Thai professor recommends delay of travel bubble for at least six months

The medical professor says screening of arrivals at their departure point of country cannot be fully trusted as there is a chance that some infections escape detection. - The Nation/ANN

BANGKOK (Xinhua): A Thai top medical professor on Tuesday (July 21) suggested that the government's proposed "travel bubble plan," should be shelved for at least another six months, because of the high-risk of Covid-19 infections and second wave spikes in many parts of the world, said Associate Professor Dr Thira Woratanarat of the Faculty of Medical Science of Chulalongkorn University.

The Travel Bubble Plan proposed by the Thai Government is considering to allow small groups of foreign tourists to visit Thailand.

"The global Covid-19 situation remains of serious concern, as new infections in several countries are still surging, with more than 200,000 new cases in the past 24 hours and total infections worldwide expected to pass 15 million by Wednesday," said Thira, expressing his concern.

The Chula medical professor warned against the opening up of Thailand, saying that not a single country has escaped a second wave of infections after allowing foreign arrivals, noting that the screening system is not 100 per cent accurate.

"Screening of arrivals at their departure point of country cannot be fully trusted, there is a chance that some infections escape detection," said Thira.

Of about 30,000 arrivals, he said 150 might be found to be infected, or 0.5 per cent. Out of these, 20 might escape detection, hence the need for quarantine.

Thira suggested that Thailand reduce its dependency on tourism, the country's main source of income, by shifting to other businesses until vaccines are widely available to fight the spread of Covid-19.