A lot of changes await Thailand in the near future. From July 1, the government is to begin loosening the restrictions related to the pandemic. The first steps are mainly to concern the provinces in the south of the country, which live mainly from tourism. Koh Samui is hoping to also reopen to vaccinated foreign tourists on July 1. At this stage it’s a proposal that will need to be approved by the CESA and CCSA.
So far, 57,000 residents on the popular Gulf of Thailand island have been vaccinated, making up 50% of the population on Koh Samui, according to the president of the Koh Samui Tourism Promotion Association. The island off the coast of Surat Thani needs to reach herd immunity, about 70% of the population inoculated, to reopen under the so-called “Samui Sealed Route” travel scheme. They need to vaccinate another 36,000 people to ensure 70% of the population is inoculated to achieve herd immunity.
Under the “Samui Sealed Route,” similar to Phuket’s “sandbox” model, foreign tourists who are vaccinated against Covid-19 and test negative for the virus after landing in Thailand could visit certain destinations and beaches in Koh Samui for the first 7 days of their stay. After the first week, the tourists will need to test negative for Covid-19 again before they allowed to visit the neighbouring islands of Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao. The tourists will be allowed to travel to other provinces in Thailand after 14 days.
Health officials in Koh Samui have been actively administering Covid-19 vaccines. Many expats on the island who work as English teachers say they’ve been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Some say the school staff help with the registration process.
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