The governor of Bangkok has expressed confidence that the city’s public schools are now ready for reopening next week. Meanwhile, health authorities anticipate a new spike of COVID-19 cases after the country’s reopening, but with a lower fatality rate as more and more people are vaccinated.
Governor of Bangkok Pol Gen Aswin Kwanmuang said he was confident public schools run by the city are ready for reopening on 1 November, with the vaccination uptake among students and school personnel now standing at around 80%.
The governor said more parents who were reluctant to get their children vaccinated are now changing their minds.
Bangkok is among 17 provinces set to reopen to international tourists from 1 November. The governor said the city is waiting for the final policies and guidelines on this matter from the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration.
He said the city has already rehearsed its response plans for new cases among travelers, from the formalities required upon visitors’ arrivals to the safety measures at tourist attractions.
The Department of Disease Control’s (DDC) director for emergency health hazards and diseases Dr. Chawetsan Namwat said the 17 provinces accepting international tourists already have 77.7% of their population vaccinated, at least with the first dose.
Despite the possibility of surging case numbers, Dr. Chawetsan said the number of deaths would be lower than in previous waves because more people are now vaccinated, adding that the severity tends to lessen over the course of the pandemic. (NNT)
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