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Thailand relaxes mask rule to bolster pandemic-hit tourism

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" Tourists walk at a shopping district in Bangkok, Thailand, May 25, 2022. The Thai government eyes declaring the COVID-19 pandemic an endemic disease by July 2022. Rungroj Yongrit, EPA-EFE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/06/24/shopping-district-bangkokthailand-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>Tourists walk at a shopping district in Bangkok, Thailand, May 25, 2022. The Thai government eyes declaring the COVID-19 pandemic an endemic disease by July 2022. <em>Rungroj Yongrit, EPA-EFE</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>BANGKOK — Thailand has dropped rules requiring people to wear masks from Friday, the government says, as COVID-19 cases fall and the tourism-dependent kingdom seeks to lure back foreign visitors.</p><p>Face masks had been compulsory in public since mid-2021, when the country saw a wave of cases driven by the spread of the Delta variant. </p><p>But the kingdom is keen to kickstart its stuttering economy and is relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, including discarding most entry requirements from next month.</p><p>&quot;Wearing a surgical mask or cloth mask is a voluntary practice,&quot; said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha in a royal gazette announcement issued late Thursday.</p><p>The health ministry recommends people continue to wear face masks in crowded or poorly ventilated areas, the statement added, but there was no explicit mention of public transport.</p><p>The capital Bangkok&#x27;s privately-owned metro service later announced, however, that it would still require travelers using its trains to wear masks.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/06/17/22/thailand-to-drop-mask-rule-foreign-tourist-registration">Thailand to drop mask rule, foreign tourist registration</a></li></ul><p>The Thai government&#x27;s move comes after Singapore and Cambodia also discarded rules requiring outdoor mask wearing.</p><p>It also comes ahead of the end of the &quot;Thailand Pass&quot; system, which required visitors to register and show proof of vaccination before entering the kingdom.</p><p>From July 1, tourists will only have to carry their vaccine certificates or take a COVID-19 test on arrival.</p><p>Thailand&#x27;s economy has faltered in the last 2 years, with growth hammered by the bitter combination of rising living costs and COVID-19.</p><p>The kingdom has endured a precipitous drop in tourism, welcoming 1.6 million foreign tourists during the first 6 months of 2022, according to government data.</p><p>In the first 6 months of 2019, that figure was just under 20 million, the data showed. </p><p>COVID-19 cases and related deaths have now come down from a peak, with the kingdom registering around 2,500 daily infections and fewer than 50 deaths a day for more than a month.</p><p>At least three-quarters of the population are double-vaccinated, with around 40 percent also having received a booster shot.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/04/22/22/thailand-drops-on-arrival-covid-test-for-vaccinated-visitors">Thailand drops on-arrival COVID test for vaccinated visitors</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2081249" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Thailand has dropped rules requiring people to wear masks as COVID cases fall and the tourism-dependent kingdom seeks to lure back foreign visitors.