Thailand will open border to a selected number of countries, including Vietnam (Photo: Asia Travel Blog)

“The initial list may include mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and some countries in the Middle East”, Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, the spokesperson of Thailand COVID-19 center told Bloomberg.

The Thai government plans to create a travel bubble with certain countries once it reopens its borders. Under these treaties, travelers may need to be tested for nCoV upon arrivals at airports, but will not have to stand the 14-day quarantine, according to Witsanuyotin.

The initial travel bubbles may be granted to only travelers on business trips or seeking medical services, and their entry areas may be restricted.

The Thai economy is largely dependent on tourism and trade. Both areas are vulnerable to pandemics. While the Thai government has provided a stimulus package worth about 15 percent of GDP to support the economy, the National Planning Agency still projects a recession of up to 6 percent this year. 

Thailand is planning to lift most of the remaining social distancing and border closure orders to revamp its economy after no coronavirus transmission reported in the country for more than two weeks. 

Many businesses and some schools may reopen on June 15, Taweesilp said during a brief meeting in Bangkok. The country began to relax restrictions at the beginning of May. The state of emergency is still in force until the end of June and most incoming international flights are prohibited.

As of June 21, Thailand’s cumulative cases stay at 3.147. 58 deaths have been reported.