Thailand’s Centre of COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) has been assigned by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to discuss with businesses how a New Year countdown event can be held in a way which will not lead to a COVID-19 resurgence.

The prime minster told the media that he is pleased with the slowdown in new infections over the past several weeks which, he said, is a healthy sign and that the government is preparing to ease lockdown restrictions further, citing the New Year countdown event as one example.

He said that he has told the CCSA to try to conclude talks with the private sector about the New Year event within a week and that it must be held outdoors with measures taken to prevent a new round of infections.

Although the Omicron variant has not been detected in Thailand yet, the prime minister said that he has instructed officials to try to track down the remaining travellers from eight African countries already in Thailand for RT-PCR tests, to make sure they are free from the Omicron variant.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service