Hopes of mid-2021 Thailand getaways dim under renewed restrictions

Rows of beds for incoming Covid-19 coronavirus patients are seen at a new field hospital in a sports stadium on the outskirts of Bangkok on April 18, 2021. - AFP

Thailand, with its 70 million inhabitants, has so far come through the pandemic relatively unscathed, reporting a total of more than 42,000 infections and 101 deaths in connection with Covid-19.

As a result, many fans of the country and people working in Thailand's tourism industry have been hoping vaccinated travellers would soon be returning to the country.