-19] will be an endemic disease," Dr Opas said.
This involves vaccinating at-risk groups, such as the elderly and those with underlying health problems; developing new vaccines and taking precautions at all times, Dr Opas said.
The committee also agreed with the planned bubble-and-seal approach for factories.
If more than 10% of workers are found to have Covid-19, they will be isolated at field hospitals, while the rest of the employees will be allowed to continue to work, Dr Opas said.
After 28 days, they will be tested for immunity. If they pass the test, they will be allowed to return to work and go back home. As a result, the factories will not be closed, workers will get their pay and the economy will move on, Dr Opas said.
Dr Opas added that current lockdown measures will expire on Aug 31 and the government will make an assessment of whether to reopen then.
"It is hoped that from September until the end of this year, and next year, we will allow activities to restart and people to resume their normal lives," he said. "It has been agreed that the outbreak situation has reached its peak and will slow down."
